With just days to go before Karen Read’s retrial in the murder of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, the judge on Thursday issued rulings on a handful of motions that were still undecided after the final hearing wrapped up Wednesday.
Read is accused of striking O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV during a drunken argument and then leaving the scene, where he was found dead with signs of severe head trauma and hypothermia the next morning. She has pleaded not guilty and claimed she was being framed.
Judge Beverly Cannone granted the defense access to a copy of surveillance video from the Canton Police Department’s sally port – a secure area for vehicles – from Jan. 29, 2022, the day O’Keefe was found dead on the front lawn of fellow Boston cop Brian Albert.
KAREN READ JUDGE SETS LAST-MINUTE DEADLINE ON CRASH RECONSTRUCTION EXPERTS CENTRAL TO HER DEFENSE
She denied a prosecution motion to exclude expert witness Garrett Wing, the dog trainer expected to testify about injuries found on O’Keefe’s arm. This was denied “without prejudice,” meaning prosecutors can try again, but Cannone wrote that she believes he is “qualified by experience” that could be helpful to the jury.
She partially granted a defense motion to exclude testimony from Dr. James Crosby. He is allowed to testify for the prosecution generally about dog bites but is not allowed to say his analysis excluded “Chloe” – Albert’s dog – as the source of injuries to O’Keefe’s arm.
She gave the defense a deadline of Friday to oppose, in writing, the prosecution request that a third-party reader be selected to read a transcript of text messages sent between Read and O’Keefe.
Read the judge’s rulings:
Both sides declined to comment, citing restrictions on discussing the active case.
They are scheduled to deliver opening statements next week, with the prosecution up first on Tuesday.
The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks after taking more than two weeks to seat a jury. Read could face a maximum of life in prison if convicted.
Leave a Reply