What to Know
- Karen Read is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a vehicle under the influence and leaving the scene
- She is accused of striking John O'Keefe, her Boston police officer boyfriend, with her SUV in 2022 and leaving him to die alone in the snow outside of a house party in Canton, Massachusetts
- Her defense team has said she is the victim of a vast police conspiracy and that O'Keefe was fatally beaten by another law enforcement officer at the party
The Karen Read trial entered what could be the final week of testimony, with the defense's crash reconstruction expert returning to the stand.
Daniel Wolfe, director of accident reconstruction for the firm ARCCA, spent all day Friday discussing findings from a report he made for this trial and returned to the stand to start the day Monday.
After Wolfe stepped down, the defense made a motion for a mistrial with prejudice, saying special prosecutor Hank Brennan had shown jurors John O'Keefe's sweatshirt with holes in the back, making it look like the holes were as a result of a collision instead of being cut by a prosecution criminalist.
Judge Beverly Cannone denied the motion, but not before Brennan admitted he had "made a mistake."
A private investigator was next on the stand for brief testimony, and then medical examiner Dr. Elizabeth Laposata finished the day. After the jury was excused, Judge Beverly Cannone urged the attorneys to move the matter along so the jury could soon consider the charges.
Read is accused of hitting John O'Keefe, her Boston police officer boyfriend, with her SUV in 2022 and leaving him to die alone in the snow outside of a house party at 34 Fairview Road in Canton, Massachusetts. Her defense team has said she was a victim of a vast police conspiracy and that O'Keefe was fatally beaten by another law enforcement officer at the party.
A mistrial was declared last year after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
Here is how the day in court unfolded:
