Live court video, updates: Day 18 of witness testimony in Karen Read's retrial
Monday marks the start of the fifth week and Day 18 of witness testimony in Karen Read's murder retrial after the judge presiding over the case issued an important ruling.
WATCH LIVE: Streaming coverage of Read's second trial starts at 9 a.m.
Read, 45, of Mansfield, is accused of striking John O'Keefe, her Boston police officer boyfriend, with her SUV and leaving him to die alone in a blizzard outside of a house party in Canton at the home of fellow officer Brian Albert following a night of drinking.
A new witness is expected on the stand when testimony resumes.
On Friday, right after Judge Beverly Cannone sent the jury home for the weekend, she announced in Dedham's Norfolk Superior Court that she would not penalize the prosecution for entering new evidence.
One of Read's lawyers called it an 'ambush.'
A prosecution expert shifted the timing of a 'trigger' event that was recorded by Read's Lexus. That data is expected to be compared to the last movement of O'Keefe's phone.
The defense has called it a Rule 14 violation and said there is no remedy for it.
'We will not ever be able to recover strategically or substantively from it, given all that's been presented to the jury,' defense attorney Robert Alessi said.
The prosecution says there is no time change, and the defense's expert made an improper conclusion.
'The government is not changing its timeline. The Commonwealth is not changing any information. The Commonwealth is not offering anything that affects in any way the testimony of witnesses,' Special Prosecutor Hank Brennan argued. 'Because their expert made an improper conclusion. It's not our fault.'
Also on Friday, Andre Porto, a forensic scientist who works in the DNA unit of the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab, detailed various items he tested, including the broken rear taillight on Read's SUV.
Porto found three DNA contributors, but only O'Keefe was found to be a likely match. He also tested DNA from parts of a broken cocktail glass found in the yard, and only O'Keefe was seen as a likely match. Porto also tested a hair found on the taillight. No human DNA was found on a hair recovered from the right rear panel of the SUV.
Porto also took DNA samples from stains on O'Keefe's jeans, sweatshirt, and T-shirt. He found DNA from several sources, but the only likely match was O'Keefe.
Under cross-examination by defense attorney David Yannetti, Porto acknowledged that he didn't know the source of the other DNA found on O'Keefe's clothing and other items.
Porto also acknowledged that he was never was asked to test for the DNA on the taillight of Kevin Albert, who is a Canton police officer, or a former Canton police chief. He also said he was not asked to test the broken cocktail glass for the DNA from Brian Albert, a former Boston police officer who owned the house where O'Keefe was found nor Brian Higgins, an ATF agent who attended a party at Albert's house that night.
Prosecutors allege Read intentionally backed into O'Keefe after she dropped him off at a house party and returned hours later to find him dead. The defense has claimed that 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 jurors said they were at an impasse and deliberating further would be futile.
Read has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death.
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USA Today
a day ago
- USA Today
Brian Albert, Jennifer McCabe, more witnesses speak out after Karen Read verdict
In the hours since Karen Read was found not guilty of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O'Keefe, several key witnesses from both trials have broken their silence on the verdict. Michael Proctor, the former Massachusetts State Police lead investigator on the case, who testified in the first trial and was later fired for misconduct stemming from the case, spoke out in interviews on ABC's "20/20" and NBC's "Dateline" that aired on June 18 and 19, respectively. A group of O'Keefe's friends, including Brian and Nicole Albert and Jennifer and Matt McCabe, also shared their thoughts in an interview with ABC News that aired on June 20. The group earlier called the verdict "a devastating miscarriage of justice" in a statement released to USA TODAY. Both Proctor and the Albert and McCabe families were at the center of the theory presented by Read's defense team about a possible police cover-up in O'Keefe's death. They have consistently denied the allegations. A Massachusetts jury on June 18 found Read not guilty of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death. She was found guilty of operating a vehicle under the influence and sentenced to one year of probation. Karen Read timeline Key dates in John O' Keefe murder case Brian Albert says he 'would have taken a bullet' for John O'Keefe In an interview with ABC News that aired on June 20, Brian Albert, a retired Boston police officer who owned the home where O'Keefe's body was found on the morning of Jan. 29, 2022, said he and his family "did the civic duty" in this case. "The criminal justice system has let us down at every turn, and yesterday was the final letdown," he said. Brian Albert also said the theories that he was involved in O'Keefe's death are "preposterous and silly." He responded to lingering questions about why he did not go outside on the morning O'Keefe's body was found, calling it "ridiculous." "I would have taken a bullet for John O'Keefe because he was a fellow cop," Brian Albert said. During the interview, Jennifer McCabe, who was with Read when O'Keefe's body was found, also spoke about the "hos (sic) long to die in cold" Google search she made that became a contentious piece of evidence in both trials. She has maintained that she made the search because Read asked her to after they found O'Keefe's body, while the defense alleged she made the search hours before he was found. "Doesn't matter how much I say about it, people will not believe it," she said. Michael Proctor says crude texts 'don't define me as a person' Proctor's personal text messages, many of which expressed crude comments about Read, came under scrutiny during the first trial. He was later fired for misconduct stemming from the case and broke his silence in a series of interviews after Read's verdict was announced, after he was not invited to take the stand in her second trial. He said in an interview with ABC News that he developed negative feelings toward Read "as the case went on." "When you have a fellow police officer around my age, two kids of his own, it generates emotion," he said. "And I expressed those emotions in a negative way, which I shouldn't've." Proctor added, "They are what they are, they don't define me as a person." In an interview on NBC's "Dateline," Proctor laughed at the theory that he was involved in a possible cover-up. "I laugh because it's such a ridiculous accusation," he said. "There's not one piece of evidence or fact to support that." Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at
Boston Globe
a day ago
- Boston Globe
Bill Burr, comedian and Canton native, says he ‘thought everyone was lyin'' in Karen Read case
'Maybe she knew, maybe that's why she was smiling,' Burr said of Read, after being told of the verdict. 'That's amazing, so now what, they keep investigating?' He added, 'I thought everyone was lyin', I don't know what happened.' Advertisement Read, 45, was acquitted of second-degree murder, manslaughter while OUI, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, with the jury convicting her only of drunk driving, a misdemeanor. She received a year of probation. Read hugs her parents Janet and William after the verdict is read in Norfolk Superior Court, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool) Greg Derr/Associated Press Prosecutors had said she backed her Lexus SUV into her boyfriend, Read's lawyers said O'Keefe entered the property, owned at the time by a fellow Boston officer, where he was fatally beaten and possibly mauled by the family German Shepherd before his body was planted on the lawn. Read's first criminal trial had ended with a hung jury in July, and she Advertisement Travis Andersen can be reached at
Boston Globe
a day ago
- Boston Globe
Judge impounds jury list in Karen Read retrial following her acquittal on major charges
In her order, Cannone wrote that the case 'has garnered significant and divisive attention in Massachusetts and across the nation' and noted that one person tied to the case has been indicted on charges of intimidating witnesses. Advertisement She did not name the person, but Aidan Kearney, a Massachusetts blogger known as Turtleboy who championed Read's innocence and covered her case extensively, The jury list was also impounded following the Read's first trial, which ended with a hung jury last year, but at least one juror was identified on social media with their picture and LinkedIn profile published on Twitter, Cannone wrote. (Twitter is now known as X.) 'Based on the circumstances of the first trial where a juror avowed that they were in fear for their safety and the safety of their family if the list of jurors were made public, and the fact that the case continues to receive daily, divisive attention in Massachusetts and beyond, the Court concludes that there is a real and present 'risk of [personal] harm to jurors [and] to the integrity of their service,'' Cannone wrote. Advertisement The impoundment order does not prohibit jurors from choosing to identify themselves and speak publicly about the case, she wrote. Cannone set the order, which was dated Wednesday, to expire after 10 days, but it could be extended. Read was accused of hitting O'Keefe with her SUV after dropping him off at the Canton home of a now-retired Boston police officer for an after-party following a night of drinking at two Canton bars on Jan. 29, 2022, as a snowstorm moved into the region. O'Keefe's body was discovered in the snow on the home's front lawn several hours later. Following weeks of witness testimony, the jury on Wednesday acquitted Read on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. During both trials, Read's attorneys argued that O'Keefe entered the home and was fatally beaten and possibly mauled by a German Shepherd before his body was placed on the lawn. Two of the 12 jurors have already spoken publicly since reaching the verdict. One juror, Paula Prado, told reporters Thursday that there were 'holes' in the prosecution's case that led her to decide Read was not responsible for O'Keefe's death. 'We couldn't prove there was a collision and she was responsible for John's death,' Prado said, Advertisement Legal specialists have said the case against Read was undercut by While her criminal trial is over, Nick Stoico can be reached at
