Karen Read murder trial: Three things to know now that the prosecution has rested

After six weeks and dozens of witnesses, Massachusetts prosecutors retrying Karen Read on a murder charge in the widely publicized death of her boyfriend three years ago rested their case Thursday.
While the theory put forward by special prosecutor Hank Brennan was the same as that offered by the assistant district attorney who previously tried the case — Read, drunk and angry, struck John O'Keefe with her Lexus SUV and left him for dead on Jan. 29, 2022 — there were some notable changes from Read's first trial, which ended with a hung jury last summer.
Absent were two high-profile witnesses who were key to the defense's claims that Read was framed. Also missing was the former Massachusetts state trooper who led the investigation into O'Keefe's death and was fired after revelations of misconduct emerged in the first trial.
Another notable change was the role of Read, who has maintained her innocence, herself. In addition to speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, her words have been a regular presence in Brennan's presentation, which has featured a series of interview clips that show what Brennan has described as Read's 'campaign' of public statements.
Read's lawyers are expected to begin making their case Friday.
A key witness tries to re-create the scene
The prosecution's final witness was one of its most important. No cameras captured the events that led to O'Keefe's death, nor have any witnesses claimed to have seen what happened at 34 Fairview Road — the home in Canton, just south of Boston, where O'Keefe, 46, was found unresponsive in the front yard shortly after 6 a.m. on Jan. 29.
But Judson Welcher, a biomechanical engineer and accident reconstruction expert, testified that data from Read's 2021 Lexus showed that at 12:32 a.m., outside 34 Fairview, the vehicle drove forward 34 feet, then reversed 53 feet. The SUV was traveling at nearly 24 mph, he said, with a throttle of 74 percent.
While there was no vehicle data to support Brennan's allegation of a collision, Welcher testified that lacerations on O'Keefe's right arm were 'consistent' with injuries caused by a broken rear right tail light on the SUV.
Welcher testified that his height and weight approximated O'Keefe's — around 6 feet tall and 220 pounds — and he conducted re-enactments showing what such a collision might look like. In one video, Welcher wore similar clothes as O'Keefe from Jan. 29 — jeans, t-shirt, baseball cap — while a Lexus that was the same model and year as Read's backed into him at 2 mph.
Welcher also knocked down the defense's claim that the broken tail light came from a different collision on Jan. 29. As Read left her home around 5 a.m. to look for O'Keefe, she was in a panic, she has said, and she backed her Lexus into his Chevrolet Traverse. Ring camera video played in court captured the incident.
But Welcher testified that an analysis of the video showed Read was driving less than 1 mph at the time and there was no evidence of any damage to either vehicle.
'That impact did not break or crack that tail light," Welcher said.
Who didn't they call to testify?
Michael Proctor, the ex-trooper and case agent who managed the investigation into O'Keefe's death, was included on the prosecution's list of possible witnesses. In the first trial, Proctor spent hours on the stand and acknowledged that comments he made to friends, family and supervisors about Read were unprofessional and 'dehumanized' her. But, prosecutors did not call him to testify in the retrial.
The Massachusetts State Police dishonorably discharged Proctor in March after an internal investigation found that he violated agency rules by sending derogatory messages and sharing confidential investigative details with non-law enforcement personnel.
Proctor testified that his conduct did not harm the investigation. He has not publicly commented on his termination, but his family has criticized his former employer, saying he was unfairly scapegoated. His former supervisor testified this month that Proctor had acted with 'honor and integrity.'
'I believe human beings all have biases,' Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik told the jury. 'Especially in this case, they did not affect the outcome of the investigation.'
Bukhenik acknowledged that he was disciplined in part for failing to adequately supervise Proctor and lost five vacation days.
Proctor is listed as a possible witness for the defense, which has accused him of bias and manipulating evidence.
Two other figures who played an outsized role in the first trial — Brian Albert and Brian Higgins — were also included on the prosecution's witness list but were not called to testify.
Albert, a retired Boston police sergeant, lived with his family at 34 Fairview at the time of O'Keefe's death and had a gathering at his home on Jan. 29 that O'Keefe planned on attending. Prosecutors — and Albert — have said that O'Keefe never made it to the party and no one who was there that morning saw him inside.
But the defense has alleged that O'Keefe entered Albert's home, and was beaten, bitten by the family's German Shepherd and dragged outside, where he died. They've pointed to Higgins, an agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who was at the gathering, as a possible conspirator in this alternative theory of the case.
In the weeks before O'Keefe's death, a series of text messages introduced as evidence showed Higgins flirting with Read and appearing frustrated when she does not speak more candidly about what she wants from him. This tension likely prompted the fight that led to O'Keefe's death, the lawyers have said. (Through their attorneys, both men have denied involvement.)
Albert and Higgins are both included on the defense's list of possible witnesses.
What does Karen Read say?
Read has been unusually candid with journalists, and Brennan has shown a series of clips from interviews she has given to reinforce the prosecution's theory of O'Keefe's death.
In one clip, shown during opening statements on April 22, Read was captured telling 'Dateline' that she could have 'tagged' O'Keefe in the knee 'and incapacitated him. He didn't look mortally wounded as far as I could see. But could I have done something that knocked him out?'
In another clip, shown earlier this month, she was captured telling 'Investigation Discovery' about the moment she found O'Keefe in the yard of 34 Fairview. She wondered out loud if she could have run over his foot as she began driving from Albert's home.
'He's roughly where I left him, so yeah when I found him I was thinking, did I like clip him somehow?' she said.
In another series of clips introduced as evidence last month, Read was shown talking openly about her drinking. She and O'Keefe had been at two bars before they drove to Albert's house, and in an interview with "20/20," she was asked if she felt fine to drive after four drinks.
'Yup,' she responded.
In a separate clip, she told a Boston Magazine reporter that she drank a 'normal amount' — a vodka tonic every 40 minutes.
'No,' she said.

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NBC News

5 days ago

• NBC News

Jury has reached a decision in the Karen Read murder retrial

A jury has reached a verdict in the retrial of Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman whose widely watched murder trial in the 2022 death of her boyfriend, a Boston police officer, ended with a hung jury last year. She has been charged with second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter while driving under the influence and leaving the scene of a collision causing death. The trial lasted more than two months and featured dozens of witnesses, including a series of experts who, at times, offered highly technical testimony. These specialists aimed to fill in an evidentiary record that contained no eyewitness accounts or video of the events that left O'Keefe mortally wounded outside the suburban home of a now-retired Boston police sergeant during blizzard-like conditions on Jan. 29, 2022. O'Keefe, 46, died of blunt force trauma to the head, according to the medical examiner's report. Hypothermia was listed as a contributing factor. Prosecutors alleged that Read, fueled by intoxication and anger over her crumbling relationship, reversed her SUV into her boyfriend and left him for dead in the front yard of the former sergeant, Brian Albert. Read, 45, had just dropped off O'Keefe at Albert's home for a gathering when the prosecution said she struck him. "She could have broken up with him," special prosecutor Hank Brennan told jurors in his closing argument. "She doesn't drive away. She takes that 6,000-pound Lexus and she makes a decision. The decision is, she steps on the gas after banging it into reverse." Among the key pieces of evidence cited by the special prosecutor was data gathered from Read's SUV. He called a biomechanical engineer who testified that at 12:32 a.m., outside Albert's home, her Lexus was captured driving forward 34 feet, then suddenly accelerating backward for 53 feet at 24 mph. No direct evidence of the hit was presented at trial, but the engineer testified that dozens of cuts on O'Keefe's right arm were "consistent" with injuries caused by the Lexus' broken taillight. The prosecutor presented crime scene photos that showed what he called a "debris field" — bits of red plastic scattered around the site of the apparent collision. He also pointed to Read's own words as evidence of her guilt. Read found O'Keefe's body shortly after 6 a.m., and first responders who'd been summoned to the scene recalled her repeatedly saying, 'I hit him.' Read rejected those allegations and said she watched O'Keefe enter Albert's home. Her attorneys said that her words had been twisted into a confession and that she was the victim of law enforcement misconduct and a tunnel-vision investigation. In the first trial, Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone allowed Read's lawyers to present a third-party culprit defense — or an alternative theory of the crime — and identify Brian Albert and a federal agent, Brian Higgins, as possible suspects in a conspiracy that sought to frame Read for O'Keefe's death. (Both men have denied this.) Cannone ruled Thursday that the attorneys had not met the threshold to do so in the recent proceedings and barred the defense from identifying them as such in their closing argument. But she allowed the lawyers to argue that authorities failed to properly investigate Higgins, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who'd been at the Jan. 29 gathering at Albert's home. The defense introduced a lengthy series of text messages between Higgins and Read in the weeks before O'Keefe's death that showed the two flirting. But she stopped texting him on Jan. 23 — a move defense attorney Alan Jackson previously suggested could have prompted Higgins to hurt O'Keefe. Both Higgins and Albert testified during the first trial. Neither appeared at the retrial. The defense instead focused much of its attention on challenging the circumstantial evidence cited by the prosecution. An accident reconstruction expert testified that neither the damage to Read's SUV nor the injuries to O'Keefe's arm were consistent with a collision. A pathologist testified that his arm injuries appeared to be dog bites. "There was no collision," Jackson said repeatedly during his closing argument. Some of the defense's most powerful testimony came from a snow plow driver who passed Albert's home several times in the hours after the alleged collision. Asked if he saw a 216-pound, six-foot-one man lying in the yard, he responded flatly, 'no.' One of the most notable details about the proceedings was the absence of former Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor. Proctor led the investigation into O'Keefe's death and was fired over revelations that emerged in the first trial that he shared investigative details with non-law enforcement personnel and made derogatory comments about Read. Defense lawyers argued that he led a biased and "corrupt" investigation — an allegation Proctor denied in the first trial — and although he was listed as a possible witness for both the prosecution and defense, neither called him to testify in the retrial. "That should stop you in your tracks," Jackson said in his closing argument. "Wouldn't you want to hear from the lead investigator?" "Michael Proctor was clearly radioactive," he added. "The Commonwealth stayed away from him." In his closing argument, the special prosecutor said he didn't need Proctor's testimony to prove Read's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. "I'm not saying you shouldn't be disgusted by the text messages," Brennan, the special prosecutor, said. "You should. But that doesn't change the physical evidence, the scientific evidence and the data." "He was terminated," Brennan added. "He was held responsible for what he did. He should have been. But that doesn't mean you get a free pass. That doesn't change the facts."

Daily Mail​

6 days ago

• Daily Mail​

Britain's most stolen cars: We reveal the 100 models targeted most by thieves

Lexus and Abarth owners are being warned to keep a close eye on their motors because their cars are statically most likely to be stolen. Analysis of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) data has discovered which brands and models are typically being targeted most by thieves, based on the volume of thefts per cars registered in Britain. While Ford's Fiesta was earlier this year named the nation's most pinched car based on the 4,719 examples reported stolen in 2024, some 69 other models are statistically more at risk, the new data shows. This is because with over 1.5million Fiestas on the road, owners statistically have a one-in-312 chance of falling victim to car crime. The most targeted car, a luxury model from Lexus, however, is statistically far more at threat, with a one-in-30 theft rate based on the number pinched versus total registrations. In fact, Lexus, along with Fiat's sporty division Abarth, is one of the brands most commonly targeted by organised car theft gangs going equipped with advanced technology to pinch the latest high-value models. Scroll to the bottom of this page to see if you car is in the top 100 most targeted motors - and what proportion of examples on the road were nicked in 2024. Analysis of car theft record for 2024 shows which models and brands were targeted most commonly. While Ford has the highest volume if thefts, proportionally its not among the 10 most-pinched marques... Last year on average, 168 cars were pilfered per day by criminals - that's seven every hour. And new analysis of DVLA records by automotive agency Loop found Abarth is the marque most at risk of being taken by thieves. One-in-116 Abarths were stolen in 2024, the data shows, with criminals identifying the sporty version of the Fiat 500 one of the key targets to go after last year. One-in-87 registered were stolen last year, according to the report. But the brand that really came a cropper in 2024 was Lexus. At brand level, one in every 120 Lexus cars registered in Britain were stolen last year. But digging deeper into the list of models most at risk proportionally shows that five of the top 10 targeted vehicles were from the Japanese luxury arm of Toyota. In fact, thefts of the ES 300 premium saloon were so prevalent that owners faced a staggering one-in-30 chance of theirs going missing last year, putting it in first place of models most tempting to car thieves. Last year there were 6,587 ES 300s registered, and 221 thefts recorded, Loop found. And the Japanese brand's RX 450 didn't fare much better. One in ever 39 examples of the popular SUV were taken in 2024 - that's 717 thefts out of 27,837 registered examples in Britain. The other three Lexus models targeted include the LC 500 luxury sports coupe, UX 250 compact SUV and NX 300 mid-sized SUV. These have a one-in-55, one-in-62 and ine-in-75 chance respectively of being stolen, DVLA data shows. This put them sixth, seventh and ninth on the list of 100 most likely to be stolen models. A Lexus spokesman told This is Money: 'For the past few years, there has been an industry-wide issue of vehicle theft of almost epidemic proportion in the UK, affecting the most popular models first. 'Toyota GB has invested millions of pounds in a variety of solutions that help protect cars from theft. These include protective plates, immobilisers, blockers and trackers. 'As a vehicle manufacturer, we can never completely eliminate the risk of vehicle theft and, in order to further reduce the theft risk, we regularly collaborate and share information with insurance associations, police and law enforcement authorities, theft prevention experts and other key stakeholders around the world. 'This enables us to understand new threats and techniques used by thieves and develop more secured systems.' Lexus tells us that it spent more than £10million last year fitting tracking devices - supplied by Tracker - to some UK-registered vehicles. 'Unfortunately, some of those customers were targeted by criminals and their cars were stolen,' the spokesperson explains. 'As a result of the installation of tracking devices, though, a 96 per cent recovery rate was achieved. 'We have subsequently rolled out Tracker installation as an option for buyers of certain models, to help add a level of customer reassurance.' They added: 'Our anti-theft measures form part of a nationwide customer care offering. Owners can contact their local dealer to establish whether or not their model would benefit from additional security devices and to discuss options and fitment.' When it comes to non Lexus models, the Mercedes' GLS Class is also popular with criminals, with a one-in-39 chance of being nicked - 91 thefts were recorded last year out of 3,584 model. This places it in fourth overall. The Alfa Romeo Stelvio was the other model sandwiched between the uber-stealable Lexus cars, with the Italian family SUV in fifth place with a one-in-54 chance of being pinched. The Kia Stinger coupe sits in eight place in the stolen model rankings with a theft proportion rate of of one-in-65. The Abarth 500 took 10th place with a rating of one-in-87, contributing to its overall brand position as the car maker proportionally most likely to be stolen. Outside the top 10, Audi had three placings followed by Mercedes with two. The Alfa Romeo Giulia took 11th with one-in-88 likelihood, followed by Audi's RS5 in 12th with a one-in-96 chance. The Audi RS3 and RS7 were the other models from the German marque that ranked in the top 20; the RS3 has a proportional one-in-105 likelihood of being stolen (16th), while the RS7 had a one-in-110 chance (18th). The Mercedes G-Class (which typically costs over £140,000 new) scored one-in-98 putting it in 14th, while its sibling the GLE Class scored one-in-109 to put it in 17th. The Kia EV6 was the first of only two EV-only models that ranked in the top 20 cars most likely to be stolen, taking home 13th with a theft rate of one-in-98 registered. The Hyundai Ioniq in 15th is the other EV - it also had a one-in-98 chance of going missing. The Maserati Levante and Abarth 595 (a derivative of the Abarth 500) rounded out the list of 20, both scoring a one-in-111 proportional rating. Car brands proportionally most likely to be stolen - is your favourite maker a risky purchase? Overall, behind Abarth and Lexus, Land Rover is the brand most commonly targeted by thieves, with one-in-210 registered cars stolen last term. The British car maker - now owned by Indian giant Tata - has been the focus of the car theft epidemic for the last few years, but statistically owners are less vulnerable that drivers of cars from its premium rival, Lexus. It comes after JLR invested a massive £15million upgrading the security systems of some of its older cars in the last 18 months - and also provided £1million in funding to police at ports to tackle illegal vehicle exports out of Britain. Alex Kefford, head of editorial at Loop, said: 'Last year, the spotlight was on Range Rover as customers struggled to find insurance in the face of soaring theft rates. But when we look at the figures in proportion, we discover that it's Lexus owners that are at a far greater risk of having their car stolen. 'Jaguar Land Rover has taken the issue very seriously, developing a software update for existing vehicles, rolling-out new ultra-wideband keys, and even going as far as to provide funding to police units dedicated to cracking down on organised gangs. 'Now it seems that more brands need to follow their example if they are to reverse this worrying trend.' In fourth place overall was Mitsubishi - a brand that disappeared from the UK in 2021 - with a one in every 298 cars registered stolen last year, slightly ahead of Jaguar with a one-in-318 theft statistic. Placed in fifth and sixth for proportional thefts respectively are luxury marques Maserati - with a one-in-325 pinched - and Mercedes, with owners facing a one-in-381 chance of falling victim to car crime. BMW, Alfa Romeo and Bentley rounded out the top 10, with theft statistics of one-in-381, one-in-388 and one-in-435 respectively. Alex Kefford, Head of Editorial at automotive PR agency loop commented: 'Jaguar Land Rover has taken the issue very seriously, developing a software update for existing vehicles, rolling-out new ultra-wideband keys' Contrastingly Ford, despite being the manufacturer that had the most cars stolen overall last year, is 13th based on proportional theft rates against the volume of registrations. In fact, owners of Ford models will welcome the news that their cars have a risk factor of one-in-460 chance of being nicked. And as you can see from the top 100 stolen cars (listed below), Ford doesn't have a single model in the top 50. Good news finally for Tesla owners: Tesla's are the least likely cars in production to be stolen with just a one-in-7,031 chance of being taken by thieves The cars least likely to be stolen – the ones to own if you want peace of mind Tesla owners finally have some good news because the Elon Musk-created electric cars are the least likely to be stolen, Loop's deep-dive into DVLA data shows. There is just a one-in-7,031 chance of owners of a Tesla opening their curtains in the morning to find an empty driveway. Only 33 thefts were reported for the EV brand last year, with the Model 3 recording as many losses as all other models combined. Once vehicles out of production are included however, Tesla loses the accolade to British brute-manufacturer TVR. Despite nearly 11,000 registered vehicles scattered across the country, only one was reported stolen during the whole of 2024 – a T350. Ferraris also fared well, with owners of the luxury Italian supercars only facing a roughly one-in-4,000 chance of a falling victim to car thieves. Below is the list of 100 cars most likely to be targeted by thieves based on volume of reported stolen models versus the number registered in the UK... 100 CARS MOST LIKELY TO BE STOLEN BASED ON THEFTS VS REGISTRATIONS (2024) Rank Make Model Thefts Registered Proportion stolen 1 LEXUS LEXUS ES 300 221 6,587 1-in-30 2 LEXUS LEXUS RX 450 717 27,837 1-in-39 3 MERCEDES MERCEDES GLS CLASS 91 3,584 1-in-39 4 ALFA ROMEO ALFA ROMEO STELVIO 87 4,734 1-in-54 5 LEXUS LEXUS LC 500 11 601 1-in-55 6 LEXUS LEXUS UX 250 335 20,625 1-in-62 7 KIA KIA STINGER 34 2,226 1-in-65 8 LEXUS LEXUS NX 300 383 28,539 1-in-75 9 ABARTH ABARTH 500 69 6,015 1-in-87 10 ALFA ROMEO ALFA ROMEO GIULIA 95 8,326 1-in-88 11 AUDI AUDI RS5 30 2,887 1-in-96 12 KIA KIA EV6 174 17,006 1-in-98 13 MERCEDES MERCEDES G CLASS 20 1,955 1-in-98 14 HYUNDAI HYUNDAI IONIQ 644 62,979 1-in-98 15 AUDI AUDI RS3 71 7,427 1-in-105 16 MERCEDES MERCEDES GLE CLASS 358 39,093 1-in-109 17 AUDI AUDI RS7 8 882 1-in-110 18 MASERATI MASERATI LEVANTE 30 3,328 1-in-111 19 ABARTH ABARTH 595 192 21,309 1-in-111 20 BMW BMW X6 162 18,053 1-in-111 21 MITSUBISHI MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER 635 72,761 1-in-115 22 TOYOTA TOYOTA RAV4 1452 167,095 1-in-115 23 LAND ROVER LAND ROVER RANGE ROVER VELAR 361 46,236 1-in-128 24 AUDI AUDI RSQ3 27 3,569 1-in-132 25 JEEP JEEP WRANGLER 70 9,403 1-in-134 26 AUDI AUDI RSQ8 9 1,289 1-in-143 27 TOYOTA TOYOTA CAMRY 15 2,200 1-in-147 28 LAND ROVER LAND ROVER RANGE ROVER SPORT 1032 155,902 1-in-151 29 BMW BMW I8 15 2,309 1-in-154 30 JAGUAR JAGUAR F-PACE 440 70,535 1-in-160 31 JAGUAR JAGUAR XE SERIES 282 45,344 1-in-161 32 MERCEDES MERCEDES GLC CLASS 573 93,894 1-in-164 33 AUDI AUDI SQ5 82 13,446 1-in-164 34 MERCEDES MERCEDES S CLASS 189 32,207 1-in-170 35 AUDI AUDI S5 68 11,618 1-in-171 36 BENTLEY BENTLEY BENTAYGA 25 4,286 1-in-171 37 AUDI AUDI S4 65 11,188 1-in-172 38 TOYOTA TOYOTA C-HR 745 130,964 1-in-176 39 PORSCHE PORSCHE MACAN 266 46,822 1-in-176 40 BMW BMW M4 115 20,365 1-in-177 41 AUDI AUDI S3 220 39,014 1-in-177 42 BMW BMW 7 SERIES 142 25,480 1-in-179 43 JAGUAR JAGUAR F-TYPE 92 16,659 1-in-181 44 BMW BMW M1 184 33,694 1-in-183 45 AUDI AUDI SQ7 23 4,214 1-in-183 46 LAND ROVER LAND ROVER RANGE ROVER EVOQUE 1189 221,953 1-in-187 47 AUDI AUDI Q7 302 57,062 1-in-189 48 LAND ROVER LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 1698 324,059 1-in-191 49 JAGUAR JAGUAR E-PACE 190 36,340 1-in-191 50 BMW BMW X5 613 118,704 1-in-194 51 BMW BMW X4 104 20,344 1-in-196 52 LAND ROVER LAND ROVER RANGE ROVER 586 118,546 1-in-202 53 TOYOTA TOYOTA PRIUS 614 125,006 1-in-204 54 BMW BMW M2 109 23,871 1-in-219 55 FORD FORD ECOSPORT 506 113,411 1-in-224 56 BMW BMW M3 163 36,832 1-in-226 57 TOYOTA TOYOTA ESTIMA 16 3,628 1-in-227 58 BMW BMW 4 SERIES 489 115,798 1-in-237 59 KIA KIA NIRO 514 121,869 1-in-237 60 KIA KIA PROCEED 45 10,737 1-in-239 61 BMW BMW 6 SERIES 102 25,045 1-in-246 62 AUDI AUDI A7 70 18,115 1-in-259 63 AUDI AUDI RS4 29 7,528 1-in-260 64 MERCEDES MERCEDES CLS CLASS 101 26,265 1-in-260 65 BMW BMW M5 34 9,054 1-in-266 66 MERCEDES MERCEDES E CLASS 892 262,110 1-in-294 67 MERCEDES MERCEDES GL CLASS 13 3,836 1-in-295 68 AUDI AUDI R8 14 4,287 1-in-306 69 FORD FORD MUSTANG 44 13,706 1-in-312 70 FORD FORD FIESTA 4719 1,474,134 1-in-312 71 MASERATI MASERATI GHIBLI 12 3,788 1-in-316 72 BMW BMW X7 15 4,760 1-in-317 73 AUDI AUDI S1 9 2,870 1-in-319 74 TOYOTA TOYOTA LANDCRUISER 91 29,806 1-in-328 75 MERCEDES MERCEDES C CLASS 1233 406,102 1-in-329 76 VOLVO VOLVO S90 23 7,884 1-in-343 77 NISSAN NISSAN JUKE 1136 390,844 1-in-344 78 AUDI AUDI Q8 44 15,234 1-in-346 79 BMW BMW 5 SERIES 708 247,846 1-in-350 80 MERCEDES MERCEDES CLA CLASS 287 10,0762 1-in-351 81 AUDI AUDI RS6 18 6,463 1-in-359 82 BENTLEY BENTLEY CONTINENTAL 46 16,565 1-in-360 83 PORSCHE PORSCHE CAYENNE 118 43,041 1-in-365 84 CUPRA CUPRA LEON 29 10,674 1-in-368 85 AUDI AUDI A8 36 13,494 1-in-375 86 VOLVO VOLVO XC90 248 95,933 1-in-387 87 BMW BMW X3 320 124,198 1-in-388 88 DS DS DS4 17 6,668 1-in-392 89 KIA KIA SORENTO 114 44,775 1-in-393 90 LAND ROVER LAND ROVER DEFENDER 147 58,117 1-in-395 91 JAGUAR JAGUAR XF SERIES 252 99,731 1-in-396 92 HYUNDAI HYUNDAI TUCSON 580 234,077 1-in-404 93 HYUNDAI HYUNDAI SANTA FE 106 43,371 1-in-409 94 FORD FORD TOURNEO 99 40,521 1-in-409 95 CHEVROLET CHEVROLET CAPTIVA 15 6,195 1-in-413 96 PORSCHE PORSCHE PANAMERA 22 9,226 1-in-419 97 BMW BMW 3 SERIES 1415 611,302 1-in-432 98 DS DS DS3 87 37,677 1-in-433 99 AUDI AUDI A5 305 134,190 1-in-440 100 BMW BMW 8 SERIES 17 7,758 1-in-456 Source: Loop analysis of DVLA data

NBC News

11-06-2025

• NBC News

Karen Read murder trial: Defense lawyers rest their case

Lawyers for Karen Read rested their case Wednesday, nearly two weeks after they began mounting a defense that sought to undermine allegations that she drunkenly backed her SUV into her boyfriend, a Boston police officer, and left him for dead three years ago. The case, which prompted intense media coverage and allegations of law enforcement misconduct that led to the firing of the case's lead investigator, could be with the jury by the end of the week. The development comes nearly one year after Read's sensational first trial ended with a jury unable to reach a unanimous verdict on charges of second-degree murder and other crimes in connection with the Jan. 29, 2022, death of John O'Keefe. The defense did not call key figures central to the theory they laid out in those initial proceedings — that Read was the victim of a biased police investigation and a plot that sought to frame her for the killing — and opted instead for a series of experts whose testimony sought to dismantle the prosecution's evidence. Among them were three crash reconstruction specialists and two pathologists. Also called to the witness stand was a snow plow driver who offered what was perhaps the defense's most direct challenge to the case that Norfolk County special prosecutor Hank Brennan had presented. Blizzard-like conditions descended on the Boston area on Jan. 29, and the driver, Brian Loughran, testified that before the snow grew heavy he made multiple passes on the residential street in Canton where O'Keefe was found unresponsive. The officer was discovered near a flagpole in the front yard of a now-retired Boston police sergeant, Brian Albert, shortly after 6 a.m. — a little over three hours after Loughran said he first passed the home in his plow, nicknamed 'Frankentruck' for what Loughran described as its mismatch of parts. Loughran said he knew the Albert family — he used to deliver pizzas for Brian Albert's brother — and he testified that he could clearly see from his truck to Albert's front door. 'What was on the ground in the area of the flagpole?' asked defense attorney David Yanetti. 'Nothing,' Loughran responded. 'Did you see a six-foot-one, 216-pound man lying on that lawn,' Yanetti said. 'No,' Loughran said. After a night of drinking, O'Keefe was supposed to have gone to a gathering at Albert's home in the early morning hours of Jan. 29. Brennan has said he never made it inside. Although prosecutors presented no direct evidence of the collision that they said left O'Keefe mortally wounded, vehicle data presented at trial showed Read suddenly reversing her Lexus at 12:32 a.m. at 24 mph in front of Albert's home. An accident reconstruction expert called by Brennan testified that dozens of abrasions found on O'Keefe's right arm were consistent with injuries caused by the broken right tail light on Read's SUV. Read has said she dropped O'Keefe off outside Albert's home and watched him enter. Her lawyers have said he was likely beaten while at the gathering — perhaps because she had recently flirted with, then ghosted, a federal agent who was also at the event — before O'Keefe was bitten by Albert's German shepherd, dragged outside and left in the snow. (Albert and the agent, Brian Higgins, have denied playing a role in O'Keefe's death.) One of the defense witnesses, a former emergency room doctor and forensic pathologist who said she had seen hundreds of dog bites in her career, testified that the dozens of abrasions found on O'Keefe's arm were not from a broken tail light but a dog. The defense's final witness, a biomedical engineer who examined whether O'Keefe's injuries were the result of a collision, testified Wednesday that they were not. Experiments conducted for the case using crash test dummies showed that at speeds of 24 mph, there likely would have been more damage to Read's car and to O'Keefe's arm, said the engineer, Andrew Rentschler. Absent from the witness stand were three people whose testimony played an outsized role in the first trial: Albert, Higgins and former Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor. Proctor, who was fired after an internal investigation found that he sent derogatory texts about Read and shared confidential investigative details with non-law enforcement personnel, acknowledged during the first trial that he said 'unprofessional' things about Read. But he rejected the defense's claims that he led a biased investigation. The defense mentioned Proctor repeatedly during Read's retrial, with defense attorney Alan Jackson at one point asking the former trooper's supervisor if his conduct tainted their examination of O'Keefe's death. 'The investigation was done with honor and integrity and the evidence pointed in one direction,' Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik responded.