Karen Read appeared in court Wednesday for a hearing on several motions, including a request to postpone her retrial for the death of her boyfriend, Boston Police officer John O’Keefe.
Read’s first trial ended in a mistrial in July after a Norfolk County jury failed to reach a verdict. She is scheduled to stand trial again in January on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while intoxicated, and leaving the scene of personal injury in O’Keefe’s January 2022 death.
Karen Read and attorney David Yannetti listen during her trial, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in Norfolk Super Court in Dedham, Mass. Read is facing charges, including second degree murder, in the 2022 death of her boyfriend Boston Officer John O’Keefe. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Read maintains she is being framed for O’Keefe’s death while prosecutors stand by their theory that Read hit O’Keefe with her car in a drunken rage and left him to die in a winter blizzard.
Prosecutors and Read’s defense appeared before Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone on Wednesday to request a continuance until April 2025, saying they need more time to prepare for the high-profile trial.
In particular, Special Prosecutor Hank Brennan said the Commonwealth needed more time for their newly appointed expert witness to retest components from the so-called “black box” in Read’s SUV.
Cannone granted the Commonwealth’s request to have an independent expert reassemble and test the Lexus’ telematics systems, which include GPS data, speed readings, and other vehicle data. Brennan said the retesting was needed because data was missing from the first round of analysis that a defense expert conducted for the first trial. Read’s defense did not object to the testing, but her lawyers wanted their own expert present for the analysis — a request the judge granted.
Brennan also said he’s in the process of reviewing and reindexing all the evidence — including witness statements — with the goal of “substantially” trimming the witness list down from the first trial.
Brennan, who was appointed to the case in September, noted that although he is new to the case he was not looking for a “personal accommodation” with the delay.
“I truly believe it is going to have a more efficient and effective trial,” Brennan said.
Read’s lawyer, David Yannetti, said the defense would also need more time for their expert to review the results of the retesting and any potentially new discovery. The defense has also requested access to emails and personal phone records of elected Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey, who oversees the office trying the case.
“You’ve heard that there will be new Commonwealth experts. There are no reports yet. There’s been no disclosures. No forensic testing has yet taken place,” Yannetti told Judge Cannone.
The judge also granted Read’s request for access to transcripts of sidebars — or private conversations among the attorneys — from the first trial. She has yet to rule on the request to postpone the trial.
Read is due in court again on November 26 for a hearing on the Commonwealth’s request for phone records from various people, including those belonging to Read’s father, William.
Another hearing was set for December 12 concerning the admissibility of a proposed defense expert witness on dog bites. Brennan said he intends to challenge the scientific validity of the opinion of Dr. Marie Russell, who testified at the first trial that the marks on O’Keefe’s arms were more consistent with a dog attack than with being hit with a car.
