DEDHAM, Mass. (Court TV) — A shortened week wasn’t short of drama as Karen Read stands trial for a second time on charges she murdered her boyfriend in Massachusetts.

Before the jury enters the courtroom Karen Read shares a lighthearted moment with her defense team, during her second murder trial in Norfolk Superior Court, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)

Read, whose first trial ended with a mistrial, is accused of hitting Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV after a night out drinking and leaving him to die in the snow outside of a friend’s house. Read’s defense has maintained her innocence and has accused prosecutors and investigators of a cover-up.

While the trial was only in session for three days this week, there was no shortage of shocking moments in the courtroom.

Clock-Drifting

The prosecution has maintained that Read hit O’Keefe with her car, causing him to fall outside his friend’s home. After introducing evidence from O’Keefe’s cell phone showing when he likely fell, prosecutors entered data from Read’s SUV, indicating the vehicle performed a “three-point turn event.” However, the two timelines didn’t match up exactly, with O’Keefe’s iPhone clock running faster than the SUV’s. To reconcile the discrepancy, Commonwealth expert Shanon Burgess testified that he used an industry-standard method to synchronize the times.

Resume Inaccuracies

Burgess’ cross-examination got off to a fiery start after Read’s attorney, Robert Alessi, revealed inaccuracies on his resume. Though the document said that Burgess had a “Bachelor of General Science,” he admitted that he was not awarded a degree and had been pursuing a diploma since 2008. Burgess explained that “work and life” prevented him from finishing college. Burgess also admitted that he had made a mistake in his report, listing the date incorrectly as Jan. 30, rather than Jan. 29.

Cameras Off, Jurors Out

Wednesday morning began with Judge Beverly Cannone ordering Court TV to turn the pool camera off in the courtroom and ordering everyone out, except Read and the attorneys. Cannone refused to offer details, but said that she needed to question every juror individually at sidebar. Court resumed later that morning, with all jurors returning to the box with one small change: Court TV’s Matt Johnson noticed two jurors had swapped seats.

Hair DNA Testing Inconclusive

Analysts were tasked with testing a single strand of hair found on the back passenger panel of Read’s SUV. While former Trooper Michael Proctor and Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik were ruled out as contributors, John O’Keefe could not be ruled out. However, because the DNA test was only mitochondrial, analysts conceded that the hair could also have belonged to O’Keefe’s nephew.