DEDHAM, Mass. (Court TV) — Judge Beverly Cannone brought a motions hearing ahead of Karen Read‘s murder retrial to a screeching halt on Tuesday afternoon, suspending the hearing for one week.
Karen Read appears in court at a motions hearing on Feb. 18, 2025. (Court TV)
The motions hearing, which had gone on for approximately an hour before a brief recess, was resumed only briefly as Judge Cannone took the bench to announce, “The Commonwealth just provided me with information that causes me grave concern. The implications of that information may have profound impacts on the defense and defense counsel.” The judge offered no further information other than to schedule a hearing to discuss the issue on Feb. 25.
NEW DETAILS | Karen Read’s defense remains in limbo in battle over ethics, experts
Before taking a recess, Prosecutor Hank Brennan asked for two expert witnesses who testified in the first trial to be precluded from returning. Brennan revealed in court that the accident reconstruction experts, who had initially been hired by federal investigators, had undisclosed communications with Read’s defense team and had, in fact, been paid $23,000.
Prosecutors have accused Read of hitting her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow outside of a friend’s house. Read has maintained her innocence, and her defense has alleged a wide-ranging cover-up at the hands of investigators and the owners of the home where O’Keefe’s body was found.
Read’s first trial ended in a mistrial after jurors reported they were hopelessly deadlocked. In the days after the trial, Read’s defense filed motions saying jurors had contacted them to report that they had, in fact, been unanimous that Read had been not guilty of second-degree murder, and the panel was only split on the lesser charges.
READ MORE | Read motion to dismiss cites ‘extraordinary governmental misconduct’
As part of their allegation of a conspiracy to frame the defendant, Read’s team has asked for a “forensically sound” copy of video surveillance footage showing Read’s Lexus being taken to the Canton Police Department. While prosecutors say they’re happy to copy the file, which was only recently discovered on a police officer’s iCloud account, Read’s defense said they want an audit trail of the video’s metadata to see who accessed it and when.
Read’s defense team has expanded since her first trial, and her attorneys have petitioned to add another lawyer to their counsel table. Robert Alessi was retained last year, and now Read has petitioned the court to allow her to add New York-based attorney Mark Bederow. Brennan said he would not oppose Bederow’s addition to Read’s team, but alerted the court to Bederow’s connection to blogger Aiden Kearney.
Aiden Kearney, known as Turtleboy, is seen here during an interview on Aug. 9, 2023, with Vinnie Politan on ‘Closing Arguments.’ (Court TV)
Kearney, also known as Turtleboy, was indicted on multiple counts of witness intimidation related to Read’s case. Brennan said that he is concerned about a “history of a symbiotic relationship” between Read and Kearney’s attorneys, accusing them of giving each other mutual assistance and sharing documents in violation of protective orders.
“I don’t think the Commonwealth should dabble in the position of preventing a defendant from having a counsel of their choosing,” Brennan said. “I think the Court should have some caution and concern and should consider some kind of inquiry ex parte about this joint agreement.” Judge Cannone told Read’s defense team that they would need to file a more comprehensive affidavit before she would approve Bederow’s addition to the team.
RELATED | Karen Read’s attorney: Commonwealth’s videos a ‘dumpster fire’
Brennan separately argued that Read’s defense should be sanctioned for repeatedly violating protective orders — not only by sharing with Kearney’s attorneys but also by disseminating protected material to the public. The defense filed a motion regarding a text message sent by Trooper Michael Proctor at the end of the first trial, but Brennan said that text was never supposed to be made public.
“Notably, this is not the defense’s first violation of a protective order or court rule,” Brennan wrote in his motion. “The defense has repeatedly displayed autopsy photographs of the victim without permission of the court; and has released witnesses identifying information.” The motion asks that the defense be required to file all future motions under seal.
While this played out in state court in Dedham, Read simultaneously filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in federal court in another attempt to have some of the charges dismissed ahead of her retrial. Last week, the State’s highest court denied their appeal to drop charges, including second-degree murder. A federal judge gave a deadline of Feb. 26 for the Commonwealth to respond and scheduled a hearing for March 5.
In the nearly 700-page memorandum in support of its application, Read’s defense argued that a retrial on all counts would constitute double jeopardy, relying on the post-trial statements of several jurors who came forward to report that the jury had reached a unanimous decision on two of the counts she had been facing.
Read’s retrial is scheduled to begin on April 1.
