DEDHAM, Mass. (Court TV) — A Massachusetts woman accused of killing her police officer boyfriend was in court Tuesday for a motions hearing ahead of her upcoming trial.
Karen Read sits in court during a motions hearing on March 26, 2024. (Court TV)
Judge Beverly Cannone expressed frustration with attorneys for both the defense and prosecution over failure to complete discovery and file expected motions at the brief hearing which was meant to iron out all the final issues before Karen Read‘s murder trial, scheduled to start next month.
Read denies allegations that she backed her car into Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe in a drunken rage and left him for dead in a January 2022 blizzard. She blames his death on Boston Police officer Brian Albert, who invited Read and O’Keefe to his house after the bars closed in downtown Canton. Witnesses at the afterparty claim the couple never made it inside. Read claims she left O’Keefe outside the home and never heard from him again.
READ MORE | Karen Read wants phone records released, says they support cover-up
Judge Cannone questioned the attorneys about a motion alleging “egregious government misconduct,” which had not been filed despite the defense telling the judge they would do so last week. Read’s attorney said that not filing the motion yet was a “strategic decision.” While the motion has not been filed, the judge said that Read’s attorneys assured her the motion will be different from the defense’s motion for sanctions against the prosecution and their motion to disqualify the prosecutor’s office.
Norfolk Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally told the judge that the defense had provided “absolutely nothing” to the Commonwealth in terms of reciprocal discovery. Lally was forced to admit that his office was still unable to file its own certificate of compliance for discovery, and said that his office is still waiting for two different DNA test reports, one of which may not be available until mid-April, at the earliest.
The defense, admitting it had not shared anything with the prosecution after receiving more discovery on a thumb drive at Tuesday’s hearing, told the judge they will comply with their obligations once the prosecution complies with theirs.
Read’s trial is scheduled to begin on April 16. Read’s attorneys told the judge they estimate the trial will take five to six weeks.
