Jurors heard Monday about the crime scene search and forensic analysis of an SUV belonging to Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman accused of hitting John O'Keefe, her boyfriend, with an SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm.Read, 44, of Mansfield, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and other charges. The prosecution says she hit her boyfriend, John O'Keefe, with her black SUV outside of a home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton during a snowstorm on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking. Her defense plans to argue that someone else is responsible for killing O'Keefe. At the start of the trial, jurors visited the Canton neighborhood where O'Keefe died and had the opportunity to see Read's vehicle in person -- except that one taillight housing was removed. Testimony on Monday indicated the light was broken and that pieces of red and clear plastic were found in the snow. Prosecutors argued that the fragments came from the taillight of Read's SUV, which they say she used to back into and kill O'Keefe.The defense suggests that the evidence was planted by corrupt investigators. They argue investigators had ample opportunity to do so."At the time that Lt. Tully first called you, were you aware that no one from law enforcement was controlling that crime scene," defense attorney David Yannetti asked Lt. Kevin O'Hara of the Massachusetts State Police. "I was not aware of that," O'Hara said. A state crime lab analyst later testified about the damage to Read's SUV. The damage included a smashed taillight, scratches and a single strand of human hair.Maureen Hartnett, the crime lab analyst, also examined O'Keefe's sweatshirt, which he wore the night before while drinking with Read. She said she found red-brown stains and 13 rips and tears, particularly on the right sleeve.Prosecutors argue that the sweatshirt was torn and O'Keefe's arm injured when he was allegedly hit and knocked to the ground by Read's SUV.Hartnett said she could not tell how those fibers and clothing materials were torn. The defense maintains that O'Keefe was killed during a fight and subsequent dog attack.Three days of testimony are expected this week. Jurors will not be in the courtroom on Tuesday or Friday."We do think it's coming to a close in this week or probably into next week," said former Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley. "But there are so many theories, pieces of evidence, ways in which the prosecution had to get evidence in and the defense counsel has, frankly, been aggressive in cross-examining, which is their job, in trying to defend their client."Live updates:Follow posts from reporter David BienickRelated links:Recap of testimony, evidence from each day of the case Evidence slideshowWhat to know about the case:Karen Read, 44, of Mansfield, is accused of second-degree murder and other charges. The prosecution says she hit her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, with her vehicle outside of a home in Canton during a snowstorm on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking. She returned hours later to find him in a snowbank.Read has pleaded not guilty.Read and her defense team claim she is the victim of a cover-up and plan to present a third-party culprit defense. They claim O'Keefe was beaten inside the home, bitten by a dog, and then left outside.In pretrial motions, prosecutors revealed the existence of text messages they said suggested a "romantic entanglement" with a friend who was present at locations Read and O'Keefe visited on the night of the incident. Other documents have also suggested trouble in the relationship between Read and O'Keefe.Read is also accused of having frequent contact with a controversial blogger known as "Turtleboy," Aiden Kearney, who now faces charges in related cases.Opening statements were delivered on April 29.The trial is expected to last 6-8 weeks.Case evidence slideshow: Prosecutors are trying to show that Read’s alleged actions outside 34 Fairview Road were intentional. Read's lawyers have alleged there was a cover-up involving members of several law enforcement agencies. They say O’Keefe was beaten by someone else inside the home, bitten by a dog and then left outside.The defense, which has been allowed to present what is called third-party culprit evidence, argues that investigators focused on Read because she was a “convenient outsider” who saved them from having to consider other suspects. Those they have implicated include Brian Albert, who owned the home in Canton where O’Keefe died, and Brian Higgins, an ATF agent who was there that night.Higgins testified about a "romantic" encounter and series of text messages he exchanged with Read. In those flirty messages, Read told him that O'Keefe had "hooked up" with another woman during a vacation. The defense is trying to convince the jury that O'Keefe was beaten and suggested that Colin Albert, nephew of the family that owned the home on Fairview Road, had been in a fight. Albert said a hand injury came when he fell in a driveway and that he never saw O'Keefe during the celebration of his cousin's birthday on the night in question.He also confirmed on cross-examination that he has known the lead state police investigator in this case, Trooper Michael Proctor, since he was a child. A former Massachusetts police toxicologist, Nicholas Roberts, testified that Read's blood alcohol content at 9 a.m. was between .078% and .083%, right around the legal limit for intoxication in Massachusetts. Based on a police report that suggested her last drink was at 12:45 a.m., her peak blood alcohol level would have been between .135% and .292%, he said.O’Keefe had been raising his niece and nephew, and they told jurors that they heard frequent arguments between him and Read. Both of the teenagers described an incident in which O'Keefe asked Read to leave the house and she refused.The trial's first few days detailed the futile efforts of first responders to save O'Keefe. They found him face up when they arrived just before dawn on Jan. 29. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, and an autopsy later found he died of hypothermia and blunt force trauma. Several of the first responders said they heard Read make statements, including, "I hit him," after O'Keefe was found. Defense attorneys confronted several of those witnesses by asking why those alleged remarks were not included in official reports.Officers also testified about unusual procedures used during the investigation, including the decision to collect bloody snow in red plastic cups and clearing snow from the crime scene.
Jurors heard Monday about the crime scene search and forensic analysis of an SUV belonging to Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman accused of hitting John O'Keefe, her boyfriend, with an SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm.
Read, 44, of Mansfield, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and other charges. The prosecution says she hit her boyfriend, John O'Keefe, with her black SUV outside of a home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton during a snowstorm on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking. Her defense plans to argue that someone else is responsible for killing O'Keefe.
At the start of the trial, jurors visited the Canton neighborhood where O'Keefe died and had the opportunity to see Read's vehicle in person -- except that one taillight housing was removed. Testimony on Monday indicated the light was broken and that pieces of red and clear plastic were found in the snow.
Prosecutors argued that the fragments came from the taillight of Read's SUV, which they say she used to back into and kill O'Keefe.
The defense suggests that the evidence was planted by corrupt investigators. They argue investigators had ample opportunity to do so.
"At the time that Lt. Tully first called you, were you aware that no one from law enforcement was controlling that crime scene," defense attorney David Yannetti asked Lt. Kevin O'Hara of the Massachusetts State Police. "I was not aware of that," O'Hara said.
A state crime lab analyst later testified about the damage to Read's SUV. The damage included a smashed taillight, scratches and a single strand of human hair.
Maureen Hartnett, the crime lab analyst, also examined O'Keefe's sweatshirt, which he wore the night before while drinking with Read.
She said she found red-brown stains and 13 rips and tears, particularly on the right sleeve.
Prosecutors argue that the sweatshirt was torn and O'Keefe's arm injured when he was allegedly hit and knocked to the ground by Read's SUV.
Hartnett said she could not tell how those fibers and clothing materials were torn.
The defense maintains that O'Keefe was killed during a fight and subsequent dog attack.
Three days of testimony are expected this week. Jurors will not be in the courtroom on Tuesday or Friday.
"We do think it's coming to a close in this week or probably into next week," said former Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley. "But there are so many theories, pieces of evidence, ways in which the prosecution had to get evidence in and the defense counsel has, frankly, been aggressive in cross-examining, which is their job, in trying to defend their client."
Live updates:
Related links:
What to know about the case:
- Karen Read, 44, of Mansfield, is accused of second-degree murder and other charges. The prosecution says she hit her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, with her vehicle outside of a home in Canton during a snowstorm on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking. She returned hours later to find him in a snowbank.
- Read has pleaded not guilty.
- Read and her defense team claim she is the victim of a cover-up and plan to present a third-party culprit defense. They claim O'Keefe was beaten inside the home, bitten by a dog, and then left outside.
- In pretrial motions, prosecutors revealed the existence of text messages they said suggested a "romantic entanglement" with a friend who was present at locations Read and O'Keefe visited on the night of the incident. Other documents have also suggested trouble in the relationship between Read and O'Keefe.
- Read is also accused of having frequent contact with a controversial blogger known as "Turtleboy," Aiden Kearney, who now faces charges in related cases.
- Opening statements were delivered on April 29.
- The trial is expected to last 6-8 weeks.
Case evidence slideshow:
Prosecutors are trying to show that Read’s alleged actions outside 34 Fairview Road were intentional. Read's lawyers have alleged there was a cover-up involving members of several law enforcement agencies. They say O’Keefe was beaten by someone else inside the home, bitten by a dog and then left outside.
The defense, which has been allowed to present what is called third-party culprit evidence, argues that investigators focused on Read because she was a “convenient outsider” who saved them from having to consider other suspects. Those they have implicated include Brian Albert, who owned the home in Canton where O’Keefe died, and Brian Higgins, an ATF agent who was there that night.
Higgins testified about a "romantic" encounter and series of text messages he exchanged with Read. In those flirty messages, Read told him that O'Keefe had "hooked up" with another woman during a vacation.
The defense is trying to convince the jury that O'Keefe was beaten and suggested that Colin Albert, nephew of the family that owned the home on Fairview Road, had been in a fight. Albert said a hand injury came when he fell in a driveway and that he never saw O'Keefe during the celebration of his cousin's birthday on the night in question.
He also confirmed on cross-examination that he has known the lead state police investigator in this case, Trooper Michael Proctor, since he was a child.
A former Massachusetts police toxicologist, Nicholas Roberts, testified that Read's blood alcohol content at 9 a.m. was between .078% and .083%, right around the legal limit for intoxication in Massachusetts. Based on a police report that suggested her last drink was at 12:45 a.m., her peak blood alcohol level would have been between .135% and .292%, he said.
O’Keefe had been raising his niece and nephew, and they told jurors that they heard frequent arguments between him and Read. Both of the teenagers described an incident in which O'Keefe asked Read to leave the house and she refused.
The trial's first few days detailed the futile efforts of first responders to save O'Keefe. They found him face up when they arrived just before dawn on Jan. 29. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, and an autopsy later found he died of hypothermia and blunt force trauma.
Several of the first responders said they heard Read make statements, including, "I hit him," after O'Keefe was found. Defense attorneys confronted several of those witnesses by asking why those alleged remarks were not included in official reports.
Officers also testified about unusual procedures used during the investigation, including the decision to collect bloody snow in red plastic cups and clearing snow from the crime scene.
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Car, crime scene evidence takes center stage in Karen Read murder trial - WCVB Boston
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