Ahead of Tuesday’s Karen Read hearing, sources say federal investigators will not bring charges against law enforcement.
The federal investigation into the handling of the Karen Read case has ended, and no charges are being filed against law enforcement, a source with direct knowledge tells NBC10 Boston.
That investigation played a significant role in the first trial against Read, who's been accused of killing her boyfriend Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, by hitting him with her SUV.
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Crash reconstruction experts hired by federal prosecutors looking into how the case was handled came to a different conclusion, a theory that Read's lawyers were able to discuss in front of the jury. They couldn't come to a unanimous decision, leading to a mistrial this summer.
Read's retrial is due for April, with the continuation of a major court hearing — in which prosecutors are expected to discuss the defense's crash reconstruction experts — coming Tuesday. At the start of the hearing last week, prosecutors had implied the defense may have had a closer relationship with the experts than what was revealed to the judge, prompting the judge to suspend the hearing, citing "grave concern."
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Watch Tuesday's hearing on NECN or NBC10 Boston's digital platforms, including YouTube, and tune in to NBC10 Boston at 7 p.m. for a new episode of "Canton Confidential."
Asked Monday whether the federal investigation into O'Keefe's death and Read's arrest was over, a representative for the U.S. Attorney's Office for Massachusetts said they didn't have a comment.
Also on Monday, new court filings revealed that Read's attorneys are asking the judge, Beverly Cannone, to prohibit a prosecution expert from testifying at the retrial.
Meteorologist Robert Gilman is scheduled to testify about the condition of the ground where John O’Keefe’s body was found. Her attorneys say the meteorologist does not have any expertise in geology and should not be allowed to testify.
At Tuesday's hearing, Read's lawyers could face trouble over their behavior involving the crash reconstruction experts, NBC10 Boston legal analyst Michael Coyne said, and it's possible they could face disciplinary action. He said the most drastic "would be sanctions, either removing them from the case or limiting their involvement and perhaps referring them to disciplinary authorities."
