Legal experts, including a retired judge, help break down the new prosecution and defense legal strategies in the Karen Read retrial. Plus, we recap the closer look we got at Read’s relationship with John O’Keefe in the lead-up to his death before court ended unexpectedly early on Thursday and preview the stakes in the upcoming voir dire hearing of the ARCCA crash reconstruction experts.
What to Know
- Karen Read is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a vehicle under the influence and leaving the scene
- She is accused of striking John O'Keefe, her Boston police officer boyfriend, with her SUV in 2022 and leaving him to die alone in the snow outside of a house party in Canton, Massachusetts
- Her defense team has said she is the victim of a vast police conspiracy and that O'Keefe was fatally beaten by another law enforcement officer at the party
- In the first two days of testimony, we have heard from O'Keefe's mother and a close friend, two firefighters and a state police investigator
- On Thursday we heard from a friend of O'Keefe about the day before his death
- Messages read in court show an argument between Read and O'Keefe the day before his death
- The prosecution also showed media interview clips of Read discussing her drinking and driving
Testimony is continuing on Thursday morning in Karen Read's second murder trial, with a firefighter who began testifying late Wednesday returning to the stand to start the day.
Read is accused of hitting John O'Keefe, her Boston police officer boyfriend, with her SUV in 2022 and leaving him to die alone in the snow outside of a house party in Canton, Massachusetts. She is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a vehicle under the influence and leaving the scene.
Her defense team has said she was a victim of a vast police conspiracy and that O'Keefe was fatally beaten by another law enforcement officer at the party.
A mistrial was declared last year after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
On Thursday we heard briefly from two new witnesses - the manager of C.F. McCarthy's and the owner of the Waterfall Bar and Grille, two Canton businesses O'Keefe and Read visited the night before his death.
Messages read in court show an argument between Read and O'Keefe the day before his death. These messages were addressed in the first trial as well.
The day finished with the prosecution playing media interview clips of Read describing how much she'd had to drink - and admitting she drove - on the night in question.
Follow along below for live updates throughout the day:
