Karen Read

Text messages reveal tension in relationship between Karen Read and John O'Keefe

Day 3 of testimony in Karen Read's trial will see the prosecution try to have a prior interview that Read gave shown to the jury

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The relationship between Karen Read and John O’Keefe took center stage Thursday in her murder retrial, with prosecutors showing the jury a series of text messages between them reflecting some tension soon before he died. They also showed video of interviews in which she discussed drinking the night before he died.

The relationship between Karen Read and John O'Keefe took center stage during testimony on the third day of Read's trial on Thursday.

State Trooper Nicholas Guarino was called back to the stand Thursday, with special prosecutor Hank Brennan starting a line of questioning about call logs and chats, introducing evidence including records from Read's phone, including messages between she and O'Keefe.

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Those messages, which were addressed in the first trial, reveal that Read and O'Keefe were fighting about the state of their relationship the day before his death.

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.

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"Last night you're basically like 'yeah what about??' when we talk about the future. So why don't you just admit you're not into so much anymore?" Read wrote, according to the log read in court.

A text message sent from Karen Read to John O'Keefe on Jan. 28, 2022.
Pool camera
Pool camera
A text message sent from Karen Read to John O'Keefe on Jan. 28, 2022.

O'Keefe, in a followup exchange, said he was "sick of always arguing and fighting," suggesting the issue was an ongoing one.

A text message from John O'Keefe to Karen Read on Jan. 28, 2022.
NBC10 Boston
NBC10 Boston
A text message from John O'Keefe to Karen Read on Jan. 28, 2022.

The log also revealed that there were multiple phone calls between Read and O'Keefe, some of which O'Keefe actively rejected.

Later, the conversation picks back up, with the couple making plans for the weekend.

Before Guarino's testimony, Mike Camerano, a friend of John O'Keefe, was questioned about his impressions of the relationship between Read and O'Keefe. He said "they argued and bickered," at times, and that he was aware O'Keefe had concerns about Read spoiling his children. However, he testified that O'Keefe never disclosed plans to break up with Read, and that the couple appeared happy and affectionate at C.F. McCarthy's the night before O'Keefe died.

"Do you know if there’s any jealousy in that relationship?" Brennan asked.

"They did everything together and I thought at times she didn’t want other women around John," Camerano said.

The last portion of the day involved the prosecution showing clips of Read in several media interviews, where she discussed how much alcohol she consumed that night, and admitted to driving after drinking.

"I had drank so that led me to question like, could I’ve hit him? Did I run over his foot or hit him in the knee? Did I incapacitate him?" Read can be heard saying in one interview.

This all follows an emotional day in court Wednesday as the mother of slain Boston police officer John O'Keefe took the stand for the first time in either of Karen Read's trials.

Peggy O'Keefe cried as she delivered pieces of emotional testimony that the prosecution will try to capitalize on Thursday as the trial resumes for another day.

John O'Keefe's grieving mother took the stand in the case against his accused killer, Karen Read. We break down her testimony and hear from Karen Read's father outside of court.  Plus, legal analysis on defense attorney Alan Jackson's challenge to witness Kerry Roberts during cross-examination and a deep look at the end of the Canton police chief's time leading the department.

The prosecution is pushing to have a Read interview clip played to the jury where she talks about an interaction she and Peggy O'Keefe had the morning that John O'Keefe's body was found.

It was at John O'Keefe's house after the pair left the hospital where John O'Keefe was taken. Read showed up to grab her belongings and in a previous interview that aired on TV, Read said, "And his mother says to me, 'it looks like he got hit by a car.'"

Defense attorney Alan Jackson does not want the video shown to the jury, saying the clip's sole purpose is to attack Read's character.

"The clip is obviously, very obviously and strategically being used to try and vilify my client," Jackson said in court.

The prosecution wants it in because they believe it shows an admission of guilt.

NBC10 Boston courtroom insider Sue O'Connell gives her take on why prosecutors called Peggy O'Keefe to the stand and why Karen Read's defense did not cross-examine her.

Read is accused of killing John O'Keefe with her SUV by backing into him after the pair spent a night out drinking with friends.

The defense has said she is being framed. To add on to their theory, Kerry Roberts, John O'Keefe's longtime friend, was back on the stand Wednesday and it was revealed that she had lied under oath when she gave testimony to a grand jury.

The jury also heard Wednesday from a Massachusetts State Police trooper who testified about cell phone data and a Canton firefighter who is testifying about Read's emotions on the morning in question; he should be back on the stand when court resumes Thursday morning.

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