DEDHAM, Mass. — Late Wednesday afternoon, the defense rested in the retrial of Karen Read.
Read is accused of striking and killing her Boston Police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe, with her Lexus SUV and leaving him to die in a blizzard outside a Canton house party on January 29, 2022, after a night of drinking.
Her lawyers allege Read was framed and that O’Keefe was beaten inside the home, bitten by a dog, and left outside in a conspiracy orchestrated by law enforcement.
The trial has piqued the interest of the country.
Wednesday featured a tense cross examination, with Special Prosecutor Hank Brennan sparring with the defense’s crash expert, Dr. Andrew Rentschler from ARCCA.
“You think John O’Keefe did somersaults in the front yard? Is that what you are telling us, doctor?” Brennan questioned.
“No,” Rentschler replied. “I don’t think he even got hit by the car, sir.”
“You have no idea where the point of impact was in this collision, do you?” Brennan asked.
“Nobody does,” Rentschler said.
“I’m asking,” Brennan said. “You don’t know.”
“Yeah, all right.” Rentschler replied.
The prosecution alleges Read’s taillight clipped O’Keefe in the arm, throwing him backwards before his head hit the ground.
Rentschler says the science doesn’t support that.
“There’s no indication on these X-rays of any fracture or any trauma or any type of injury to the bones or the joints,” Rentschler testified.
“Was was there any indication that John O’Keefe suffered even a minimum amount of bruising on his arm at all?” Alan Jackson, Read’s defense attorney asked.
“No indication of any amount of bruising whatsoever,” Rentschler replied.
The jury was excused for the day around 3:38 p.m.
The prosecution confirmed they will not be calling rebuttal witnesses.
Closing arguments are expected to start Friday morning.
Get caught up with all of the latest in Karen Read’s retrial.
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