Live video: Dighton sergeant takes stand in Karen Read’s retrial after dog bite expert dismissed

DEDHAM, Mass. — A defense dog bite expert who testified on Monday that she believes a dog attacked John O’Keefe at a home in Canton where he was found dead returned to the stand for most of Tuesday before a new witness was called in Karen Read’s murder retrial.

Read, 45, of Mansfield, is accused of striking O’Keefe, her Boston police officer boyfriend, with her Lexus SUV and leaving him to die alone in a blizzard outside of a house party in Canton at the home of fellow officer Brian Albert on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking.

NOW ON THE STAND: Dighton Police Department Sgt. Nicholas Barros, saw Read’s Lexus when it was towed from her parents’ house

PREVIOUSLY ON THE STAND: Dr. Marie Russell, Los Angeles-based emergency physician and defense’s so-called “dog bite expert”

FOLLOW TED DANIEL’S COURT UPDATES:

DIGHTON POLICE SERGEANT TAKES STAND

Dighton Police Department Sgt. Nicholas Barros, who saw Karen Read’s Lexus SUV get towed away from her parents’ Dighton home following the death of John O’Keefe, took the stand Tuesday after the defense’s dog bite expert was dismissed.

Read attorney Alan Jackson showed Barros an image of the Lexus taillight from the Canton Police Department and asked what was different from when he saw it at Read’s parents’ house.

“Is this the condition of the right rear taillight when you showed up at the Read household?” Jackson asked.

“Absolutely not,” Barros responded.

Jackson continued, “What’s different about this photo, sir? ”

Barros said, “That taillight is completely smashed out.”

JUDGE DENIES MOTION FOR MISTRIAL -- AGAIN

The defense team leapt on a chance to ask for a mistrial Tuesday after the prosecution pointed out that no dog DNA was found on O’Keefe. The defense said there had been no mention in the trial about DNA and the dog bite, and argued that raising the subject while questioning Russell had prejudiced the jury.

“That cannot be reversed. That cannot be cured. That cannot be ameliorated with a jury instruction,” defense attorney Robert Alessi said while the jury was outside the courtroom.

Prosecutors waved away the accusation, with Brennan saying, “The defense does not get to pick and choose what words the Commonwealth can or cannot use.”

After a brief pause, Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone said the trial could proceed.

DOG BITE EXPERT QUIZZED

Prosecutors were challenging an assessment by Dr. Marie Russell, a retired emergency medicine physician, who said cuts on O’Keefe’s arms were the result of a dog attack.

Russell testified Monday she treated hundreds of dog attacks and bites over nearly 30 years and became interested in the Read case after seeing a news report about questions over whether O’Keefe was attacked by a dog before he died.

“These multiple groupings are patterns and they are, in my opinion, by the teeth and claws of a dog,” Russell said, pointing to a photo of O’Keefe’s arm. She described the wounds as linear and going in a similar direction.

Prosecutors previously sought to block Russell from testifying, questioning her credibility. Although the judge allowed her to take the stand, the prosecution renewed their scrutiny and noted Russell never testified before as a dog bite expert and hasn’t taken a dog bite forensics course — however she said she was unsure any such certification or training existed.

Prosecutor Hank Brennan asked Russell on Tuesday if there was any universally accepted standard for identifying dog bites. Russell said there was not.

Brennan also pressed Russell about changing her testimony from saying the wounds were caused by “teeth or nails” to specifically naming “canines.”

“When you testified, December 2024, you didn’t say nails could have caused these wounds, you didn’t say generally teeth, you said canines,” Brennan said.

“I believe that is true,” Russell responded, saying she “became more certain” the wounds were from canine teeth.

DOG BITE EXPERT SHARES OPINION

Dr.Marie Russell, an emergency physician and forensic pathologist, spent most of Monday facing questioning, notably telling the court that her opinion is that linear abrasions on O’Keefe’s arm were the result of multiple dog bites.

When shown an image of the injuries to O’Keefe’s arm, “Those wounds were inflicted as the result of a dog attack,” the Los Angeles-based doctor testified.

“The teeth made these abrasions,” Russell told the court as she examined the photo and cited “multiple groupings of wounds.”

Russell said she observed “multiple strikes from a dog” on O’Keefe’s arm, including “bites and claw marks.”

During Read’s first trial, Russell also testified that the holes found in O’Keefe’s hoodie and the wounds to his arm were from a dog. She also said her opinion is that O’Keefe’s injuries do not appear to have been caused by a vehicle.

The prosecution sought to block her testimony ahead of the start of Read’s retrial, but Judge Beverly Cannone ruled in favor of the defense.

Prosecutors allege Read intentionally backed into O’Keefe after she dropped him off at the house party and returned hours later to find him dead. The defense has claimed that she was a victim of a vast police conspiracy and that O’Keefe was fatally beaten by another law enforcement officer at the party.

FORMER CANTON OFFICER QUESTIONED

Before Russell took the stand, former Canton Police officer and current member of the Boston Police Department, Kelly Dever, was called on by the defense. She was a reluctant witness.

Dever and Read’s lawyer Alan Jackson had a contentious back-and-forth in the morning session.

“Did you say, ‘I know you’re going to tear me a new one?’” Jackson asked.

“That’s what you’re trying to do,” Dever responded. “So yes.”

“Actually, what you said was you’re going to tear me a new [expletive],” Jackson said.

“I don’t recall that,” Dever responded.

Dever was a Canton Police officer in 2022 when O’Keefe was killed. Like many others involved with the case, she was questioned by FBI agents.

“Did you tell those law enforcement agents that you saw Brian Higgins and Chief Berkowitz together and alone with the SUV for a wildly long time?” Jackson asked.

“That was my recollection at the time,” Dever responded.

Dever now says she got that wrong. She called it a “distorted” memory. She previously told Read’s defense team that by phone.

“How did they respond?” Special Prosecutor Hank Brennan asked on cross-examination.

“They became very aggressive,” Dever said. “Raising their voices, and the one word that I can very definitely remember is they said that they would charge me with perjury.”

Jackson denied Dever’s accusation, pointing out that it falls on prosecutors, not defense attorneys, to charge people with crimes.

Dever also confirmed that she was called in to speak with Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox about the Read murder case.

Outside of court, Read had her own thoughts about Dever’s testimony.

“Are you suggesting that Dever may have been coaxed into changing her testimony?” Boston 25 News Investigative Reporter Ted Daniel asked.

“Yes,” Read responded. “We subpoenaed her to testify to what she told other authorities and just wanted her to be as honest with us as she was with them. And today, she’s now telling us that was a lie.”

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE FOR DEFENSE TO PRESENT THE CASE?

Read has said she expects her team to present their case in about two weeks.

A mistrial was declared last year after jurors said they were at an impasse and deliberating further would be futile.

Read has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death.

THE

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