DEDHAM, Mass. — Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone gave jurors in Karen Read’s murder retrial an extended break from witness testimony for the Memorial Day weekend after she met individually with all 18 of them on Wednesday.
Read, 45, of Mansfield, is accused of striking John 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 following a night of drinking.
Day 20 of testimony was delayed Wednesday morning for about two hours after Cannone announced that an “issue” had come up that required her to speak to each juror and ordered everyone out of the courtroom.
Cannone did not explain the issue, but after speaking to jurors, reminded them of the importance of not discussing the case with anyone or allowing anyone to try to discuss it with them.
The day’s testimony then began with Dr. Aizik Wolf, director of the Miami Neuroscience Center.
Wolf testified about reviewing photos of John O’Keefe and his autopsy report. He described a “classic blunt trauma injury” and said he believes O’Keefe struck his head on the ground.
“My opinion is that’s what caused this whole injury,” Wolf said. “The only way he could get this kind of an injury was to fall backward, hit the back of his head.”
When asked by special prosecutor Hank Brennan whether O’Keefe’s injuries were consistent with being attacked with a bat or other object, Wolf said no, because O’Keefe had a “nondepressed skull fracture.”
Wolf said O’Keefe likely lost consciousness quickly but did not die immediately.
The fifth week of Read’s second trial ended with Christina Hanley, a Massachusetts State Police crime lab chemist, describing her examination of a broken drinking glass and pieces of glass and plastic found near O’Keefe’s body, bits of plastic recovered from his clothing, pieces of glass found on the bumper of Read’s SUV and the vehicle’s broken taillight.
When Hanley was dismissed from the stand, Cannone informed the court that Read’s retrial would be on hiatus until Tuesday, giving the jury Thursday, Friday, and Monday off.
Cannone said the court could afford the extended break because proceedings were “ahead of schedule.”
Prosecutors allege Read intentionally backed into O’Keefe after she dropped him off at a 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.
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.
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