DEDHAM, Mass. — Karen Read is feeling “anxious” to present a “more robust” case in her murder retrial now that the prosecution likely has only one witness left to call to the stand.
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.
Read took some time to answer questions from a group of reporters as she walked out of Dedham’s Norfolk Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon.
When asked how she was feeling about Week 5 of witness testimony coming to a close, Read said, “I feel great, I’m anxious, I’m ready to put on our case, which will be more robust that what we had last year...More witnesses, broader, and deeper.”
Who is the prosecution planning to call when testimony resumes on Tuesday, May 27? Read told reporters that she believes Dr. Judson Welcher is their last witness.
“I believe that to be the last one, that is my understanding,” Read said of Welcher, a biomechanical engineer and accident reconstructionist.
Judge Beverly Cannone gave jurors an extended break for the Memorial Day weekend after she met individually with all 18 of them on Wednesday to discuss an “issue.”
Read couldn’t reveal what that issue was, but assured reporters that she still feels “good” about the jurors.
“I feel good about the jury, I feel good about our selection,” Read said.
When asked if her team planned to call Michael Proctor, Brian Albert, and Brian Higgins to the stand, Read simply said, “TBD.” All three of them testified at length in her first trial.
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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