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Karen Read reveals 1st witness defense will call in retrial, says prosecution’s case was ‘unjust’

DEDHAM, Mass. — Karen Read answered several questions from reporters outside of Dedham’s Norfolk Superior Court on Thursday after the prosecution in her murder retrial rested its case.

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 on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking.

Prosecutors rested their case Thursday morning after Dr. Judson Welcher, a crash reconstructionist expert with Aperture LLC, was dismissed from the stand after three days. He most notably testified to the prosecution that damage to Read’s SUV was “consistent with a collision” involving O’Keefe if the vehicle was moving faster than 8 mph.

The prosecution, led this time by Hank Brennan, has taken a more streamlined, focused approach through the first six weeks of Read’s second trial. A mistrial was declared last year after jurors said they were at an impasse and deliberating further would be futile.

The defense is expected to begin calling witnesses on Friday morning, and Read revealed who her lawyers plan to call upon first to open what she says will be a “more robust” case that is “broader and deeper” with more witnesses.

As Read walked through of sea of media waiting on the steps of the courthouse shortly after noon on Thursday, she was asked, “Who will be the first witness for your defense?”

Read said Matt DiSogra, director of engineering at DeltaV, would be the first person up. DeltaV is a motor vehicle accident reconstruction firm with locations in Charlotte, Atlanta, Nashville, Denver, and Fayetteville.

When asked if she planned to take the stand in her own defense, Read said, “TBD.”

Read was then asked how long it would take for her lawyers to present her case. She estimated “one-and-a-half to two weeks.”

As Read climbed into a black SUV to leave Dedham, she was asked, “How would you sum up the prosecution’s case? One word.” Read responded, “Unjust.”

Testimony provided by the prosecution’s witnesses focused on evidence collected at the scene of O’Keefe’s death and witnesses who claimed they heard Read repeatedly say, “I hit him.”

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.

Get caught up with all of the latest in Karen Read’s retrial.

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