DEDHAM, Mass. — Attorneys in Karen Read’s murder retrial met with Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone on Thursday to discuss instructions for the jury ahead of closing arguments.
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.
Read’s lawyers say O’Keefe, 46, was beaten, bitten by a dog, then left outside a home in Canton in a conspiracy orchestrated by the police that included planting evidence against Read.
Both sides met on Thursday to argue the nature of the jury instructions in the case. The charge conference was held outside the presence of the jury, but in open court.
Watch the full charge conference:
The defense attorneys requested a required finding of not guilty on Thursday before the case goes to the jury.
Read attorney David Yannetti told Cannone that the defense felt the Commonwealth fell “woefully short” of proving its case.
“Your honor, the Commonwealth had produced no witnesses to testify that John O’Keefe’s injuries were consistent with him having been hit by a motor vehicle,” Yanetti told the court. “And if he was not hit by a motor vehicle, none of these three indictments may stand.”
Prosecutor Adam Lally urged Cannone to deny the request.
“What the Commonwealth would submit is that his case was more than sufficiently strong at the close of the evidence,” Lally said.
Cannone ultimately denied the request.
Cannone also told Read’s lawyers that they can’t introduce a third-party culprit argument during closing, but said they could tell the jury that the police investigation into O’Keefe’s death was flawed.
Last year, there was confusion over the verdict slip about what jurors decided for each charge Read faced before a mistrial was declared.
Boston 25 News legal expert Peter Elikann spoke about how the jury’s verdict slip might be changed this time around.
“The judge has the option of in the jury instructions of telling them that it doesn’t have to be an all or nothing, that they can find someone guilty on some things, not guilty on other counts, or they can not be able to agree on one of them, but it comes to a decision on others. And I think that was going to be clarified,” Elikann explained.
Read also spoke about the verdict slips outside of court.
“Do you think there will be changes to the verdict form? How important is it to have that verdict slip right?” Read was asked.
She responded, “Very important, as I learned the hard way.”
If Read’s second trial again ends in a mistrial, Elikann said each individual juror could be polled about their verdict.
Cannone, who also oversaw the first trial, said closing arguments will happen on Friday.
Cannone instructed lawyers from both sides to be inside the Dedham courthouse by 8:30 a.m. Friday and ready to begin their arguments by 9 a.m. or a little before. Each side will be allotted 75 minutes to address the jury.
The case will then go to the jury. Cannone said she intends to keep the jurors at the courthouse for deliberations until 5 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. before breaking for the weekend.
The defense rested its case late Wednesday afternoon after calling 10 witnesses
Before the defense rested, Wednesday featured a tense cross-examination with Special Prosecutor Hank Brennan sparring with the defense’s crash expert, Dr. Andrew Rentschler from ARCCA.
Rentschler testified that damage to Read’s taillight and O’Keefe’s clothing was inconsistent with her SUV striking an arm or body at the speed described by the prosecution.
“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 said 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 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.
Earlier this week, Dr. Elizabeth Laposata, a former medical examiner called by the defense, said O’Keefe’s injuries were indeed consistent with blunt force trauma to the back of the head, but that his eye wounds were not consistent with being hit by the rear of Read’s SUV. She also testified she did not think O’Keefe was hit by the SUV at all.
Defense attorneys in the case have also accused the prosecution of twisting Read’s words into a confession she never made. The state has pointed to a television interview in which Read said, “I mean, I didn’t think I ‘hit him’ hit him, but I could I have clipped 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.
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