Live court video, updates: Defense in Karen Read’s murder retrial calls first witness

DEDHAM, Mass. — The defense in Karen Read’s murder retrial took center stage Friday when they called their first witness to the stand after the prosecution rested its case late Thursday morning.

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.

NOW ON THE STAND: Matt DiSogra, director of engineering at DeltaV, a motor vehicle accident reconstruction firm

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When the court convened for the morning, defense attorney Alan Jackson asked Judge Beverly Cannone to stop the retrial and find Read not guilty of the charges she faces before calling on a witness. Cannone quickly denied that request.

The defense then launched its case, calling Matt DiSogra, director of engineering at DeltaV, to the stand.

Jackson spent most of the morning questioning DiSogra about prosecution witnesses who testified that “triggering events” in Read’s SUV showed a three-point turn and a backing maneuver before O’Keefe was found dead.

DiSogra most notably told the court, “Neither of the events that occurred on that day was triggered by a collision.”

Prosecutors rested their case 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.

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The defense is expected to begin calling witnesses on Friday morning in Dedham’s Norfolk Superior Court, 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 a 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 first told Boston 25 News reporter Ryan Breslin that DiSogra 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.”

When asked if her team planned to call disgraced trooper Michael Proctor, Albert, and ATF Agent Brian Higgins to the stand, Read also said, “TBD.” All three of them testified at length in her first trial.

Read’s team has focused on Proctor’s investigation of the case and his credibility.

Proctor, the lead investigator in the case, was fired from the Massachusetts State Police in March following the fallout from Read’s first trial. A disciplinary board found he sent sexist and crude text messages about Read to his family and colleagues.

His testimony played a key role in the first trial. Defense attorneys used his text messages to attempt to show that Proctor was biased and ignored the possibility of other suspects.

Judge Beverly Cannone previously agreed to allow Albert and Higgins to be implicated by the defense, with limitations.

Read was also 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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