State Medical Examiner testifies in the Karen Read trial, outlines injuries John O’Keefe sustained

DEDHAM, Mass. — On Thursday, State Medical Examiner Dr. Irini Scordi-Bello, who performed John O’Keefe’s autopsy, took the stand for hours and outlined the injuries she found on him.

Dr. Scordi-Bello, however, could not say for certain how he died.

“You were not able to reach a determination as to the manner of death of Mr. O’Keefe?” Defense attorney Robert Alessi asked.

“Correct? Correct,” Dr. Scordi-Bello answered.

Graphic images of O’Keefe’s autopsy were shown in court, but not to the public.

“I came to the conclusion that the cause of death was blunt impact injuries of head,” Dr. Scordi-Bello said. “And I included the hypothermia because I saw during the autopsy that there were changes consistent with hypothermia.”

She found lacerations on his arms and bleeding under his eyes.

Alessi, referring to bleeding under John O’Keefe’s eyes, asked her, “Is that injury consistent or inconsistent with, a punch?”

She answered, “Could be consistent.”

Special prosecutor Hank Brennan pushed back against the line of questioning.

“Did you provide an opinion that it could be consistent with a punch?" Brennan asked.

“It did provide that opinion,” Dr. Scordi-Bello replied.

"Could it be consistent with broken glass?" he asked.

"It’s possible," she said.

After the jury was dismissed for the day, the defense claimed they were given inconsistent evidence by the state pertaining to a timestamp.

The defense claims this is due to John O’Keefe’s phone running 30 seconds off.

Judge Cannone said she would evaluate whether or not the defense needs more time to prepare.

Maureen Hartnett, a forensic scientist with State Police, also finished her testimony on Thursday, claiming she didn’t find hair or dents on Karen Read’s Lexus.

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