The murder trial of Karen Read will resume Thursday morning after Judge Beverly Cannone announced her decision on whether she will allow testimony from three key defense experts, including a former emergency room doctor who believes John O’Keefe was the victim of a ‘ big dog attack’. ”
Cannone ruled that Dr. Marie Russell was able to testify about her belief that O’Keefe’s injuries to his arm were consistent with a dog attack after the prosecution tried to rule her out. Cannone was also able to testify Dr. Daniel Wolfe, an expert in crash reconstruction. She reserved a statement about Dr. Andrew Rentschler, a second crash reconstruction expert.
Witness testimony resumes with Massachusetts State Police Trooper Nicholas Guarino on the stand. He analyzed data on Read and O’Keefe’s phones.
Read, 44, of Mansfield, has pleaded not guilty to charges including second-degree murder in the death of John O’Keefe, her boyfriend, a Boston police officer.
Prosecutors say Read chased O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV and left him for dead in a snowstorm outside 34 Fairview Road in Canton in January 2022 after a night of heavy drinking. The defense wants to prove that O’Keefe was killed by someone in the house and then thrown into the snow.
LIVE PLAY-BY-PLAY FROM THE COURT:
11:25 am
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The court is back in session. ADA Mclaughlin tells the judge (with no jury present) that the prosecutor wants to enter a Google search that KR says he conducted at 1:27 in the afternoon on January 29 for “DUI lawyers.”
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Yannetti says the search was conducted eight minutes before Trooper Proctor called KR and that would have been appropriate.
10:35 am
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Trooper Guarino says that Apple’s health rise/fall is at a point where the GPS is showing a “pretty significant” elevation change in the road.
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Judge calls morning break. 1/2 hour and 45 minutes for jury.
10:10 am
10:00
9:50 am
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KR’s voicemails on JO’s phone are now playing. 12:37 “John, I fucking hate you”
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12:59 PM – “John, I’m here with your kids, no one knows where you are. You fucking pervert”
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1:17 am – “It’s 1 o’clock in the morning. I’m with your niece and nephew… You damn pervert.’
9:40 am
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MSP Detective Guarino tells ADA Lally that on January 29 from 12:30 AM to 6:00 AM there were 50 calls from KR’s phone to JO’s phone.
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This would have been after KR said she dropped him. He also says, “Madam. Read’s phone automatically connected to Mr. Okeefe’s Wi-Fi at 12:36 p.m.” (Meadows Ave)
9:30 in the morning
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After a long sidebar, the judge announces that Dr. Marie Russell in her defense can testify, but she will limit herself to her opinion that JO has dog bite marks. She cannot say that injuries are inconsistent with a vehicle collision.
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One of the defense ax’s two reconnaissance experts may also be limited, but the judge has reserved judgment on that.
PREVIOUS STORY:
Court was not in session Wednesday due to the Juneteenth holiday, but Dr. Marie Russell and crash reconstruction analysts Dr. Daniel Wolfe and Dr. Andrew Rentschler were questioned Tuesday without jurors present. Cannone said she would decide what, if anything, they can say to the jury.
Russell, a retired emergency room physician and forensic pathologist, was the first expert witness called to the stand by the defense as part of the voir dire proceedings.
Russell told the court she spent nearly three decades at Los Angeles General Medical Center and part of her job was determining the cause of injuries. Russell also spent part of her career in law enforcement, working as a police officer in Malden for seven years.
Russell explained that she reviewed hospital photos of O’Keefe’s injuries, as well as his autopsy and toxicology reports, among other things.
Russell claimed that the combination of cuts and scratches on O’Keefe’s arm was “consistent with a large dog attack,” and not an accident involving a motor vehicle.
“These injuries to the arm, in my opinion, are the result of an animal bite or scratch,” Russell told Judge Beverly Cannone when asked for additional clarification. “Most likely a dog, a big dog.”
When Cannone asked her how confident she was in her opinion, Russell replied, “Very confident” with a “high degree of medical certainty.”
Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally then asked Cannone to stop Russell from testifying, suggesting she was trying to intervene in the case and saying the defense had brought her in too late.
Cannone instructed Lally to find a rebuttal witness in case she had Russell testify. Lally agreed and said it could be done in a week.
Dr. Daniel Wolfe, an expert hired by federal investigators to conduct an accident reconstruction in the Read case, said his firm found that O’Keefe’s injuries did not appear to be the result of a car collision.
Wolfe said he and two of his colleagues reviewed the case, including police reports, crime scene photos and autopsy, and data related to Read’s SUV.
Dr. Andrew Rentschler is an accident deconstructionist specializing in biomechanical engineering.
Rentschler told the court he conducted “a number of crash and sled tests” and that his work on the Read case focused on biomechanical engineering analysis of O’Keefe’s injuries.
Read has pleaded not guilty to charges including second-degree murder in O’Keefe’s death.
The Public Prosecution Service is expected to conclude the case at the end of this week. The defense will then explain its position.
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