DEDHAM – It’s the million dollar question as the defense sets out to present its case. Shall Karen Lees testify on her own murder case?
The prosecution has been making its case since testimony started on April 29. The prosecution is nearing the end of its witness list and could rest its case by the end of this week.
What is Karen Read accused of?
Reading is accused of second-degree murder – among other charges – for the 2022 death of her Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe.
Prosecutors say they hit him with her SUV outside 34 Fairview Road in Canton during a snowstorm after a night of drinking. The two had gone to the Canton home for a gathering after a night at bars with friends, but witnesses said neither entered the home.
Read’s defense team says she is the innocent victim of a police cover-up. They believe that O’Keefe was actually killed during a fight in the house, and that his body was then dumped on the front lawn.
Will Karen Read take the stand?
With the defense’s turn coming up soon, many tied to the case are wondering if Karen Read plans to take a stand.
WBZ-TV asked first Read more June 13th when she testifies.
“Whatever the lawyers tell me to do, I will do it and I’m willing to go either way,” Read said.
On June 18Read was asked if she was considering taking the stand.
“I did that. I would like to fill in some gaps and correct some lies, but it’s up to the lawyers and they’ll probably call at 11 o’clock and I’ll either be there or I won’t. I’ll explain it to them,” Read said . “I am an outspoken person and I have never been able to stand up for myself in my defense except when it matters most. I have to rely on them and their expertise and I will leave it to the lawyers.” .”
Legal expert calls potential testimony ‘a risk’
It is “very unusual” for a suspect to testify at his own murder trial, defense attorney Phil Tracy told WBZ-TV. The Fifth Amendment protects citizens’ right against self-incrimination.
However, legal analysts who spoke with WBZ-TV agree on one thing. Nothing about this case was ‘normal’.
“It’s a risk, but I would say that in this case, more than any other, you should put her on the witness stand,” Tracy said.
Tracy said he expected Read might say things like, “I don’t know if I hit him or not, okay?” I don’t think I don’t think I hit him.’ Or, “I don’t know… Was he already dead when I hit him?”
“She could say a lot of those things, which the judges are saying now [are considering] reasonable doubt,” Tracy said, adding that putting her on the stand “might generate sympathy.”
Potential for a “muted courtroom” moment.
Former prosecutor and WBZ-TV legal analyst Jennifer Roman agreed.
“It’s always a gamble for the defense to put the defendant on the witness stand because anything can happen when someone testifies,” she said. “When she gets up there, it will be one of those quiet moments in the courtroom.”
Roman said that based on Read’s behavior in the media, there is a chance she may want to testify.
“[Karen Read] has now put herself in front of the camera and even recently on Friday she spoke to the press about her case,” Roman said. ‘You think she wants to testify, that she wants to tell her story. And if she and her defense team agree that she is in the best position to be the one to tell that story, he will be above that.”
The defense previously said that when it argues its case, it could take as little as four full days. Judge Beverly Cannone previously told jurors to expect the case in late June.
