Karen Read murder trial: Who is the new prosecutor Hank Brennan
As Karen Read's second murder trial kicks off, there is a new face in the courtroom front and center: the prosecutor.
Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey announced last fall that he was appointing Hank Brennan to serve as special assistant district attorney to prosecute the case. Brennan took over from Adam Lally, who served as lead prosecutor in Read's first trial.
Read, 45, is accused of killing her boyfriend, Braintree native and Boston police officer John O'Keefe, by backing into him with her SUV outside a Canton home in January 2022 and leaving him to die in a snowstorm following a night of drinking.
Read's first trial in Norfolk Superior Court ended in a mistrial July 1. Jury selection in her retrial has been completed and opening statements will be made Tuesday, April 22.
Who is the prosecutor in the Karen Read trial, Hank Brennan?
Brennan is a former prosecutor in Essex and Suffolk counties who now works primarily as a defense attorney. He represented mobster James "Whitey" Bulger in his federal murder trial in Boston. Brennan also serves as an adjunct professor at Suffolk University Law School.
“(Brennan) is a highly respected and skilled former prosecutor and long-time defense attorney with over 25 years of experience in state and federal courts and has expertise handling complex law enforcement matters,” Morrissey said in a statement at the time of Brennan's appointment.
Martha Coakley, a legal analyst for Patriot Ledger news partner WCVB, said Brennan brings a fresh set of eyes and boost in confidence for the prosecution, giving the case a reset.
“I have two core obligations. The first is to make certain that Karen Read receives a fair trial. Ms. Read will receive the dignity and fairness that every defendant deserves in our criminal justice system. The second is to ensure that the facts surrounding John O’Keefe’s death are fully and fairly aired in the courtroom without outside influence,” Brennan said in a statement.
Adam Lally and Laura McLaughlin, prosecutors in Read's first trial, are on the prosecution team assisting Brennan.
What happened in Read's first trial
Lally and McLaughlin called more than 65 witnesses in testimony of the first trial that started April 29, 2024. The defense's list of witnesses was much shorter. Read did not testify in her own defense.
Cannone declared a mistrial in the case in July after jurors returned multiple times stating they could not reach a verdict.
Read was charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence and leaving the scene of personal injury and death after O'Keefe's body was found outside the Canton home of a fellow Boston police officer.
Defense attorneys for Read say she was framed for O'Keefe's death.
)This story was edited to add new.)