Karen Read trial first day: John O'Keefe's mom chokes up recalling day he was killed

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The first full day of testimony concluded in the second murder trial of Karen Read, a Massachusetts woman accused of killing her boyfriend, a Boston police officer.

Read's first trial ended with a hung jury in a case that has transfixed the nation, attracting attention from YouTubers, TikTokers and internet sleuths. It has spurred podcasts, movies and televisions shows. Presiding Judge Beverly Cannone barred supporters of either side from demonstrating within 200 feet of the courthouse.

Special prosecutor Hank Brennan, who was hired by the Norfolk County District Attorney's office to handle Read's second trial, told jurors in his opening statement April 22 that Read, 45, was drunk and angry when she deliberately struck John O'Keefe with her Lexus SUV and left him mortally wounded in the snow in front of a fellow Boston cop's house in January 2022.

Defense attorney Alan Jackson told the jury the collision never happened, and the investigation into Read was riddled with errors, bias, incompetence and deceit from the start.

April 23 developments:

• John O'Keefe's mother described the day he died in tearful testimony.
• It took 10 days of questioning hundreds of prospective jurors to seat a jury for the retrial.
• Two witnesses took the stand on the first day of testimony, a friend of O'Keefe who was there when his body was found and a paramedic who tried to revive him.
• Demonstrators rallied inside the court-mandated buffer zone ahead of opening statements.

Paramedic describes taking Read to the hospital for psych evaluation

Daniel Whitley, a paramedic, testified about his experience taking Read to the hospital after O'Keefe's body was discovered. Whitley and his colleagues had a mandatory medical order to take Read for psychological evaluation and though she resisted, she eventually agreed to go.

While in the ambulance, Whitley said Read asked multiple times if there was any chance O'Keefe could be alive even after spending many hours in the snow without a coat. He said Read vacillated from crying to worrying about caring for O'Keefe's children. O'Keefe stepped up to raise his niece and nephew after his sister and brother-in-law died, which Whitley said he was "pretty well known" for in the small community.

Whitley said when he remarked that Read had a good support system, Read asked if he knew O'Keefe's friend, Kerry Roberts. "I said, matter of fact, I do and she said 'Anybody who knows Kerry Roberts wouldn't say that,'" he said. Defense attorneys pressed Whitley on his previous testimony about his conversation with Read as well as his connection to Roberts and another person involved in the investigation.

At the hospital, Whitley said Read was uncooperative and he didn't feel comfortable leaving her with the nurse until security arrived. "She didn't want to give a urine sample," Whitley said.

Trooper testifies about cell phone data

Massachusetts State Police Trooper Nicholas Guarino testified about the technical process of extracting data from phones belonging to Read, O’Keefe and other key players in the case. Guarino said he created a document containing text messages between O’Keefe, Read and others, but did not describe what was said.

Guarino was dismissed, but may be recalled.

O'Keefe's mother describes the day he died in tearful testimony

Peggy O'Keefe delivered brief, emotional testimony about the day her son, John O'Keefe, died.

She said while a friend of his drove her to the hospital after he was found in the snow, she spoke by phone with Read, who told her she had left John O'Keefe at a party.

At the hospital, Peggy O'Keefe said, she saw her son was "bruised up" and heard Read repeatedly yelling "is he dead, Peg?"

Peggy O'Keefe began to cry as she described the family's devastated reaction to her son's death. The defense asked her no questions.

Trial takes lunch break

Proceedings paused Thursday afternoon for a lunch break.

Defense scrutinizes ‘Google hypothermia’ testimony in heated exchange

In a heated exchange, Jackson repeatedly probed O’Keefe’s friend, Kerry Roberts, about whether she lied in her testimony to the grand jury. During that testimony, Roberts was asked about whether she heard Read ask O’Keefe’s other friend, Jennifer McCabe, a question.  

Roberts told the Grand Jury that Read had asked McCabe, to "Google hypothermia" the morning they found O'Keefe. But during testimony on Wednesday, she told Jackson that she did not hear Read ask the question and instead was "told she was asked to Google it."

When pressed by Jackson about whether she lied to the jury about what she heard, Roberts said she had “misunderstood” the question.  

Upon cross-examination, Brennan asked Roberts whether she meant to mislead the Grand Jury during her testimony. She replied: "I did not.” 

McCabe was a central figure in Read’s first trial. She allegedly searched on her phone how long it took someone to die in the cold on the early morning of Jan. 29. She is the sister-in-law of Brian Albert, one of the men the defense in Read’s first trial argued killed O’Keefe.  

Defense questions O'Keefe friend about Read's broken taillight

Jackson questioned Roberts, about his injuries and Read's comments the morning he was found. Roberts said she saw scratches on O'Keefe's right arm and both eyes were swollen and black after he was taken to the hospital.

Jackson also pressed Roberts about statements she had made about a broken taillight on Read's car. She told a grand jury that Read pointed to the taillight and wondered aloud whether she had hit O'Keefe as they were arriving at his house to look for him. Roberts clarified that Read made the statement as they were leaving the house, not arriving.

Roberts also testified that she didn't mention the cracked taillight during an initial police interview because "I didn't want to accuse anyone of anything."

Friend recalls Read behavior, finding O'Keefe's body

During earlier testimony under questioning by the prosecution, Roberts recounted more about Read's behavior on the morning he was found.

Roberts said she received a frantic call from Read at 5 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2022. She said Read screamed "Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, John’s dead," and hung up.

Roberts went with Read and another woman to search O'Keefe's house and then drove to the home of the Boston police officer who Read and O'Keefe went drinking with the night before.

As they pulled up, Read exclaimed "there he is, there he is," Roberts testified. Read ran directly to a mound of snow, which Roberts said she later discovered was O'Keefe.

Roberts tried to dig O'Keefe out of the snow and performed CPR until first responders arrived, she said. His right eye was swollen like a golf ball. Roberts said Read repeatedly asked "did I hit him?" and "is he dead?" as paramedics attempted to revive O'Keefe.

Paramedic testifies Read said 'I hit him' repeatedly

When Timothy Nuttall, firefighter and paramedic, arrived on scene, he said, O'Keefe was cold and exhibited no signs of life. As he and other first responders tended to O'Keefe, Nuttall said he heard Read, who had blood on her face, say "I hit him, I hit him, I hit him."

Jackson repeatedly pressed Nuttall about his memory of the incident, called his testimony "inconsistent" and questioned why Nuttall previously testified that Read only said "I hit him" twice. In response to questions from Jackson, Nuttall agreed that injuries to O'Keefe's face could have been caused by a punch to the face.

This trial is expected to last six to eight weeks.