Karen Read trial: Trooper reads strained texts between John O'Keefe and defendant
Witness testimony resumed 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 July 2024, after the jury was unable to come to a unanimous verdict. She was tried on charges of second-degree murder last year for the alleged killing of her 46-year-old partner, John O'Keefe.
The case has piqued national interest, spurring an array of true crime podcasts, movies and television shows. The presiding judge in the case, Beverly Cannone, has barred supporters of either side from demonstrating within 200 feet of the courthouse.
In an April 22 opening statement, Special prosecutor Hank Brennan told jurors that Read, 45, deliberately struck O'Keefe with her Lexus SUV in a drunken rage and left him mortally wounded in the snow in front of a fellow Boston cop's house in January 2022.
Read’s defense attorney, Alan Jackson, told the jury the collision did not happen and the investigation into Read was filled with errors, bias and incompetence.
Three witnesses took the stand during the first two days of testimony: Timothy Nuttall, a firefighter and paramedic who was at the scene the night of O’Keefe’s death; O’Keefe’s mother, Peggy O'Keefe; and O’Keefe’s friend, Kerry Roberts.
Two new witnesses testified on the third day: Mike Camerano, a friend of O’Keefe’s who was at a restaurant with him and Read the night before he was found dead; and the restaurant manager who discussed surveillance footage the restaurant provided to investigators.
Judge dismisses jury early
Cannone dismissed the jury before noon on the third day of the trial, citing some confusion with witnesses. She told the jury that the early dismissal would not affect the timing of the rest of the trial.
“We're on track, we're on schedule,” she said. Cannone also told jurors that they would be out of the courtroom April 25 visiting sites related to the case.
Clips show Read talking about how much she drank
Prosecutors played multiple clips of Read from media interviews where she discussed how much she drank on Jan. 28, the night before O’Keefe was found dead.
Read said in the interviews that she ordered what she considered to be between three and four drinks. In one of the clips, she said she felt buzzed and was “fuzzier than I would have been if I had tea."
Trooper reads text messages between Read, O’Keefe
Massachusetts State Police Trooper Nicholas Guarino returned to the stand and read aloud text messages between Read and O’Keefe in the days and hours before his death.
Guarino previously testified about the technical process of extracting data from phones belonging to Read, O’Keefe and other key players in the case. He said he created a document containing text messages between O’Keefe, Read and others in chronological order.
In their messages, O’Keefe and Read discussed their strained relationship, troubles with parenting and plans to see one another. At several points throughout the conversation, O’Keefe and Read bickered and acknowledged they were dissatisfied with the state of their relationship
“Tell me if you're interested in someone else, can’t think of any other reason you are like this,” Read wrote at one point. O’Keefe replied: “Things haven't been great between us for a while. Ever consider that?”
Friend of O’Keefe discusses O'Keefe, Read relationship
Mike Camerano, a friend of O’Keefe’s, testified about seeing Read and O’Keefe the night before O'Keefe's death. Camerano said his daughter and O’Keefe’s niece had been accepted to a new school. They were celebrating at home and then went to C.G. McCarthy’s, where another friend and Read met them.
Camerano testified that O’Keefe and Read seemed like an affectionate “normal couple” that night at C.G. McCarthy’s. He said the couple did argue and bicker at times and added that they spent much of their time together, saying he believed Read “didn't want other women around."
Camerano told prosecutors that he left the C.G. McCarthy's early to pick up his son, and then his daughter at O’Keefe’s house before heading home. When he awoke the next morning, Camerano said he had missed calls from his wife and Read.
“I was panicked,” he said.
Restaurant manager testifies about surveillance footage
Jean DeMulis, the restaurant manager at C.F. McCarthy's in Canton, Massachusetts, testified for several minutes about restaurant surveillance footage prosecutors requested. Read and O'Keefe visited the restaurant the night before O'Keefe's death. Brennan showed jurors a brief clip of the surveillance footage.
Paramedic describes taking Read to the hospital for psych evaluation
Daniel Whitley, a paramedic, returned to the stand to continue cross-examination by Read’s defense attorney, David Yannetti.
Yannetti pointed to inconsistencies between Whitley’s testimony to a grand jury and what he told jurors April 23.
Whitley previously 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.
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.
Yanneti said Whitley told the grand jury he thought Read was unwilling to give a urine sample, but told the jury April 23 that he was certain she didn’t want to give the sample.
So far, three witnesses have taken the stand: Timothy Nuttall, a firefighter and paramedic who was at the scene the night of O’Keefe’s death; O’Keefe’s mother, Peggy O'Keefe; and O’Keefe’s friend, Kerry Roberts.
How to watch Karen Read trial
CourtTV has been covering the case against Read and the investigation surrounding Read's alleged crime since early 2022, when Boston police Officer John O'Keefe's body was found outside a Canton home.
You can watch CourtTV’s live feed of the Read trial proceedings from Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. Proceedings begins at 9 a.m. ET
Contributing: N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Paste BN; Vin Velasco, Paste BN NETWORK