Karen Read trial: Lawyers could hand case to jury by Friday, they say
Editor's note: This page summarizes testimony in the Karen Read trial for Tuesday, June 10. For the latest updates on the Karen Read retrial, visit Paste BN's coverage for Wednesday, June 11.
Jurors in Karen Read’s second murder trial could begin deliberations as soon as Friday over whether the Massachusetts woman killed her Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe, prosecution and defense lawyers told Judge Beverly Cannone.
The comments came after Read’s defense called their eleventh and final witness, biomechanist Andrew Rentschler, late Tuesday afternoon. Rentschler testified only briefly, but is expected to take the stand again Wednesday to discuss his analysis of O’Keefe’s brain, head and arm injuries.
Other defense experts, including forensic pathologist and former medical examiner Elizabeth Laposata, have suggested O'Keefe's wounds show he was bitten by an animal and fell immediately unconscious after hitting his head on a ridged object.
The testimony, which directly contradicts analysis presented by prosecution witnesses, could be critical to Read’s case.
Prosecutors say the 45-year-old Massachusetts woman backed into O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV in a drunken rage while she was dropping him off at the Boston cop’s home after they went out drinking with friends and colleagues in January 2022. They charged her with second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death.
Her defense team has long argued Read was framed for O’Keefe’s murder. They say cops at the house party beat O’Keefe out of jealousy over his relationship with Read, let a dog attack him and then dropped his body on the front lawn during a historic blizzard.
During a testy exchange Tuesday with prosecutors, Laposata said O'Keefe's body showed "no evidence of impact with a vehicle" and claimed Read's car "didn't hit him."
Here are other can't miss moments from Day 30 of the trial out of Dedham, Massachusetts.
Defense calls last expected witness
Rentschler, an accident reconstructionist and biomechanist, took the stand briefly Tuesday afternoon and mainly answered questions about his background. Lawyer Alan Jackson, one of Read's defenses attorneys, said he intends to question Rentschler for about three hours Wednesday.
After Rentschler’s testimony, prosecutors said they plan to call several other witnesses to rebut the defense’s case.
Rentschler works for the firm ARCCA, along with previous defense witness Daniel Wolfe. Their team was initially hired by the Department of Justice as part of its investigation into O’Keefe’s case. They conducted tests to examine how a car crash could have killed O’Keefe, and what impact his body would have left on Read’s Lexus.
When did John O'Keefe die?
Brennan, the commonwealth’s attorney, briefly questioned Elizabeth Laposata about criticism she received for her handling of a high-profile case during her time as Rhode Island’s chief medical examiner.
Laposata is a clinical associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Brown University's Warren Alpert School of Medicine.
Laposata said she received a “flurry” of negative press for “erroneous” reasons in the position and resigned after learning about budget cuts. She now works as a consultant for civil and criminal cases.
Turning back to O’Keefe’s injuries, Brennan asked Laposata if she knew where the scratch on his nose came from. Earlier in the trial, Brennan played a clip of Read saying she saw a piece of glass wedged into O’Keefe’s nose when she found him lying in the snow in the early morning of Jan. 29, 2022.
“As soon as I pulled it, it just gushed blood down his face,” Read said in the clip.
If O’Keefe was dead, his body would not have squirted blood when the piece of glass was removed because there would be no blood pressure, Laposata said. She said the blood could have trickled out of the wound.
Brennan's questions appeared aimed at establishing O’Keefe was still alive when Read found his body.
Prosecution to question Laposata's credibility
The judge said she will allow the prosecution to question Laposata about a 2005 audit into the medical examiner’s office Laposata led. Brennan suggested the audit, which alleges maleficence, will call Laposata’s credibility into question.
Read’s lawyer said the prosecution was falsely characterizing the report's findings. The judge said Jackson could seek to show that and “rehabilitate her” as a witness during his redirect.
The defense and prosecution also presented motions relevant to the next expected witness, Andrew Rentschler.
'It didn’t hit him, so it doesn’t matter,' witness says
Laposata became argumentative at the beginning of cross examination, responding to the prosecutor's “good afternoon” greeting by saying “it’s six minutes until afternoon."
During the ensuing back-and-forth, Laposata disagreed with nearly everything the prosecutor said. In his most impactful line of questioning, Brennan asked Laposata whether frozen ground could cause a skull fracture. She said it could but argued the O’Keefe’s injuries didn’t match the pattern she’d expect to see if he fell outside.
Laposata said she looked at photos of 34 Fairview Road in Canton, Masssachusetts, where O’Keefe’s body was found, and didn’t see ridged surfaces, such as rocks or bumps needed to cause O’Keefe’s injury.
When Brennan asked about what evidence she reviewed, including the speed of Read’s vehicle, Laposata responded: “Well it didn't hit him, so it doesn't matter.”
“By looking at the body I could tell there was no evidence of impact with a vehicle so whether the vehicle was going slow or fast was not relevant.” she said.
Analysis of O'Keefe's injuries key to defense's case
Read’s defense team has repeatedly told jurors O’Keefe’s injuries were not caused by a car crash. Their case largely revolves around large, horizontal gashes found on O’Keefe’s right arm and fractures to his skull, as well as the lack of bruises on his body.
Laposata's testimony Monday was critical to their argument. She told jurors the spoiler on Read’s car likely would have caused a ribbon of bruises on O’Keefe’s forehead if he was hit, but his body showed no such injury.
Based on O’Keefe’s skull fracture and brain damage, she said he likely fell unconscious immediately after he hit his head, causing brain swelling and then death. He sustained the wounds on his arm while he was still alive, she said, and told jurors she doesn’t believe O’Keefe died of hypothermia and instead froze after his death.
That counters prosecution witness Aizik Wolf, a Miami-based neurosurgeon who said it is "impossible to know” whether O’Keefe became immediately unconscious from his injuries.
In one of the most impactful pieces of her testimony, Laposata echoed findings from defense witness Marie Russell, an emergency physician and former forensic pathologist, who said the surface-level cuts on O’Keefe’s arm came from an animal's teeth and claws.
Prosecutors have suggested O’Keefe’s injuries were caused by Read’s car smashing into him, causing her taillight to shatter and scrape O’Keefe before sending his body hurtling backward onto the frozen ground.
Who is Elizabeth Laposata?
Elizabeth Laposata is a clinical associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Brown University's Warren Alpert School of Medicine.
Judge Beverly Cannone previously ruled Laposata was unqualified to testify about whether markings found on O'Keefe's arm are consistent with dog bite wounds, but can discuss what she believed caused O'Keefe's injuries. On Tuesday, Cannone said Laposata could testify that O'Keefe's injuries were consistent with animal bites she has seen throughout her career.
Cannone's ruling came after the prosecution tried to prevent Laposata from testifying, arguing she did not have the proper expertise.
Laposata is expected to support the defense's argument that O'Keefe did not die in the cold by explaining how his body did not suffer from hypothermia.
Read's defense team previously presented testimony from Marie Russell, an emergency physician and former forensic pathologist, who told jurors she believed surface-level gashes found on O’Keefe’s arm came from canine claws and teeth. They have suggested a German Shepard, which lived at 34 Fairview, attacked O'Keefe.
Will Karen Read testify in her trial?
Jury instructions filed by Read’s lawyers suggest the Massachusetts woman may not testify in the retrial. They include a section informing the jury of Read’s Fifth Amendment right not to testify, telling them they “may not hold that against her.”
Christopher Dearborn, a law professor at Suffolk University in Boston who has followed the case closely, said the instructions are likely a “harbinger” that Read’s attorneys are not going to call her to the stand, though he noted they could change their mind.
“Frankly, I don't think it would make a lot of sense to call her at this point,” Dearborn said, noting the number of public statements Read has made that could be used against her.
The court has already heard from Read in the trial through clips prosecutors played of interviews in which she questioned whether she “clipped” O’Keefe and admitted to driving while inebriated.
Dearborn told Paste BN there are two schools of thought around whether to include a section on a defendant's right not to testify in jury instructions. Some defense lawyers don't include the section because they don't want to "draw a bull's eye" around the fact the defendant didn't testify and cause jurors to "speculate," Dearborn said.
Other times, he said, it is the "elephant in the room," and the specific instructions telling the jury they can't hold the defendant's lack of testimony against them are necessary.
How to watch the Karen Read trial
CourtTV has been covering the case against Read and the criminal investigation since early 2022, when O'Keefe's body was found outside a Massachusetts home.
You can watch CourtTV’s live feed of the Read trial proceedings from Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. Proceedings begin at 9 a.m. ET.