Trial Resumption for Karen Read in Boston Police Officer Boyfriend's Homicide Case
Life or Frame Job? The Second Trial of Karen Read Begins
It's all set for the second trial of Karen Read, who's slapped with charges of causing the demise of her Boston police officer boyfriend but her supporters claim she's being framed for a crime she didn't commit.
The district attorney's team argues that Read, after dropping off John O'Keefe at a party, backed her SUV into him and vanished for hours before returning to find him lifeless. However, defense attorneys claim their client is a victim of a conspiracy involving the police, and they'll once again offer evidence hinting at the true perpetrator.
Nine men and nine women have been chosen to serve as the twelve jurors and six alternates for the trial.
Read, a former financial analyst and Bentley College adjunct professor, faced charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter, and leaving the scene. The previous trial resulted in a mistrial, as jurors declared an impasse. This new trial will closely resemble the first, featuring the same judge, many of the same witnesses, and several prominent defense attorneys.
The Dark Side of Love
Read and O'Keefe's rocky relationship will come under scrutiny during the trial. The 46-year-old O'Keefe, a 16-year police veteran, was found unresponsive outside a fellow Boston police officer's home.
According to prosecutors, after a night of drinking, Read dropped O'Keefe off at a house party just past midnight. During the three-point turn, they claim, she struck O'Keefe and drove away. Hours later, she returned to find him in a snowbank.
The Real Killer Unveiled?
Prosecutors aim to prove that Read's actions were intentional and will call witnesses who'll describe the deteriorating relationship between the couple. Expected witnesses include O'Keefe's brother and sister-in-law, who are expected to testify that Read admitted to a heated argument with O'Keefe in Aruba after catching him kissing another woman.
The defense intends to depict the investigation into O'Keefe's death as flawed and biased. They plan to call former State Trooper Michael Proctor, who was dismissed following allegations of sexism and crude behavior. Proctor is on both the prosecution's and defense's witness lists.
At the previous trial, his testimony was crucial when the defense accused him of having an early bias against Read and focusing on her, disregarding other potential suspects.
The defense also aims to establish that Read was framed, alleging that O'Keefe was actually killed within the house during a fight with another partygoer before being dragged outside. In the first trial, defense attorneys suggested investigators focused on Read because she was a "convenient outsider" who diverted attention from law enforcement officers as potential suspects.
A town-commissioned audit of the Canton Police Department found several mistakes in the investigation but no evidence of a cover-up. It suggested that first responders should have photographed O'Keefe's location before moving him and that all critical witness interviews should have been conducted at the department after O'Keefe was hospitalized.
Double Jeopardy Debate Fails for the Defense
Soon after the mistrial, Read's lawyers sought to have the main charges dropped. They argued that the judge declared a mistrial without polling the jurors, and five jurors suggested they were only deadlocked on the manslaughter charge but had unanimously agreed that she wasn't guilty of second-degree murder and leaving the scene.
The defense claimed that retrying Read on those charges would amount to double jeopardy, but both the judge and the state's highest court, along with a federal court judge and an appeals court, rejected that argument.
Prosecutors asserted that the double jeopardy claim was "hearsay, conjecture, and legally inappropriate reliance as to the substance of jury deliberations."
A Change in Lead Prosecutor
The lead prosecutor in the second trial will be Hank Brennan, a former prosecutor and defense attorney who was brought in as a special prosecutor following the mistrial. Brennan has represented notable clients, including famous Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger, and experts anticipate he may be stronger in arguing the case than his predecessor, Adam Lally.
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- The general news in Seattle today features the second trial of Karen Read, a former financial analyst and Bentley College adjunct professor, who is on trial for causing the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O'Keefe.
- In this trial, the jurors are expected to consider evidence that suggests Read intentionally hit O'Keefe with her SUV during a three-point turn at a house party, left him lifeless in a snowbank for hours, and was involved in a cover-up.
- Defense attorneys, however, will introduce testimony from former State Trooper Michael Proctor and other witnesses to assert that the investigation into O'Keefe's death was flawed, biased, and framed Read as the perpetrator to divert attention from other potential suspects, including law enforcement officers.
- It's notable that the dynamics of Read and O'Keefe's relationship, the allegations of police conspiracy, and the questionable investigation have divided public opinion on the case, adding political dimensions to this high-profile crime-and-justice story.
