Day Three of Karen Read’s second trial for second degree murder charges in relation to the 2022 death of Boston Police officer John O’Keefe was cut short by “confusion” about the witness list, which resulted in an unexpected half day of testimony.
Thursday’s hearings in the case again highlighted attacks on prosecution witnesses by the defense in their strategy to highlight differences between what witnesses testified at the grand jury hearings that resulted in the charges against Read in 2022, their testimony in the first trial last year, and their current testimony.
The defense has accused witnesses of directly lying as their stories have changed over time. It is part of a larger strategy to paint Read as the victim of an all-powerful conspiracy that framed Read for murder committed by others as revenge for “rogue” ATF agent Brian Higgins failed romantic pursuit of Read.
That defense suffered a blow on Friday by both Read’s own words and the testimony of Mike Camerano, described as a good friend of Officer O’Keefe. Camerano testified that he was unaware of any problems between O’Keefe and Read and was unaware of the massive on-going conflict between the pair that had played out over the last 36 hours of O’Keefe’s life.
Massachusetts State Police Trooper Nicholas Guarino then read text messages to the court from those 36 hours between Read and O’Keefe. The pair had some sort of altercation that left O’Keefe apparently angry at Read and Read questioning O’Keefe’s commitment to the relationship.
During the argument, Read ignored O’Keefe’s request for space and O’Keefe was shown to have declined multiple phone calls from Read as she attempted to get O’Keefe to agree to go out drinking the night of his death.
When O’Keefe finally agreed to meet Read for drinks, Read hesitated at the last minute, blaming an issue with the hot water at her house and needing to wait for a plumber to arrive as she did not want to be stuck at home without hot water during the pending snowstorm.
Special Prosecutor Hank Brennon was allowed by Judge Beverly Cannone for a third straight day to play snippets from various media interviews Read has given over the past three years since O’Keefe’s death.
In snippets played surrounding Guarino’s testimony, Read admitted to having up to nine drinks the night of O’Keefe’s death but claimed the vodka tonics were a “weak pour.” While she admitted she was “buzzed” when she left the two bars the couple visited that night, she claimed that she was not driving “recklessly.”
Friday is scheduled for another half day of testimony as the prosecution is expected to put on witnesses for the morning session. The afternoon session is scheduled for a “view” as Jurors will be touring at least one site involved in the murder.
An exclusion zone has been established, with the press and protestors set to remain at least 100 feet from the jury at the scene of the murder.
Monday’s schedule is also set for a half day of testimony, as the afternoon session is set for a voir dire hearing in relation to the ARCCA witnesses who testified in the original trial. There is some controversy surrounding those witnesses as they were presented as independent, when it was later revealed that they had billed Karen Read’s defense team for their expenses related to the first trial.
There was more controversy surrounding the ARCCA witnesses this week as the defense refused to turn over text messages from the ARCCA witnesses after being previously ordered to do so by Judge Cannone. Those messages were later revealed to have been destroyed by the defense, despite requirements to retain those messages for multiple years.
The possible exclusion of the ARCCA witnesses could be a tremendous blow to the defense as they were originally presented as witnesses independently obtained by the U.S. Attorney’s office investigation of the charges against Read.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office investigation resulted in no indictments of witnesses in the case and was later dropped completely when those involved with the investigation were replaced during the transition from the Biden to the Trump administration.
We will continue to provide commentary and live coverage on our YouTube channel for the duration of Karen Read’s second trial.
