Karen Read‘s second murder trial in connection with the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, continues Friday in Dedham’s Norfolk County Superior Court before Judge Beverly Cannone.
On Thursday, jurors heard testimony from a medical examiner with the state’s Chief Medical Examiner’s Office about the injuries to O’Keefe and the conclusions of the autopsy she performed on him.
Read more: Recap of day 16
Testimony resumes when the court is back in session at 9 a.m. This post will be updated as testimony gets underway.
9:41 a.m. – O’Keefe’s DNA found on Read’s taillight
The first witness of the day was Andre Porto, a forensic scientist at the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab. He is the third witness from the crime lab to testify so far.
He described the DNA testing process for the jury. Porto was advised to slow down several times by the court reporter and by Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally.
Porto performed DNA testing on swabs taken from Read’s SUV taillight. The DNA from the taillight matched O’Keefe’s, he said.
He also performed a DNA analysis on a hair pulled from Read’s SUV. Porto said the lab’s equipment could not generate a DNA profile from the hair.
Porto also tested a broken drinking glass found at 34 Fairview Road. The DNA matched O’Keefe and two unknown individuals, he said.
The DNA profile taken from several stains on O’Keefe’s jeans also matched his DNA, Porto said.
9:20 a.m. – Trial resumes
After a sidebar, Cannone asked the jury if they had been able to follow her instructions about discussing the case and avoiding media coverage. Each juror said they had.
She instructed the jury not to make any comments or react to any of the evidence while in the courtroom.
Special prosecutor Hank Brennan read a stipulation before calling a witness, telling the jury that the prosecution and defense agreed former trooper Michael Proctor was not at O’Keefe’s autopsy on Jan. 31, 2022.
He played a clip from an interview Read gave to Investigation Discovery where she describes pulling a piece of glass out of O’Keefe’s nose.
Read, 45, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of O’Keefe, who was found outside the Canton home of a fellow Boston police officer on Jan. 29, 2022.
Norfolk County prosecutors say Read struck O’Keefe with her SUV while driving intoxicated. Read’s attorneys say her car never struck O’Keefe and that others are to blame for his death.
