Karen Read‘s second trial in connection with the death of her boyfriend, Boston Police officer John O’Keefe, continued on Wednesday in Dedham’s Norfolk Superior Court before Judge Beverly Cannone.
Read more: Recap of trial day 9Read more: Recap of trial day 10
On Tuesday, jurors heard from a slew of witnesses, including a retired Canton Police lieutenant, a Massachusetts State Police lieutenant and a meteorologist. Prosecutors will call their next witness when the trial resumes Wednesday at 9 a.m.
People to know:
Hank Brennan, special prosecutor for the Norfolk County District Attorney’s officeConnor Keefe, Massachusetts State Police trooper
9:22 a.m. – Keefe shows jury key evidence
Keefe works in the homicide unit assigned to the district attorney’s office. He’s also a digital forensics examiner.
He performed the forensic extractions on Jennifer McCabe and Kerry Roberts’ phones. McCabe and Roberts were with Read when she found O’Keefe’s body.
Keefe was at 34 Fairview Road while the State Police Special Emergency Response Team conducted their search on the night of Jan. 29, 2022. He said his primary role was to log anything the team found into evidence.
On the stand, Keefe cut open an evidence bag sealed with red tape and pulled out O’Keefe’s sneaker. The sneaker is a black and white Nike shoe.
Keefe also showed the jury several pieces of red plastic taillight found at 34 Fairview Road after O’Keefe’s death. When Brennan moved to put the taillight pieces into evidence, David Yannetti, a lawyer for Read, objected and asked to be heard at sidebar.
Inside an evidence bag, Keefe pulled out two large pieces of red taillight, but also a small chip that had to be marked separately. Keefe also retrieved two clear pieces of taillight from a different brown paper bag.
9:08 a.m. – Court opens
As almost all of the trial days do, Wednesday began with a sidebar conversation between the lawyers and the judge without the jury in the room. Throughout the trial, Read has joined the sidebars, a change from most of the pretrial proceedings.
When the jury was brought in, Cannnone asked the panel if they had been able to follow her instructions about discussing the case and avoiding media coverage.
Each juror said they had.
Read, 45, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of O’Keefe, who was found outside the home of a fellow Boston police officer in Canton 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.
Read more: These are the 20 people you need to know to follow Karen Read’s 2nd trial
