Karen Read's murder trial included 'bombshell after bombshell' from defense, expert says
Karen Read allegedly killed her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe in January 2022, according to prosecutors.
Karen Read's defense team came out swinging in her murder trial with accusations that the lead investigator searched her phone for nude photos and texted his friends that he "wished she would kill herself."
Her lawyer, David Yanetti, didn't mince words during his opening statements Monday morning. "Karen Read was framed" for her Boston cop boyfriend's death in January 2022, he said.
Her boyfriend, John O'Keefe, was found dead in the snow outside another Boston police officer's Canton, Massachusetts, home during the early morning hours of Jan. 29, 2022.
His girlfriend, Read, was charged with his murder. Prosecutors said there had been at least a month of animosity between the couple, including a "screaming match" during a New Year's trip, where Read accused O'Keefe of cheating on him.
Karen Read departs Norfolk Superior Court following a day of jury selection, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read is accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor'easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Read's lawyer's opening statement was "concise" and "dynamic," while the prosecution's argument "was hard to follow," said Angelo Petrigh, a clinical associate professor at Boston University Law.
"People were paying attention as the defense was giving their synopsis of their theory," Petrigh told Fox News Digital immediately after opening statements. "The prosecution didn't have that. I don't have a concise theory of what the prosecution is, and how it ties in to everything.
"On the flip side, the defense did all those things very well. They gave a very concise refrain. She was framed and here's why she was framed ..and they kept going through the evidence and tying it back to that theory."
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Each side had 45 minutes to present their argument to the jury. The opening statement and conclusion are the two times the competing sides can speak directly to the jury.
"You want your openings to be concise, coherent summaries of the evidence that's coming," Petrigh said. "You want them to characterize witnesses. You want to have your theory being put forward. And I'm worried the prosecution really did not do that very well here."
Karen Read speaks with lawyers in court during jury selection at Norfolk County Superior Court, Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read, 44, is accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor'easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (David McGlynn/New York Post via AP, Pool)
Prosecutor Adam Lally speaks in court during jury selection of the Karen Read trial at Norfolk County Superior Court, Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read, 44, is accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor'easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (David McGlynn/New York Post via AP, Pool)
For nearly 30 minutes, prosecutors talked about O'Keefe's family background and who he was, while mixing in testimony and evidence that will be presented as the trial unfolds.
The biggest reveal was a New Year's trip to Aruba, where prosecutors said Read and O'Keefe had a profanity-laced fight over O'Keefe's alleged affair.
Meanwhile, Read's lawyer's "had bombshell after bombshell," according to Petrigh,
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That included the homeowner's family's influence in the Boston suburb of Canton, and the "shoddy" investigation by the lead investigator, Michael Proctor, a Massachusetts State Trooper.
The home where O'Keefe's body was found belongs to Brian Albert, a Boston police officer whose family has extensive influence in the area and is friends with Proctor, according to Read's lawyers.
Karen A. Read, girlfriend of the late Boston Police officer John OKeefe, was arraigned in Norfolk Superior Court on charges of second degree murder in his death in Dedham, MA on June 10, 2022. A photo of the couple together was presented by the defense to the prosecution. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Officer John O’Keefe poses for his official headshot. O’Keefe’s girlfriend, Karen Reed, is currently on trial for murder after he was found dead outside of a Massachusetts home in January 2022. (Boston Police Department)
Yanetti, Read's lawyer, said Proctor immediately zeroed in on Read as the prime suspect, and the homeowner - or any of the Albert clan - were "never treated as suspects … even though John O'Keefe was found mortally injured on Brian Albert's front lawn."
"You will question why investigators had such tunnel vision. You will question why they focused solely on Karen Read, someone with no ties to the Canton Police Department, as opposed to well-known and connected Albert family," said Yanetti, who accused investigators of failing to look into the home for signs of struggle.
And Yanetti said Proctor allegedly texted friends on his personal phone about the investigation, "revealing information" about the probe and "revealing his true thoughts about Karen Read … in text messages that he never thought would come into the hands of the defense."
"He called Karen Read names you would reserve only for your worst enemies," Yanetti said. "He told his friends, ‘He hoped that she would kill herself.’"
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Proctor also allegedly seized Read's cell phone without a warrant and searched the device "for nude photos of Karen Read, and he was disappointed he hadn't found any," the defense lawyer said.
The Massachusetts State Police didn't respond to Fox News Digital's request Monday after the accusations, but the state police and Proctor have maintained their innocence leading up to the trial.
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The serious accusations and the commanding demeanor "likely perked" the jury up, Petrigh told Fox News Digital.
It certainly riled up the "Free Karen Read" side of the divisive case in online chats during the trial, and that bodes well for the defense moving forward, according the law expert.
"They pushed their theory forward over and over again," Petrigh said. "At the end of the day, when the jury hears evidence, I would be surprised if they're not hearing in the back of their voice all the things that were mentioned by the defense in their opening as to why they should be doubting this evidence."
Judge Beverly Cannone presides over jury selection during the Karen Read trial at Norfolk County Superior Court, Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read, 44, is accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor'easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (David McGlynn/New York Post via AP, Pool)
Dedham, MA - September 15: Hundreds of Karen Read supporters gather in front of Norfolk County Superior Court before her appearance. (Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
Cameras can't show the jury, as per Massachusetts state law, but the livestreams of the trial caught Read seemingly looking at each juror while her lawyer spoke.
Her eyes seemed to scan the jury section, but her face remained etched in stone, with lips pressed together. There have been several experts who have commented on Read's facial expressions and physical reactions in the courtroom before Monday.
The defense came out with a lightning strike, but Petrigh said it's important not to draw conclusions. "Trials aren't won with opening statements," he said.
While he believes the defense has the advantage after day one, it could be part of the prosecution's overall strategy to keep their own headline-worthy "bombshells" close to the vest.
Karen Read sits in court during jury selection at Norfolk County Superior Court, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read, 44, is accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor'easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (David McGlynn/New York Post via AP, Pool)
The jury and the public haven't seen the evidence or heard the testimony, including what forensic expert Joseph Scott Morgan believes is the most important piece: the sealed autopsy.
"Closing argument is when this will really be connected for the jury because the evidence will be out there," Petrigh said. "But that's a long time for the prosecution to wait to be able to connect the dots for them."
Consensus believes the trial could last six to eight weeks, which Petrigh believes is the right time frame.
Background
O'Keefe suffered multiple wounds, including skull fractures consistent with blunt-force trauma that led to bleeding in the brain, swollen black eyes and several lacerations and abrasions to his right arm and hands.
How he died and who killed him are what the jury will decide, which will ultimately answer the questions: Was O'Keefe's death a homicide or an elaborate cover-up?
The prosecution alleges the injuries were sustained when Read hit him with her car and left him to die in the snow, while the defense says the injuries were suffered during a fight inside the house and a dog attack.
Matthew Pervier, of Worcester, holds a sign he made in support of Karen Read outside of Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Read is on trial for allegedly murdering her boyfriend, John O’Keefe. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger)
Read was arrested Feb. 2, 2022, and charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of an accident, causing injury and death.
Not only has Read pleaded not guilty to all charges, her legal team argued Read was framed as part of a top-to-bottom cover-up.
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Those allegations are part of an ongoing federal investigation, which fueled the "Free Karen Read" side of a fiercely divided Boston suburb.
Then came the October arrest of a controversial local blogger, Aiden "Turtleboy" Kearney, who led rallies supporting Read.
The Norfolk County District Attorney's Office alleged he crossed a line by intimidating witnesses, and he was arrested in October, enraging his loyal followers.
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Kearney's lawyer told the judge his client "vehemently denies" the accusations when Kearney pleaded not guilty, saying his client's opinions are protected by the First Amendment.
The judge ruled Kearny can attend the trial last week.
Fox News Digital's Emmett Jones contributed to this report.
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