Former Judge Suggests Jury’s Doubt of Expert Testimonies Could Influence Karen Read Murder Trial Verdict

Whenever there’s a battle of the experts, it’s the jurors who hold the winning hand, according to a retired Massachusetts judge. 

Karen Read is facing a new trial concerning the murder charges related to the death of her ex-boyfriend, 46-year-old John O’Keefe, who was a Boston Police Officer.

Read, now 45, allegedly struck O’Keefe with her SUV and left him outside during a snowstorm at a house party located at 34 Fairview Road in Canton, Massachusetts. He subsequently died from a skull fracture and hypothermia on January 29, 2022.

The defense team is working to challenge the credibility of the prosecution’s collision experts, Dr. Judson Welcher and Shanon Burgess, who are affiliated with a company named Aperture.

Welcher testified last week that he believes “[O’Keefe’s injuries are] consistent with being struck by a Lexus and also contacting a hard surface, such as frozen ground.” Wolfe found that the injuries were inconsistent when stacked up against the damage to Read’s SUV as well as the damage to O’Keefe’s clothing – which prosecutors allege had fragments of taillight plastic embedded in it.

Lu said that he expects jury instructions to include a note that the experts don’t decide the facts – jurors do.

Karen Read and John O’Keefe pose for an undated photograph. (Karen Read)

“Juries are not in the least bit cowed by experts,” he said. “To the contrary, they view them with skepticism.”

Especially “hired guns,” he added.

Jurors will be looking at the case as a whole, but while Lu said he believes Brennan scored a victory on the day, the defense has a significant advantage.

“The defense need not prove anything; they merely must establish reasonable doubt,” said Mark Bederow, a New York City defense lawyer who is representing Canton blogger and Read ally Aidan Kearney. “But over the course of a few hours, Dr. Wolfe cast serious doubt by methodically dismantling the key premise of the prosecution case – through multiple scientific examinations and effective video he offered support for his opinion that the damage to the taillight was not consistent with the collision alleged by the prosecution.”

Read’s team is expected to rest their case next week. She could face up to life in prison if convicted of the top charge.