Prosecution rests in trial of Karen Read who's charged in death of Boston police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe
Share this @internewscast.com

The prosecution in Karen Read’s second trial concluded Thursday after about a month of testimony that highlighted evidence from the scene, including witnesses who reported hearing the defendant say “I hit him” in reference to the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend.

Read, 45, allegedly reversed her SUV into her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, and abandoned the 46-year-old officer to die on a snowy night in another officer’s yard after taking him to a party there in January 2022. Her defense claims she was framed in a police conspiracy and that someone inside the house that night was responsible for his death.

After a mistrial last year, the second trial has received extensive media attention and is featured in a Hulu documentary series. This second trial, concerning charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter, and leaving the scene, has frequently mirrored the first. If convicted of the most severe charge of second-degree murder, she faces the possibility of life imprisonment.

The video in the player above is from an earlier report.

Simplified approach

The prosecution, led this time by Hank Brennan, has taken a more streamlined, focused approach.

Unlike the first trial where witness after witness undermined the prosecution’s case, Brennan did everything to avoid those mistakes. Most significantly, he refrained from putting Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in the case, on the stand.

Proctor was fired in March after a disciplinary board found he sent sexist and crude text messages about Read to his family and colleagues. His testimony played a key role in the first trial. Defense attorneys used his text messages to attempt to show Proctor was biased and ignored the possibility of other suspects.

Brennan also didn’t put Brian Albert, the Boston officer who owned the house where O’Keefe’s body was found, on the stand. He also passed on putting on Brian Higgins, a federal agent who had exchanged flirty texts with Read, on the stand.

All three testified in the first trial and could be called by the defense as it seeks to show O’Keefe was beaten at the house party hosted by Albert and left outside to die.

Read’s attorney, Alan Jackson, still managed to raise concerns about Higgins and Proctor.

During the cross-examination of Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuriy Bukhenik, he made him read all the flirtatious texts between Higgins and Read.

Jackson also brought up a text message chain with Bukhenik in which Proctor said, “I hate that man, I truly hate him” about David Yannetti, an attorney for Read.

Stick to the evidence

Broken pieces of Read’s taillight. A broken cocktail glass. Read’s words the scene.

Prosecutors have spent much of the trial building their case through evidence from the scene. Like before, they started by introducing several law enforcement witnesses who were among the first responders and recalled hearing Read repeatedly say “I hit him” after she found O’Keefe.

They also played several clips of interviews Read has done since the first trial, in which she talked about how much she drank and made comments suggesting she knew what she did. She also talked about pulling a piece of glass from O’Keefe’s nose.

“Could I have clipped him? Could I have tapped him in the knee and incapacitated him?” she said during an interview for a documentary on the case. “He didn’t look mortally wounded, as far as I could see” but “could I have done something that knocked him out and in his drunkenness and in the cold didn’t come to again.”

Prosecutors called a neurosurgeon who testified O’Keefe suffered a “classic blunt trauma injury” associated with falling backward and hitting the back of his head.

Prosecutors also showed jurors pieces of the Read’s broken taillight, which they say was damaged when she hit O’Keefe. The defense argues the taillight was damaged later when she was backing out of O’Keefe’s house and hit O’Keefe’s car.

Prosecutors also introduced evidence of a broken cocktail glass, found at the scene, which they said O’Keefe was holding when Read backed into him.

DNA evidence played a part

Andre Porto, a forensic scientist who works in the DNA unit of the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab, detailed various items he tested, including the broken rear taillight and pieces of a broken cocktail glass found in in the yard. Only O’Keefe was a likely match for both.

Porto found three DNA contributors but only O’Keefe was a likely match. He also tested DNA from parts of a broken cocktail glass found in the yard and only O’Keefe was seen as a likely match. Porto also tested a hair found on the taillight.

Later in the trial, analyst Karl Miyasako of Bode Technology testified that tests of the hair sample taken from Read’s vehicle found a mitochondrial DNA match to O’Keefe. He said that means the DNA could be a match to O’Keefe or any one of his maternal relatives.

What’s next for defense

The trial could easily continue several more weeks as Read’s defense team makes its case. Read has said the defense’s case will be “more robust” this time. It listed over 90 witnesses who could testify.

“I’m anxious for everyone to learn what we know,” she said last week.

Read’s defense has vigorously questioned the prosecution’s witnesses and called into question evidence presented about O’Keefe’s death. During opening statements in April, Brennan said Read “admitted what she did that night” and pointed to a television interview in which Read said “could I have clipped him?” about O’Keefe’s death.

Copyright © 2025 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like
American missionary kidnapped in Niger by suspected Islamist militants, sources say

Suspected Islamist Militants Abduct American Missionary in Niger, Sources Report

The U.S. government has confirmed its awareness of an American Christian missionary’s…
Officials release new details weeks after blast at Tennessee explosives plant kills 16

New Details Unveiled in Tragic Tennessee Explosives Plant Blast That Claimed 16 Lives

In the wake of a devastating explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems, officials…
SNAP benefits November: Donald Trump admin. won't tap contingency fund for food aid amid government shutdown 2025, memo says

Trump Administration Withholds SNAP Contingency Funds During 2025 Government Shutdown, Memo Reveals

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has decided against using approximately $5 billion…
Riverdale Amber Alert Illinois today: Police searching for kidnapping suspect Austin Bell, 4 kids, stolen car silver Acura MDX

Urgent Amber Alert: Search Underway for Suspect and 4 Missing Children in Stolen Silver Acura MDX in Riverdale, Illinois

In Riverdale, Illinois, authorities are actively searching for a suspect accused of…
Army Officer Court-Martialed Over COVID Rules by Vindman Brother Finally Reinstated on Active Duty

Army Officer Rejoins Active Duty After Vindman Brother’s Court-Martial Overturns COVID Rules Case

Mark Bashaw, previously the only member of the Armed Forces to face…
Family matriarch dies day after rescue from remote island that saw family swim ashore to escape boat fire

Tragic Turn: Family Matriarch Passes Away After Dramatic Rescue from Remote Island Following Boat Fire

A day after being rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard, a woman…
Michael Wolff Sues Melania Trump, Plans to Question Her

Michael Wolff Initiates Legal Action Against Melania Trump, Seeks to Question Her

Michael Wolff, the controversial author famous for his insider accounts of the…
Dramatic video shows NYPD officers rescuing a missing dog named Moose from beneath a Manhattan subway train

Watch: NYPD Heroes Save Missing Dog ‘Moose’ from Manhattan Subway Tracks

A dramatic rescue unfolded in Manhattan as officers from the New York…
US deploys Ford carrier strike group to combat narco-terror in Western Hemisphere

US Deploys Ford Carrier Strike Group to Tackle Narco-Terrorism in Western Hemisphere

The Trump administration has issued orders for the Gerald R. Ford Carrier…
Convicted illegal immigrant child killer who murdered infant son arrested in Twin Cities ICE sweep

ICE Operation in Twin Cities Leads to Arrest of Convicted Child Killer and Illegal Immigrant

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recently revealed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement…
Oswego, IL Chick-fil-A: Darryl Lee Jr., 19, charged with murder in stabbing, attack at restaurant on Route 34 held in custody

Oswego Chick-fil-A Stabbing: 19-Year-Old Darryl Lee Jr. Charged with Murder at Route 34 Restaurant

A man implicated in a fatal stabbing incident at a Chick-Fil-A in…
Suburban woman has saved 3 lives with what is commonly known as Heimlich maneuver, most recently at Schaumburg High School

Suburban Heroine Uses Heimlich Maneuver to Save Three Lives, Latest at Schaumburg High School

A woman from the suburbs of Schaumburg, Illinois, has become a beacon…