Prosecution and defense lawyers in the Karen Read murder case traded barbs and accusations during a heated hearing Friday that had members of the public laughing and cheering during the proceedings.
Read is charged with second-degree murder, accused of killing her boyfriend, former Boston police officer John O'Keefe, on Jan. 29, 2022 after a night at the bar. Police say, after the couple had been arguing, Read ran O'Keefe over with her SUV while dropping him off at a house party and left him in a snow bank outside a Canton home belonging to another Boston police officer.
Read's attorneys have argued that someone else had to have killed O'Keefe and alleged a coverup.
About 100 supporters of Read rallied outside of Norfolk County Superior Court Friday morning and packed the courtroom for her hearing in Dedham, Massachusetts.
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”It’s awful what they’re doing to her. And we just really want to be there for her every chance that we get," one supporter said outside of court. "She needs our strength.”
The vocal group applauded loudly as Read entered the courtroom and could be heard laughing and groaning at some of the statements made by prosecutor Adam Lally.
On several occasions, Read's attorneys accused prosecutors of withholding evidence or even lying about the facts, which prosecutors strenuously denied. One dispute involved an item prosecutors had said was a "forensically confirmed" human hair found on the bumper of Read's SUV.
Defense attorney Alan Jackson said not only did DNA testing determine that it was not a human hair, but he said the person who conducted the initial examination that indicated it might be a human hair had failed their proficiency exam.
"The history of that hair is somewhat tortured," he said. "The Commonwealth has been trading on that -- that this item found on the back bumper is in fact a human hair. They've gone so far to suggest relevance, saying it's John O'Keefe's hair, that it inculpates my client... But DNA testing was done on it, and the analysis resulted in no human DNA being detected. So after 19 months or so of saying it's human hair on the back of the bumper, it turns out it's not a hair... You can't word salad your way out of that."
But Lally called what Jackson said a "complete misrepresentation" of what the DNA report says. "There is nothing being hidden here or kept from the defendant," he said.
The defense also argued Friday that it should be given access to and the ability to independently test evidence they said has been in possession of the Commonwealth since January 2022 — including samples taken from O'Keefe's clothing and body and pieces of taillight.
Defense lawyers said Read has been wrongfully denied access to evidence items over the duration of the case.
Read's team is also looking to get access to elements related to the law enforcement investigation, including photographs and handwritten notes related the recovery of taillight pieces, as well as investigatory notes.
"It's been a year and a half since Karen Read was arraigned," defense attorney Elizabeth Little said. "The defense still has not been allowed to so much as look at the physical evidence the commonwealth has had in its possession for 21 months and has so desperately withheld from the defense out of fear of what it might show."
"That is unacceptable, that is unconstitutional," she added.
Lally, however, argued that prosecutors are not withholding evidence, adding that there is still some testing being performed.
"It's merely an issue of timing," he said. "Any suggestion that we're desperately withholding evidence from the defense because we're afraid of what it might show is just patently ridiculous... The lab still isn't done."
Prosecutors are also seeking access to footage from interviews Read conducted with NBC and ABC. Defense attorneys did not object to the motion, but another hearing will have to be held first to give lawyers for the television stations an opportunity to make their case. They were not in attendance at Friday's hearing.
The defense team asked Judge Beverly Cannone Friday to reduce bail from $80,000 to personal recognizance in exchange for Read turning in her passport and signing a waiver of rendition in case she leaves the state. Attorney David Yannetti said the circumstances have changed greatly since bail was originally set, and Read's financial situation has also worsened.
He cited the hair that was found not to be a human hair, lies allegedly told by witnesses and one investigator's ties to some of the people involved in the case as examples of circumstances that have changed since she was first charged.
Lally objected to the motion to reduce Read's bail, but said if the judge does grant the ruling, Read should also be prohibited from consuming alcohol given the nature of the case. The judge took the matter under advisement, saying she needs the defense to submit a full financial affidavit before she can make a ruling.
Read left court with her attorney following the nearly two-hour hearing. She didn’t speak, but Jackson did -- taking aim at Norfolk County DA Michael Morrissey, who has rejected the suggestion of a coverup.
"I have something to say directly to Mr. Morrissey, right here, right now," Jackson said before emphatically adding, "So listen up, Sir. And I’ll speak slowly, so you understand. Michael Morrissey we ain’t got no quit.”
The judge set a trial date on Friday, as well as a number of deadlines related to outstanding evidence. The trial, which has gained national attention, is now set to begin on March 12, 2024.
