2 weeks Ago By USA TODAY
A string of text messages detailing a fraying relationship. The accused woman telling a reporter about adding two shots of vodka to her vodka tonic. A friend who spent an evening drinking with the woman and the boyfriend she’s accused of killing.
The retrial of Karen Read , a Massachusetts woman accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, continued on Thursday and experts watching the case say the strategies of the two sides are coming into view. “Both sides are going to score points with this jury,” said David Ring , a high-profile trial lawyer following the case out of Dedham, Massachusetts. “They're going to be torn between the prosecutors’ theory that this is a straightforward case of a lady who is drunk and mad at her boyfriend versus the defense’s that this is a giant cover-up.
” Prosecutors say Read hit O’Keefe, 46, with her SUV and left him for dead. Read says Boston-area first responders conspired to frame her for the Keefe's death in January 2022, when the former police officer was found mortally wounded outside a Canton, Massachusetts, home. The trial comes after the jury in the first trial couldn't reach a unanimous decision and ended with a hung jury in July 2024 .
Interest in the case has swept the country since then, spurring an array of true crime podcasts, movies and television shows. The presiding judge in the case, Beverly Cannone , has barred supporters of either side from demonstrating within 200 feet of the courthouse. Here are a few takeaways from the latest day of testimony.
Karen Read trial: Trooper reads strained texts between John O'Keefe and defendant Karen Read first full day takeaways: Alleged murder in the snow brings tearful testimony Prosecutors aim to show the real Karen Read Ring, whose trial work includes bringing a case against Harvey Weinstein that ended with a 16-year prison sentence for the movie mogul, said prosecutors are aiming to show who the real Karen Read is in her second trial. In the 2024 trial, Ring said the jury heard very little from Read. Prosecutors are taking a different tact the second time, using clips of Read talking about the case with reporters.
The clips include one played on Thursday showing Read talking about how much she drank the night before O’Keefe was found dead and another played on Wednesday showing Read talking about confronting O’Keefe’s mother after her son’s death. “Karen Read’s publicity tour and the interviews she gave are coming back to haunt her,” Ring said. “Karen Read’s own words could be what leads to her conviction.
” Ring noted the video of Read talking about O’Keefe’s mother was shown on Wednesday shortly after Peggy O’Keefe gave tearful testimony about learning about her son’s death. “That was a smart move by the prosecution,” Ring said. “You’re not forgetting about the victims in this case.
” What’s the defense’s strategy? Karen Read’s attorneys are taking an approach of highlighting inconsistencies in the testimony of witnesses involved in the case, according to Sydney Rushing, a criminal defense attorney based in Michigan offering analysis on TikTok. Namely, the defense is aiming to blow up key witnesses by pointing out changes in testimony between what they said to the grand jury, what they said during the first trial and what they've said this week, according to Rushing. “This is a retrial so anything that was said during the first trial can actually be used as impeachment evidence during this trial and that is what Jackson essentially did” Rushing said referring to Read's defense attorney Alan Jackson .
Points of contention included Timothy Nuttall, a firefighter and paramedic who was at the scene back in 2022, testifying in the retrial that he heard Read say "I hit him, I hit him, I hit him." Defense attorney Alan Jackson repeatedly pressed Nuttall about his memory of the incident, called his testimony "inconsistent" and questioned why Nuttall previously testified that Read only said "I hit him" twice. Private messages shown, more from Thursday In addition to video of Read talking about her drinking the night before O’Keefe died, the jury on Thursday also saw a string of text messages showing the strained relationship between the two in the days and hours leading up to his death.
In their messages, O’Keefe and Read discussed their strained relationship, troubles with parenting and plans to see one another. At several points throughout the conversation, O’Keefe and Read bickered and acknowledged they were dissatisfied with the state of their relationship. “Tell me if you're interested in someone else, can’t think of any other reason you are like this,” Read wrote at one point.
O’Keefe replied: “Things haven't been great between us for a while. Ever consider that?” Mike Camerano, a friend of O’Keefe’s, also testified about seeing Read and O’Keefe at a Canton, Massachusetts watering hole the night before O'Keefe's death. Camerano testified that O’Keefe and Read seemed like an affectionate “normal couple” that night at the C.
G. McCarthy’s bar. He said the couple did argue and bicker at times and added that they spent much of their time together, saying he believed Read “didn't want other women around.
" Camerano told prosecutors that he left C.G. McCarthy's early to pick up his son and then his daughter at O’Keefe’s house before heading home.
When he awoke the next morning, Camerano said he had missed calls from his wife and Read. “I was panicked,” he said. Contributing: Karissa Waddick This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Did she do it or was she framed? Takeaways in Karen Read murder trial.
