Court video: Final Karen Read hearing before 2nd murder trial starts next week
The Karen Read case returned to court Tuesday for one final hearing before the start of her second murder trial next week.
Read, 45, of Mansfield, is accused of hitting John O’Keefe, her Boston police officer, with her Lexus SUV in Canton on Jan. 29, 2022, and leaving him to die after a night of drinking. The defense has sought to portray Read as the victim, saying O’Keefe was actually killed inside the Albert family home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton and then dragged outside and left for dead.
The prosecution and defense argued whether third-party culprit evidence should be allowed after Read’s lawyers claimed Brian Albert, Brian Higgins, and Colin Albert each had the “motive, intent, and opportunity to commit the crime” that resulted in O’Keefe’s death.
On Tuesday afternoon, Judge Beverly Cannone denied Read’s lawyers request to dismiss her case, saying in part, “Such a drastic sanction is justified only in response to the most egregious and truly harmful conduct.”
Judge denies motion by Karen Read’s lawyers to dismiss case a week before her retrial
Watch Tuesday’s hearing in its entirety:
WATCH LIVE: Karen Read back in court for what could be final pre-retrial hearing.
WATCH LIVE: Karen Read is back in court for what could be the final pre-retrial hearing before jury selection begins next week.
Posted by Boston 25 News on Tuesday, March 25, 2025
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Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone is expected to entertain a motion from the prosecution that seeks access to all of the texts and emails Read shared with one her attorneys, David Yannetti, in the five days following O’Keefe’s death.
Special Prosecutor Hank Brennan claims Read waived her attorney-client privilege when she gave media interviews about her conservations with Yannetti.
Brennan is also seeking records related to Investigation Discovery’s documentary series “A Body in the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read,” which debuted last week on HBO.
Multiple judges have rejected Read’s efforts to get her retrial delayed.
Read’s attorneys had asked for the delay to allow them time to appeal a federal judge’s ruling that denied a request to have jurors from the first trial questioned about their verdicts her three charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death.
Defense lawyers hope to show that jurors unanimously found Read not guilty of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a crash. They have also argued that Read’s double jeopardy interests haven’t been taken into consideration.
Last week, a Norfolk Superior Court Associate Justice said data on two cellphones belonging to Aidan Kearney, the Worcester-based blogger known as Turtleboy, will be allowed into evidence in the case.
Prosecutors say texts between Kearney and Read will show Read’s “consciousness of guilt.”
Read’s first trial ended with a hung jury in July 2024. Jury selection in her second trial is slated to begin on April 1.
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