The judge overseeing the Karen Read murder case has declined to push back the start of the trial, which prosecutors and defense attorneys recently asked for as they awaited evidence in the controversial case.
The second-degree murder charge against Read for the death of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, two years ago in Canton, Massachusetts, has drawn national attention. The state alleges Read hit O'Keefe with her vehicle and left him for dead in the snow outside a home, while Read alleges she is being framed in a large-scale coverup.
Read appeared in person at Thursday's hearing in Norfolk Superior Court, where Judge Beverly Cannone considered whether two different sets of evidence would be processed fast enough for the trial to go forward as scheduled, on March 12.
The joint motion from the defense and prosecution stated that both sides took part in a conference call last month with the U.S. Attorney's Office for Massachusetts, which said it would produce information for both parties that had not yet been received.
In court, the sides said they heard from the federal prosecutors Wednesday night, and they expected to be able to submit the information they requested by the end of the week.
The sides were still waiting for evidence from DNA samples and cellphone records as well, and Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally said the DNA evidence was the reason he'd agreed about moving the case back. The private lab to which the evidence was sent told him Wednesday that they expect to have the testing complete by March 1.
During the discussion, Cannone asked Read's lawyer, David Yannetti, if the court still needed to be concerned about canine DNA — one theory the defense has discussed is that O'Keefe's injuries were more consistent with a dog bite than being hit by a car — and Yannetti said no, without elaborating. NBC10 Boston has reached out to see if that's because the evidence has been obtained already or because it's not part of the defense's argument.
The parties are due for another hearing Feb. 26, when Cannone will consider the defense's motion to dismiss the case.
The coverup allegations — which prosecutors deny, as Read denies killing O'Keefe — have turned the case into among the most closely watched criminal proceedings in Massachusetts in years.
More on the Karen Read case
Read and O'Keefe were out drinking Jan. 28, 2022, with a group of people including Boston Police Officer Brian Albert. Members of the group went back to Albert's Fairview Road home, and Read says she dropped O'Keefe off there and went home. He was found the next morning and pronounced dead at a hospital.
Prosecutors allege Read hit O'Keefe with her SUV and left him to die. But Read's attorneys say evidence points to O'Keefe being attacked inside the home and brought outside, arguing, among other points, that the wounds on his body are not consistent with a crash.
The defense has also argued that Jennifer McCabe, who was in the group that went out and returned to Albert's home, Googled "ho[w] long to die in cold" hours before 911 was called to report O'Keefe had been found.
Read's claims have prompted arguments of what records should be available to her attorneys, and the case has divided the town of Canton, which voted for an independent audit of its police department.
Last month, an affidavit from the Massachusetts State Police alleged that Read sent confidential information to Aidan Kearney — the blogger known as Turtleboy, who has long advocated on her behalf — in more than 40 hours of conversations during 189 phone calls and other methods of communication. She allegedly provided personal details about witnesses, autopsy photographs, crime scene photographs, images of her car and the 911 call made when O'Keefe's body was found.
Kearney's coverage of the case, which has garnered extensive attention, had previously led prosecutors to charge him with witness intimidation.
"Free Karen Read" merchandise with the Turtleboy logo remains available for sale on his site, and past stories have said proceeds go to a fund for Read's legal defense. In posts since the revelation, Kearney said he had not admitted publicly to communicating with Read because she "was an anonymous source."
His attorney, Timothy J. Bradl, said in a statement that the affidavit "is an investigation without a crime," adding that "The only crime here is the robbery of privacy."
Kearney's bail on the witness intimidation charges was revoked after he was charged with assault and battery following allegations from a woman he was dating.
