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Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Yahoo
Experts weigh in on key moments that could decide Karen Read's fate in murder trial
Karen Read's retrial in the death of Boston cop John O'Keefe is near an end after more than a month's worth of pivotal testimony. Experts say key moments decided the case in their minds. Now her fate is in the hands of jurors. For David Gelman, a Philadelphia-area defense attorney and former prosecutor, that moment was when special prosecutor Hank Brennan played police dashcam video of the crime scene, showing Read's frantic reaction to finding her boyfriend unresponsive in the snow. Fate Of Karen Read Now In Jury's Hands As Murder Trial Reaches Critical Phase "Showing the video of O'Keefe's body, the jury saw how Read reacted, and it really puts them at the alleged scene," he told Fox News Digital. "Seeing her reaction in the courtroom is a big moment. The jury I guarantee wanted to see her reaction." Jack Lu, a retired Massachusetts judge and Boston College law professor, said the key moments were peppered throughout the trial whenever Brennan played clips from Read's many televised interviews, putting her words in front of the jury without her taking the stand in her own defense. Read On The Fox News App "She boxed herself in," he said. Brennan reused some of those clips in his closing argument Friday to dramatic effect, he added. Karen Read Trial Nears Its Finale: What Each Side Is Banking On WATCH: Prosecution plays Karen Read interview clip before resting case in trial "I cannot identify a better trial lawyer I have personally observed in 40 plus years at the Massachusetts bar," he said of the special prosecutor. But the defense also put on a strong case in an effort to contradict the prosecution's entire theory about how O'Keefe died, according to Grace Edwards, a Massachusetts trial attorney who is closely following the case. "The pivotal point for me was learning that ARCCA, having been hired by the defense, did their own testing – and that testing proved there was no collision," she told Fox News Digital. "Add on the testimony of Dr. Laposata to say the injuries were not consistent with being struck by a vehicle and I was sold." Karen Read Announces She Will Not Testify In Her Defense As Massachusetts Trial Nears Conclusion ARCCA, a crash reconstruction firm, sent two scientists to testify in the trial. Both agreed that the damage to Read's car and injuries to O'Keefe were out of alignment. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE True Crime Hub Jurors began deliberating around 2:40 p.m. Friday after both sides had an hour and 15 minutes to give closing arguments and Judge Beverly Cannone spent about an hour reading jury instructions. Cannone selected Juror No. 5 to be the foreperson. The court clerk randomly pulled Nos. 13, 7, 6, 17, 2, and 8 as alternates, and they will not take part in deliberations unless someone is excused. At 4:30 p.m., the judge sent jurors home for the weekend. Deliberations resume Monday morning. Read, 45, is accused of slamming her 2021 Lexus SUV into O'Keefe and leaving him to die on the ground in a blizzard on Jan. 29, 2022. Jurors heard more than 30 days of testimony in a trial that began on April 22. Before that was three weeks of jury selection. Follow The Fox True Crime Team On X Read's first trial ended with a deadlocked jury last year after the panel could not reach a unanimous agreement on all of the charges against her. She is accused of second-degree murder, drunken driving manslaughter and leaving the scene of a deadly accident. Brennan and defense attorney Alan Jackson gave impassioned closing arguments – with diametrically opposed conclusions about the case. Sign Up To Get The True Crime Newsletter The defense asserted that a sloppy investigation and a disgraced lead detective left too many questions unanswered and prematurely accused Read of a crash that never happened. "There was no collision," Jackson told jurors three times to kick off his final argument. Furthermore, police didn't investigate other potential sources of O'Keefe's injuries, interview key witnesses or even follow protocols at the crime scene. But Brennan countered that the defense theories are far-fetched and contradicted by clear evidence – the data from O'Keefe's phone and Read's car, as well as the taillight fragments embedded in his clothes. "She was drunk. She hit him. And she left him to die," Brennan said. "It's that simple." O'Keefe, described by friends as a selfless 46-year-old who took in his orphaned niece and nephew, may even have survived if someone had called for help after he fell, Brennan suggested. Gelman, who has won and lost in trials as both a prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney, said both sides put on powerful cases from start to finish. "Both closed strong," he said. "But if it's even, that's reasonable doubt."Original article source: Experts weigh in on key moments that could decide Karen Read's fate in murder trial
Boston Globe
12-06-2025
- Boston Globe
Judge hears arguments over whether to admit presentation into evidence in Karen Read trial. Follow live updates.
With jury gone, lawyers return to court in Read case — 9:25 a.m. .cls-1{clip-path:url(#clippath);}.cls-2,.cls-3{fill:none;}.cls-2,.cls-3,.cls-4{stroke-width:0px;}.cls-5{clip-path:url(#clippath-1);}.cls-3{clip-rule:evenodd;} Link copied By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff Both sides in Karen Read's murder retrial will appear in court Thursday for a hearing before they deliver closing arguments to jurors on Friday. The hearing is known as a charge conference, where the parties hash out instructions the jury will receive before they start deliberating. Jurors won't be present for Thursday's proceedings. The parties are also awaiting a ruling from Judge Beverly J. Cannone on whether the jury can view a PowerPoint presentation from ARCCA, a Philadelphia-based crash reconstruction firm whose experts found the damage to Read's SUV and the injuries to the victim, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, weren't consistent with O'Keefe being struck by the vehicle, a finding at odds with government experts who also testified. Advertisement Read, 45, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and other counts for allegedly backing her Lexus in a drunken rage into O'Keefe, her boyfriend, early on Jan. 29, 2022, after dropping him off outside a Fairview Road home in Canton following a night of bar-hopping. Her lawyers say she was framed and that O'Keefe entered the property, owned at the time by a fellow Boston police officer, where he was fatally beaten and possibly mauled by a German Shepherd before his body was planted on the front lawn. Read's first trial ended in a hung jury and she remains free on bail.
New York Post
12-06-2025
- New York Post
Karen Read trial testimony ends with defense expert dismantling Lexus crash allegation
Karen Read's defense saved her strongest witness for last, experts tell Fox News Digital, bringing in Dr. Andrew Rentschler to try to debunk the prosecution's claims about how her boyfriend, Boston cop John O'Keefe, died. Jurors have the day off Thursday and will begin deliberations after receiving instructions from the judge and listening to closing arguments Friday. Read, 45, is accused of hitting O'Keefe, 46, with her 2021 Lexus LX 570 SUV on Jan. 29, 2022, and leaving him to die on the ground with a skull fracture during a blizzard. Her defense denies that her vehicle ever struck O'Keefe, and Rentschler spent two days on the stand explaining how he came to the conclusion that O'Keefe's injuries were inconsistent with a vehicle strike on a pedestrian. 'I do not believe that injury is consistent with being struck by an SUV at approximately 24 miles an hour,' he testified. O'Keefe had no broken bones on his right arm, only superficial abrasions, he testified. Based on his testing at ARCCA, a crash reconstruction firm, he said that the arm should have sustained more serious damage. 5 Crash reconstruction expert Dr. Andrew Rentschler served as the last witness for the defense in Karen Read's case. AP Rentschler said he did not believe Read's SUV could have struck O'Keefe based on his injuries and ARCCA testing. But special prosecutor Hank Brennan grilled him on cross-examination, questioning how thorough his testing was and forcing him to concede that he did not take into account shattered pieces of taillight on the ground near O'Keefe and embedded in his clothes. 'The prosecutor will definitely zero-in on this in closing,' said David Gelman, a Philadelphia-area criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor. 'The closings will be key for both parties now. Brennan and [defense attorney Alan] Jackson are both strong personalities, so this is going to be big.' Brennan also revealed Wednesday afternoon that he will not call a rebuttal witness to the stand before the case goes to jurors. In what could boil down to a so-called battle of the experts, legal analysts say Rentschler was a solid choice to close out the case. 5 Karen Read talked with her defense team before the start of court on Wednesday. AP 'He methodically explained why the DA's theory of an SUV-pedestrian strike doesn't hold up,' said Mark Bederow, the New York City-based attorney representing Read ally and Canton blogger Aidan Kearney. 'The lack of arm injuries, the lack of holes in the hoodie, which doesn't come close to corresponding with the amount abrasions, the final location of John O'Keefe not making sense.' He argued that Rentschler's showing could have prompted Brennan to 'wave the white flag' rather than call Dr. Judson Welcher back to the stand for rebuttal. Welcher drew the opposite conclusion from Rentschler – testifying that in his opinion, Read's SUV clipped O'Keefe with a glancing blow, knocking him off-balance before he fell and cracked his skull. 5 A still image from an ARCCA reconstruction test showed an SUV taillight shattering during the Karen Read retrial. AP 5 Dr. Rentschler does not believe that O'Keefe was hit by a car. AP 'The defense could not have finished the trial any stronger than they did,' Bederow said. Jack Lu, a retired Massachusetts judge and Boston College law professor, said having Rentschler go last was both a standard strategy and a good one. 'What stood out is that he was steadfast that Dr. Welcher's testimony about simulating the contact was fallacious. Counterpoint: so was Rentschler's,' Lu told Fox News Digital. 5 Dr. Rentschler was cross-examined by special prosecutor Hank Brennan during the Karen Read retrial on Wednesday. AP He said both are part of a profit-based consulting industry and at points, their testing came across as absurd. 'You have a disembodied arm hitting a Lexus, versus a grease-painted expert getting hit at low speed by a Lexus,' he said. Cannone gave jurors the day off Thursday so the sides can hold a charging conference. The panel returns Friday for jury instructions and closing arguments.
Fox News
11-06-2025
- Fox News
Special prosecutor grills Karen Read's final witness, turning up the heat on his credibility
Cross-examination is underway of Karen Read's final witness - a crash reconstructionist and biomechanical engineer who testified that John O'Keefe's injuries were inconsistent with being struck by the defendant's SUV as alleged by prosecutors. The witness is Dr. Andrew Rentschler, the second expert from a firm called ARCCA to take the stand. Special prosecutor Hank Brennan tried repeatedly to have the firm's findings limited or withheld completely in the case. Using Rentschler's own words, Brennan asked him if "facts matter." "You said it many, many times, 'facts matter,' Isn't that correct?" Brennan asked. "It was details," Rentschler said. "But facts matter too." Brennan pressed Renstchler on details about his testimony under direct questioning from defense lawyer Alan Jackson earlier in the day, when he said O'Keefe's remains were found between 10 and 20 feet from the side of the road. Then he showed a still image from police dashcam video of the initial response, showing witnesses near the side of the road, presumably over O'Keefe's remains. "Details matter, don't they?" Brennan asked. Brennan has accused ARCCA of destroying text messages with the defense they were ordered to give to prosecutors as well as slow-walking discovery disclosures. He also grilled Rentschler on whether he considered broken pieces of taillight in the yard where O'Keefe was found dead. He said he hadn't. "That wasn't part of my analysis," he testified. He also hadn't considered how O'Keefe's hat wound up on the ground or the taillight fragments recovered from his clothes. Rentschler's testimony began Tuesday and kicked off again Wednesday morning with a series of objections from Brennan that led Judge Beverly Cannone to interrupt the witness after he told jurors he had three children and wished his 10-year-old a happy birthday. "So I was going to say I have three kids, a 9-year-old who's actually turning 10 today -- happy birthday Kai -- and I have two older ones," Rentschler began. "All right, I'm going to, we're going to stop this -- [use] another example," said Judge Beverly Cannone after an objection from special prosecutor Hank Brennan. Read is accused of mowing down O'Keefe after a night of drinking and leaving him to die as she went to his house and left him raging voicemails as his niece and nephew slept in the home. He had taken them in after they were orphaned when his sister and brother-in-law died within months of one another. "Was it appropriate? I think it's his personality," said David Gelman, a Philadelphia-area defense attorney and former prosecutor who is following the trial. "It may have missed the mark, but it's a breath of fresh air since experts are usually boring." Grace Edwards, a Massachusetts trial lawyer who is also following the case, said the judge likely Rentschler off because narrative answers can distract from the facts of the case. "The story can lead to a long answer that could be potentially off-topic or the jury could take from it something else that was not intended, like 'Happy Birthday,' and only remember that part," she told Fox News Digital. "The judge wanted the witness refocused to specific questions with focused answers rather than potentially rambling about his three kids." Rentschler insisted that "details matter" repeatedly as he explained the basics of the scientific method and took issue with another expert report from the firm Aperture, retained by the prosecution. Aperture labeled the injuries to O'Keefe's arm "lacerations," he said -- a term that he testified contradicts the findings of the official autopsy, which described them as "superficial abrasions." GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB "The superficial abrasions and abrasions occur when there's rubbing or scraping of the skin, and it just rubs away the top layer, the epidermis of the skin," he testified. "Now, a laceration is an actual a jagged, ripping or tearing of the skin which gets down through the epidermis into the dermis. So abrasions take much less force. They're less severe than what a laceration actually is." Based on his testing, he said that he ruled out an impact with Read's 2021 Lexus LX 570 SUV and O'Keefe's arm as the cause of those injuries. "They're inconsistent with striking the tail light or being produced as a result of contact with the tail light," he testified. The prosecution claims that these minor injuries came from an impact with Read's broken taillight after she allegedly drove into him on Jan. 29, 2022 and left him to die on the ground in the snow. The defense denies a collision and has claimed the injuries came from dog teeth and claws. Aperture's Dr. Judson Welcher testified earlier, based on digital forensics of phone and vehicle data, that Read's SUV reversed at 75% throttle right before O'Keefe's last conscious interaction with his cellphone.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
Karen Read judge cuts off witness who sends 'happy birthday' wish to 10-year-old from stand
The judge overseeing Karen Read's retrial on murder charges in the death of Boston cop John O'Keefe cut off the defense's final witness Wednesday morning after he told jurors he had three children and wished his 10-year-old a happy birthday. "So I was going to say I have three kids, a 9-year-old who's actually turning 10 today – happy birthday Kai – and I have two older ones," said Dr. Andrew John Rentschler, a biomechanical engineer and accident reconstructionist from a firm called ARCCA. "All right, I'm going to, we're going to stop this – [use] another example," said Judge Beverly Cannone after an objection from special prosecutor Hank Brennan. Brennan has repeatedly tried to have Rentschler's testimony blocked or limited. The ARCCA scientists dispute the state's version of events – and have also been accused of destroying text messages with the defense they were ordered to give to prosecutors as well as slow-walking discovery disclosures. Final Defense Witness In Karen Read Trial Pumps Brakes On Lexus Collision Theory Read is accused of mowing down O'Keefe after a night of drinking and leaving him to die as she went to his house and left him raging voicemails as his niece and nephew slept in the home. He had taken them in after they were orphaned when his sister and brother-in-law died within months of one another. Read On The Fox News App "Was it appropriate? I think it's his personality," said David Gelman, a Philadelphia-area defense attorney and former prosecutor who is following the trial. "It may have missed the mark, but it's a breath of fresh air since experts are usually boring." Grace Edwards, a Massachusetts trial lawyer who is also following the case, said the judge likely cut Rentschler off because narrative answers can distract from the facts of the case. Karen Read Reveals She Will Not Testify In Her Own Defense "The story can lead to a long answer that could be potentially off-topic or the jury could take from it something else that was not intended, like 'Happy Birthday,' and only remember that part," she told Fox News Digital. "The judge wanted the witness refocused to specific questions with focused answers rather than potentially rambling about his three kids." Follow The Fox True Crime Team On X Rentschler insisted that "details matter" repeatedly as he explained the basics of the scientific method and took issue with another expert report from the firm Aperture, retained by the prosecution. Aperture labeled the injuries to O'Keefe's arm "lacerations," he said – a term that he testified contradicts the findings of the official autopsy, which described them as "superficial abrasions." GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE True Crime Hub "The superficial abrasions and abrasions occur when there's rubbing or scraping of the skin, and it just rubs away the top layer, the epidermis of the skin," he testified. "Now, a laceration is an actual jagged, ripping or tearing of the skin which gets down through the epidermis into the dermis. So abrasions take much less force. They're less severe than what a laceration actually is." Sign Up To Get The True Crime Newsletter Based on his testing, he said that he ruled out an impact with Read's 2021 Lexus LX 570 SUV and O'Keefe's arm as the cause of those injuries. "They're inconsistent with striking the taillight or being produced as a result of contact with the taillight," he testified. The prosecution claims that these minor injuries came from an impact with Read's broken taillight after she allegedly drove into O'Keefe on Jan. 29, 2022 and left him to die on the ground in the snow. The defense denies a collision and has claimed the injuries came from dog teeth and claws. Aperture's Dr. Judson Welcher testified earlier, based on digital forensics of phone and vehicle data, that Read's SUV reversed at 75% throttle right before O'Keefe's last conscious interaction with his article source: Karen Read judge cuts off witness who sends 'happy birthday' wish to 10-year-old from stand
