Karen Read Murder Trial: Defense Expert Shatters Prosecution Theory on John O'Keefe Death
Sarah Johnson
June 9, 2025
Brief
Karen Read's murder trial takes a dramatic turn as a defense expert challenges the prosecution's theory on John O'Keefe's death.
In a dramatic turn of events on the 29th day of Karen Read's murder trial, a crash reconstruction expert delivered a significant challenge to the prosecution's narrative. Read is accused of fatally striking her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, with her 2021 Lexus SUV during a historic blizzard on January 29, 2022, and leaving him to perish in the cold. But the defense is fighting back with compelling evidence that could turn the case on its head.
Dr. Daniel Wolfe, a reconstructionist from ARCCA, testified that the damage to Read's SUV does not align with the prosecution's claim of a deadly impact. This testimony bolsters the defense's argument that O'Keefe's death was not caused by Read's vehicle. Instead, as defense attorney David Yannetti suggested, O'Keefe may have been 'placed' near a flagpole outside a home in Canton, Massachusetts, after sustaining injuries elsewhere.
Further intrigue surrounds upcoming testimony from Dr. Elizabeth Laposata, a forensic pathologist whose insights into O'Keefe's injuries could shed new light on how and where they occurred. Judge Beverly Cannone is set to hold an evidentiary hearing to determine the scope of her statements before the jury.
While the prosecution maintains that Read struck O'Keefe, causing a fatal fall, Wolfe did concede under cross-examination that fragments of a taillight could have contributed to facial injuries. Still, the defense holds firm that Read never hit O'Keefe, pointing to alternative explanations for his tragic end after a night of partying south of Boston.
Charged with second-degree murder, drunken driving manslaughter, and leaving the scene, Read faces a potential life sentence if convicted. After a deadlocked jury in her first trial last year, the stakes couldn't be higher as this case nears its conclusion. The question remains: will the jury see through the storm of evidence to uncover the truth?
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Editor's Comments
Well, folks, this trial is turning into a blizzard of its own—facts flying everywhere, and nobody’s quite sure where they’ll land! I can’t help but wonder if the prosecution’s theory got lost in the storm, much like a certain SUV’s taillight fragments. If O’Keefe was ‘placed’ by that flagpole, as the defense suggests, who’s playing musical chairs with a body in the middle of a snowstorm? Sounds like a chilling game I’d rather not join!
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