DEDHAM, Mass. — The Karen Read murder trial will resume Monday after a three-day break last week.
Read, 44, of Mansfield, is accused of striking O’Keefe with her SUV and leaving him for dead in a snowbank outside 34 Fairview Road in Canton in January 2022 after a night of drinking. She has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder.
The defense’s theory is that O’Keefe was actually beaten up inside the Albert home and dragged outside in a snowstorm and that the Albert family is at the center of an effort to frame Read.
The niece and nephew of late John O’Keefe were called to the stand Tuesday, the last day trial was held, testifying that Read and their uncle had many “disagreements and arguments” during their relationship.
O’Keefe’s nephew testified that he witnessed O’Keefe and Read have “lots of disagreements and arguments,” including during trips to Florida and Aruba.
Doctor Justin Rice revealed that when O’Keefe got to the emergency room, he had no pulse and his body temperature was 80 degrees.
Doctor Rice said O’Keefe had superficial abrasions on his right forearm.
Rice also took blood from Karen Read when she was brought in for a mental health evaluation.
A Massachusetts State Police toxicologist says he used that blood drawn to retroactively calculate that Read would have been drunk at the time the prosecution alleges she struck O’Keefe.
The Sun Chronicle reports state police investigators, accident reconstruction experts, and cellphone experts could be called this week.
In week 3 of trial, Laura Sullivan, a longtime friend of O’Keefe, testified that Read became enraged with O’Keefe during the Aruba trip, accusing him of kissing her sister, Marietta Sullivan, weeks before his death.
O’Keefe’s niece described her uncle’s relationship with Read as “good at the beginning but bad at the end.” She also recalled the Aruba vacation, testifying that there was “yelling in the room” at the resort.
Trial is set to resume Monday morning at 9.
[ ‘Hos long to die in cold’: Defense highlights Google search for hypothermia in Karen Read trial ]
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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