Prosecution in Karen Read case turns over 4 pieces of evidence to defense, new court filing shows

NORFOLK, Mass. — The prosecution in the Karen Read murder case has turned over four pieces of evidence to the 44-year-old Mansfield woman’s lawyers, according to a new court filing.

In Norfolk Superior Court “notice of discovery” filing dated Dec. 20, 2024, special prosecutor Hank Brennan stated, “Now comes the Commonwealth in the above-caption matter and indicates that of this date, the following discovery and materials have been provided to the defendant through defense counsel.”

Brennan indicated in the filing that a two-page MSP report, a copy of Lt. Brian Tully’s notes associated with that report, identification documents of “Chloe,” and a four-page copy of a digital forensics analysis report of Jessica Hyde.

Tully testified during Read’s first trial and was later the subject of an internal investigation related to the murder case this past summer. Chloe was the name of the dog that lived with the Albert family. Hyde testified for the prosecution in Read’s first trial, telling the court that a 2:27 a.m. Google search “timestamp” did not mean a search occurred.

Brennan’s court filing only indicates that the items have been turned over to the defense. The actual documents in question didn’t get published.

In a one-page Norfolk Superior Court filing obtained by Boston 25 News on Wednesday, Brennan asked Judge Beverly Cannone to “establish a protective order restricting the public dissemination of all communications” that the prosecution shared with Read’s legal team on Nov. 26, 2024.

“This order is necessary to effectuate the well-established privacy and safety interests of witnesses and the victim’s family,” the prosecution stated in the filing. “Furthermore, certain materials being provided as discovery in this case may be evidence in an unrelated pending criminal case.”

The filing didn’t offer any specific details on the other criminal case mentioned in the filing and Read’s lawyers didn’t oppose the prosecution’s request.

Read is accused of hitting her Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV in January 2022 and leaving him to die in a snowstorm in Canton after a night of drinking.

The defense has sought to portray Read as the victim, saying O’Keefe was actually killed inside fellow police officer Brian Albert’s home and then dragged outside and left for dead.

Earlier this month, Cannone approved a motion from both the prosecution and defense to push the start of Read’s second murder trial back three months from January to April 2025.

The prosecution and defense have said that delaying the retrial would create a “more efficient” presentation of evidence.

Days after Read’s first trial ended with a hung jury and a mistrial, Cannone scheduled Read’s retrial for Jan. 27, 2025.

The SJC is currently determining if jurors who sat through Read’s first trial will be questioned about their deliberations. The SJC will issue a written decision that could take months before it is published.

Read’s lawyers have been fighting to dismiss her second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a deadly crash charge for double jeopardy reasons after multiple jurors told them that the jury agreed to acquit on those counts. Double jeopardy is a legal protection that prohibits anyone from being prosecuted twice for the same crime.

The Office of Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey opposes Read’s bid to get the charges dropped and argues that Cannone was correct when she ruled all of Read’s charges should remain for her retrial.

Cannone also recently denied Brennan’s request for phone records from Read’s parents.

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