The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a double jeopardy appeal filed by Karen Read, who is on trial for the second time on charges she killed her Boston police officer boyfriend in 2022.
A last year after jurors said they were at an impasse. Read鈥檚 defense says trying her again on two of the charges is an unlawful case of double jeopardy. They told the Supreme Court that the jury at her first trial reached a unanimous but unannounced verdict acquitting her, so a second trial on those charges should be barred as double jeopardy.
By rejecting her petition, the justices have effectively cleared the way for her trial to continue. The court didn鈥檛 ask the prosecution to respond to the appeal, a sign the justices did not think there was a difficult legal issue at stake.
What is the Karen Read case about?
Prosecutors say Read backed her SUV into John O鈥橩eefe, 46, after dropping him off at a party hosted by a fellow police officer and returned hours later to find him dead. Defense attorneys say she was a victim of a conspiracy involving the police and they plan, as they did in the first trial, to offer evidence pointing to the real killer. The case has attracted considerable interest in Massachusetts and beyond.
Read, 45, with second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene.
The second trial, which began opening statements and witness testimony April 22, has thus far looked similar to the first. It’s being held in the same courthouse before the same judge, and dozens of Read鈥檚 passionate supporters are again rallying outside. The primary defense lawyers and many of the nearly 200 witnesses will also be the same.
Digital forensics specialist testifies
The trial鈥檚 second week began with digital forensics specialist Ian Whiffin testifying about the role cell phone data played on the day of O鈥橩eefe鈥檚 death.
Whiffin is a former law enforcement officer who went on to work in mobile forensics in the private sector. He testified Monday about an internet search made by Jennifer McCabe, who was with Read the morning they found O’Keefe in the snow.
McCabe made a about how long it takes to die in the cold. Read’s lawyers have said the search happened hours before O’Keefe’s body was discovered, which could implicate her rather than Read. McCabe has said she made the search later at Read’s insistence after the discovery of the body.
Whiffin said Monday the web search was not made at 2:27 a.m., before O’Keefe’s body was found, like the defense has alleged.
Jurors view the crime scene
Jurors in the of Karen Read on Friday visited the Massachusetts neighborhood where her Boston police officer boyfriend was found dead more than three years ago.
On Friday, jurors traveled to Canton, where O’Keefe’s body was found outside the home of Brian Albert on Jan. 29, 2022. Read’s SUV also was parked there for the viewing.
Prosecutor Hank Brennan told jurors to view the scene from different vantage points and reminded them that it would have looked different at night, during a snowstorm. Defense attorney David Yannetti asked jurors to consider the distance between the home’s windows and doors and the front lawn. Jurors also should take a good look at Read’s vehicle, he said.
鈥淪ize it up,鈥 he said. 鈥淭ake it in.鈥
Doctor describes testing Read’s blood alcohol level
Dr. Garrey Faller, former lab director at Good Samaritan Medical Center, testified Friday that Read’s blood alcohol content was 93 milligrams per deciliter, or 0.093%, at 9 a.m. the day O’Keefe was found dead. The legal BAC limit in Massachusetts for driving is 0.08%.
In cross-examining Faller, Read’s attorney suggested that the lab wasn’t using the most reliable type of test or that the results could have been skewed by Read’s medical conditions 鈥 anemia and multiple sclerosis.
鈥淥ur methodology is just as good,鈥 he said.
That testimony came a day after prosecutors showed clips from interviews in which Read described pouring extra shots of alcohol into cocktails she deemed too weak but denying that she was driving recklessly the night O’Keefe died.
Friend describes O鈥橩eefe and Read as an affectionate couple
O鈥橩eefe鈥檚 close friend, Michael Camerano, testified Thursday about the relationship between O鈥橩eefe and Read and their interactions the night he died. He said the couple greeted each other with affection at a Canton bar, and that O鈥橩eefe put his arm around Read and kissed her.
鈥淗e certainly never told you or even suggested that he was thinking about or planning to break up with Karen, right?鈥 defense attorney David Yannetti asked.
鈥淣o,鈥 Camerano said.
鈥淎nd during the month before John鈥檚 passing, that January of 2022, you observed their relationship in your presence to be normal, caring, and affectionate, right?鈥 Yannetti asked.
鈥淵es,鈥 Camerano said.
The defense blames a third party for O’Keefe’s death
The defense’s approach has been to as shoddy and undermined by the close relationship investigators had with the police officers and other law enforcement agents who were at the house party.
Among the key witnesses they will call is former State Trooper Michael Proctor, who led the investigation but has after a disciplinary board found he sent about Read to his family and colleagues. He is also on the prosecution’s witness list.
Proctor鈥檚 testimony was a key moment during the first trial, when the defense suggested his texts about Read and the case showed he was biased and had singled her out early in the investigation, ignoring other potential suspects.
