As far as crimes go, this one shook Boston up. This trial is highly suspenseful. The sentencing is deeply anticipated as it’s a wonder for everyone, including the jury, whether Karen Read is a femme fatale or the victim of a coverup. Especially since the truth is solely with the deceased, and the events that took place blur everyone’s vision to the truth.
The prosecution argues that she is a killer, and the defense argues that the state and local law enforcement officials have framed her. Is she’s the victim of a coverup? Let’s take a deeper look into this situation.
What Happened with Karen Read?
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That night, Read, 44, and her boyfriend, police officer John O’Keefe met friends at the Waterfall Bar & Grille for drinks. After the bar closed, mutual friends, the Alberts, invited everyone to their house on Fairview Rd. This is where Karen Read’s Lexus 570 SUV was reported being seen. Later on, a distraught Read calls 911 to report her boyfriend’s death in the snow at the Albert’s residence. Police and emergency services arrive, and soon after O’Keefe is declared dead at the Good Samaritan Hospital.
The autopsy revealed that the cause of death is hypothermia and blunt force trauma. Read is subsequently charged with second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter while driving under the influence, and leaving the scene of a collision causing injury or death. If convicted, she will be facing life in prison.
Karen Read’s Trial
The Prosecution
Prosecutor Adam Lally argued that Read murdered O’Keefe since forensic evidence from Read’s SUV in addition to O’Keefe’s injuries indicated that she struck O’Keefe with her SUV, hit him again when he was down, and abandoned him in the snow to freeze to death. As crime scene reconstruction data shows that Read’s car reversed 60 feet at a speed of 22 mph around the time she’s believed to have hit O’Keefe with her car. Additionally, Lally pointed out that Read repeatedly blamed herself with statements such as “I hit him” as admissions of guilt.
The prosecution tried to portray Read and O’Keefe’s relationship as a rocky one, as O’Keefe’s sister-in-law testified that Read told her that she fought with O’Keefe in Aruba, after allegedly seeing him kissing the sister of a friend with whom they were on vacation with, the morning before O’Keefe died. Furthermore, firefighter Nuttall said that Karen Read kept repeating, “I hit him, I hit him.” Also, responding officer Steven Saraf, said he heard her say, “This is my fault, I can’t believe this happened.”
The Defense
Defense attorney, David Yannetti, argued that Read was framed and did not kill O’Keefe. Yannetti questions the reliability of evidence or witnesses in the investigation led by Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, who targeted Read because of his personal ties to the Albert family. Proctor never searched inside the Albert home for signs of a struggle since they claimed that there was no probable cause.
Yannetti accused Proctor of falsifying reports to give the wrong time for when he impounded Read’s car. It was only after he seized Karen Read’s car that investigator’s started finding taillight pieces at the crime scene, the defense said. Noting that Proctor’s prints were found on the evidence, as well. However, two police officers who responded to the scene testified that they did not observe any red plastic or broken taillight pieces in the crime scene.
The next day, the defense challenged the witnesses’ memories of Read’s comments by referring to previous statements they gave that appeared inconsistent with their testimony. One called it an ‘oversight’ that he did not include the admission in his report, and another insisted that the comment did come from Read herself in response to his question. On top of that, another responding officer did not remember Read making the same statements, but he did say she kept yelling, ‘Is he dead, is he dead?”
The defense even highlighted that Firefighter Katie McLaughlin, who testified the defendant Karen Read repeatedly said, “I hit him, I hit him,” has ties to the Albert family. McLaughlin and Caitlin Albert knew each other in high school and were part of the same circle of friends. McLaughlin claimed that they weren’t that close, and she was objectively doing her work, but the defense accused her of perjury as according to the defense, one picture captured them at a party as recently as June of 2021.
The Jury
The jury was taken on Friday to view the crime scene and Karen Read’s SUV. Jurors took turns looking inside the vehicle and at least one crouched down to look underneath. It is also worth mentioning that police collected evidence in red plastic cups borrowed from neighbors and put them in a Stop & Shop paper bag. Investigators said that they had to improvise and that it was not standard procedure.
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