Karen Read’s murder trial continues into week four, and more testimony from last week’s Massachusetts state trooper, who is expected to finish May 12, 2025. Read, 45, is on trial for the death of her boyfriend John O’Keefe, who was found dead in the snow in January 2022. Prosecutors claim Read purposefully hit O’Keefe with her SUV after an argument broke out between the two. She argues she is a part of a cover-up orchestrated by fellow Boston Police Officers. Read maintains her innocence, but if she is convicted, she could spend the rest of her life in prison.
Trooper Yuri Bukhenik’s Testimony
Last week ended on Friday with Massachusetts State Trooper Yuri Bukhenik providing provocative testimony of “flirtatious” text messages between Karen Read and another officer. He has spent two days thus far testifying on behalf of the prosecution. His testimony is expected to continue on Monday, May 12.
On the first day Bukhenik testified, he explained O’Keefe’s injuries to the jurors and what Karen Read initially told them after he was found. During the defense’s cross-examination, Bukhenik was heavily interrogated about his level of integrity and the investigation. On the second day of testimony, Friday, May 9, he read text messages sent by Read and Brian Higgins in the month leading to John O’Keefe’s death.
In those texts, Karen Read confided in Higgins, admitting her relationship with O’Keefe was falling apart, especially after he became the sole provider for his niece and nephew. She also accused O’Keefe of cheating on her, which is well known to the jury at this point. Bukhenik testified that while certain texts came off as “flirtatious,” he believed some portrayed attempting to get revenge. “Emotional revenge,” Bukhenik said. “She’s trying to hook up with Higgins and then hurt (O’Keefe) by cheating on him.”
The texts were read aloud to the jury by Bukhenik, who explained they showed a mutual romantic interest between Karen Read and Higgins. After a while, Read said she did not want to discontinue their communication, but they had no contact for five days. Higgins initiated contact again after seeing Read out with O’Keefe at the bar the last night he was seen alive. When the defense asked if Bukhenik thought Read was ghosting Higgins, he said, “One could read into it in that manner.”
Third Day of Trooper Testimony
On May 12, Bukhenik walked jurors through the day he found O’Keefe’s body. He described Read’s demeanor as calm and stoic. However, he agrees with the theory that Karen Read hit O’Keefe with her car. He opened sealed evidence bags containing O’Keefe’s jeans and pieces of a taillight found at the crime scene.
With that evidence, he said, “All the evidence, all the statements, all the digital, all the circumstantial, all that information is coupled, put together, capped off by the defendant’s statements herself to form the case.”
He looked for other angles, including whether Higgins could be responsible. He told prosecutors that he searched phone records for evidence to corroborate that theory, but had no luck. Read’s defense attorney questioned Bukhenik if he found any motive for Higgins to confront O’Keefe, but did not and left it at that without another thought.
Read’s defense ended his questioning by suggesting there was an alcohol-fueled fight between the two, and O’Keefe’s body was dragged outside into the snow. According to the trooper, there was no evidence on the victim’s clothing to suggest he was dragged, but he did not take further steps to test the clothing forensically.
Live Updates of The Karen Read Trial
If you want to watch the Karen Read trial live, visit CourtTV to view the proceedings from Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. CourtTV has been following the murder case since the investigation started. Proceedings begin every weekday at 9 a.m. ET.
