Karen Read judge in murder trial hears motions from prosecution and defense

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

DEDHAM – A judge has accepted a joint request from prosecutors and the defense team for a new trial Karen Lees will be postponed until April under advice.

Read is a Mansfield woman accused of killing her Boston police officer friend, John O’Keefe, born in Braintree.

Judge Beverly Cannone declared the case a mistrial in July. She has a second trial scheduled to begin on January 27, 2025. The court confirmed this last month Cannone will oversee Read’s second trial.

Cannone heard several motions from both the defense and prosecution during a hearing Wednesday. Special Assistant District Attorney Hank Brennan and Assistant District Attorneys Adam Lally and Laura McLaughlin appeared for the prosecution, while Alan Jackson, David Yannetti and Elizabeth Little Read represented.

Why they want Read’s new trial postponed

The prosecution and defense filed a joint motion in Norfolk Superior Court earlier this month requesting that the trial be postponed until April 1, 2025.

Brennan said he has been working to get up to speed since being appointed to the case in September, but there is still work to be done. He said delaying the trial will make it “more efficient and effective” and will be “in the interests of justice.”

He said the extra work from expert witnesses will take some time, and he doesn’t want attorneys to find themselves in a position of sharing expert reports and testimony when the trial has already begun.

“I want to avoid unfairness to the defense and unfairness to the prosecution at all costs,” he said.

Yannetti agreed, saying it’s not a fair read if discovery isn’t completed well before trial. Discovery is the formal process of exchanging information between the parties about the witnesses and the evidence they will present at trial.

He said both parties have an interest in the case coming to trial “soon,” but fairness is more important.

“She would not be able to get a fair trial at the end of January,” he said.

Will car expert do more testing on Read’s Lexus SUV?

Prosecutors requested more testing on the telematics system of the defendant’s Lexus SUV, which they said could pinpoint the vehicle’s precise location.

Brennan said Shanon Burgess, a digital forensics expert who would conduct the testing, “believes that significant data was likely not obtained during the chip-off procedure.”

Jackson said the defense has no objection to additional testing, but argued that Burgess “fundamentally misunderstood” the information about the data chips, causing the defense to “pause.”

“We are concerned that some data could be destroyed in whatever he does,” he said.

Jackson requested that the defense’s expert witness be included in the testing.

A Daubert hearing, a hearing to determine whether an expert’s testimony is admissible, is scheduled for December 12 at 9 a.m.

Defense asks for the telephone details of the public prosecutor; The prosecutor wants phone records for Read’s father

The defense filed several separate motions this week, including a request for personal emails and cellphone records from Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey.

The defense argues in its motion that Morrissey may have used his personal email and cell phone to communicate with Stoughton District Court staff and judges while Read’s case was previously pending in that court.

Brennan filed a request to obtain William Read’s phone records from the night O’Keefe died.

In a response motion, Read’s attorneys call the request a “fishing expedition” and say prosecutors already have records of conversations between Kareen Read and her father from her phone.

Cannone did not hear these motions, called Rule 17 motions, on Wednesday. A hearing on the motions is scheduled for Nov. 26 at 10 a.m.

Cannone will rule on two motions after hearing

Cannone ruled on two of the motions hours after the hearing.

She ruled that a new prosecution expert should reassemble and test the electronics of Read’s SUV. Cannone gave Read’s defense five days to identify their own expert who would be present during the tests.

Cannone also ordered that side conferences on evidentiary issues from the trial be transcribed and made available to attorneys and the court.

Read charged with second-degree murder

Read was charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence and leaving the scene of personal injury and death after O’Keefe’s body was found outside the home of a fellow Boston police officer during a snowstorm on January 29, 2022. Canton was found. . Prosecutors say Read was drunk and angry when she deliberately hit him. But Read’s attorneys say she was charged in O’Keefe’s death.

Read is also charged with manslaughter while driving drunk and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey recently announced that he has appointed Special Assistant District Attorney Hank Brennan to lead Read’s retrial.

(This story has been updated to add photos.)