Defense attorneys in Karen Read 's second murder trial brought in a snowplow driver on Wednesday as they continue making their argument she was framed for killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe.
Read, 45, is accused of fatally striking O'Keefe with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow outside another officer's home when she dropped him off at a party in January 2022 after the two had been drinking. She's charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene outside Boston.
Her lawyers say O’Keefe, 46, was beaten inside the home, bitten by a family dog and then left outside as part of a conspiracy by the police that included planting evidence against Read.
A mistrial was declared last year and so far, Read's second trial has followed similar contours to the first.
Snowplow driver says he doesn't remember seeing a body
Snowplow driver Brian Loughran, who was on his regular route during a storm early on Jan. 29, 2022, told the defense that he “saw nothing” when he passed by the house several hours after O'Keefe was allegedly struck by Read's vehicle around 12:30 a.m.
O'Keefe was found unresponsive outside Brian Albert’s home in Canton, Massachusetts, and was later pronounced dead at a hospital. An autopsy found O’Keefe died of hypothermia and blunt force trauma.
Loughran said he passed by the house several times starting around 2:45 a.m. and could see several feet in front of him inside his trucks due to its strong lights.
On the second pass, Loughran said he did see a car parked in the road in front of the house. He said he knew Albert and his family, and decided not to report the car for violating snowstorm parking restrictions as a courtesy for being a first responder.
Under cross examination, prosecutors attempted to undermine Loughran's memory, saying that the times he provided Wednesday contradict his initial testimony during the first trial. For example, prosecutor Hank Brennan pointed out that Loughran originally said he remembered the street where O'Keefe was found blocked off by first responders around 5:30 a.m. but on Wednesday, Loughran said it was closer to 6:15 a.m.
When Brennan asked if Loughran had a “foggy” memory, Loughran said he did not — only that he had made a mistake.
Brennan also asked if Loughran had been threatened by a confrontational blogger known as "Turtleboy" to help the defense's case. Aidan Timothy Kearney, who was in the courtroom on Wednesday, has advocated heavily in support of Read's innocence. He has been charged with harassing, threatening and intimidating witnesses in the case.
Loughran said Kearney never threatened him, but the blogger did call him and did not disclose he was recording the conversation. The call was later posted online.
A dog bite expert is quizzed
The jury has repeatedly been shown photos of the gashes and scrapes on O’Keefe’s arms, and saw them again on Tuesday.
Prosecutors challenged an assessment by Dr. Marie Russell, a retired emergency medicine physician, who said the wounds on O’Keefe’s arms were the result of a dog attack.
Russell testified Monday she has treated hundreds of dog attacks and bites over nearly 30 years and became interested in the Read case after seeing a news report about questions over whether O’Keefe was attacked by a dog before he died.
“These multiple groupings are patterns and they are, in my opinion, by the teeth and claws of a dog,” Russell said, pointing to a photo of O’Keefe’s arm. She described the wounds as linear and going in a similar direction.
Upon leaving court at the end of the day, Read briefly addressed reporters and said she thought Russell was “fantastic” on the stand.
Prosecutors ask what makes someone a dog bite expert
The prosecution had earlier sought to block Russell from testifying, questioning her credibility. Although the judge allowed her to take the stand, the prosecution renewed their scrutiny and noted Russell never testified before as a dog bite expert and hasn't taken a dog bite forensics course — however she said she was unsure any such certification or training existed.
Prosecutor Hank Brennan asked Russell on Tuesday if there was any universally accepted standard for identifying dog bites. Russell said there was not.
Brennan also pressed Russell about changing her testimony from saying the wounds were caused by “teeth or nails” to specifically naming “canines.”
“When you testified, December 2024, you didn't say nails could have caused these wounds, you didn't say generally teeth, you said canines,” Brennan said.
“I believe that is true,” Russell responded, saying she “became more certain” the wounds were from canine teeth.
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