Karen Read case hearing scrutinizes off-the-record interview notes, disputed Google search
DEDHAM - The Karen Read case returned to court Friday for a hearing to consider several pre-trial motions, including whether a journalist's off-the-record notes and recordings can be used at her retrial.
Judge Beverly Cannone in December ruled that prosecutors can have access to the reporter's unedited recordings and notes for a Boston Magazine interview with Read in 2023, as well as an interview her parents William and Janet did with WFXT. A similar effort by the prosecution at Read's first trial was denied "on narrow grounds," the judge said.
Special Prosecutor Hank Brennan has said he'll use the evidence to show how Read's story has changed over time, and claims the interview materials suggest admissions of wrongdoing.
Other topics brought up on Friday included a motion to exclude a digital expert witness from the defense from testifying about Jen McCabe's "hos long to die in cold" Google search, and a bid from Read's legal team to get the state to reimburse a defense expert for more than $12,000 in travel expenses.
Boston Magazine interview notes
Robert Bertsche, a lawyer for journalist Gretchen Voss, asked the court on Friday to reconsider the order requiring Voss to turn over handwritten notes for the Boston Magazine interview that Voss and Read had agreed would be "off-the-record."
"What's in those notes is really a black box," Bertsche said.
Bertsche said allowing prosecutors to go through her notes would force Voss to break her promise to Read and harm her effectiveness as an investigative reporter.
Cannone responded that she may redact parts of the interview notes, but "it's the communication with the defendant that's critical here."
Jen McCabe's Google searches
Brennan argued Friday that there should be a hearing to determine whether defense expert witness Richard Green can testify again about McCabe's controversial Google searches. The prosecution said the Google searches about how long it would take for someone to die in the cold took place in the 6 a.m. hour as McCabe and Read searched for O'Keefe. Green testified for the defense in the first trial that data shows the search happened at 2:27 a.m.
Brennan said Green has not been consistent in characterizing his profession, and his views are not backed up by forensic data.
The defense wants Green to "come before the jury, make these salacious comments, and then leave it to the government to knock it down," Brennan said.
Read's lawyer Robert Alessi said that while Brennan is challenging Green's methodology, the prosecution's own witnesses didn't do that at trial.
"And that is what is so flummoxing as to why we're even here because the methodology is agreed upon," Alessi said.
"So are you telling me that we should have a hearing?" Judge Cannone asked.
"Your honor, there's no need to have a hearing," Alessi responded.
Cannone ruled later on Friday that she will not hold an evidentiary hearing for Green. She plans to decide the motion to exclude him without a further hearing.
Karen Read's retrial
Read's second criminal trial is set to begin on April 1, 2025. Her first trial ended in a mistrial with a "starkly divided" hung jury.
Judge Cannone on Friday urged both sides to work quickly to sort out other pre-trial issues.
"We really need to make sure we keep this case on track for the April 1 trial," she said.
Cannone also mentioned the upcoming jury selection process.
"Jury commissioner's office has been fantastic about getting us as many jurors as possible," she said.
The defense also plans to file yet another motion to dismiss in the coming weeks, alleging government misconduct.
"We have some significant issues with the commonwealth's practice," said defense attorney Alan Jackson.
Read told WBZ-TV she hopes the motion to dismiss will work better than the last time her team attempted it.
3 years since John O'Keefe's death
This week marked three years since Read's boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, was found dead in the snow in front of 34 Fairview Road in Canton.
"The void in our lives grows with each passing day, week, month and year," O'Keefe's family said in a statement to WBZ-TV. "His absence is profound and we will continue to seek justice for him. He is always in our hearts."
O'Keefe was the legal caretaker of his teenage niece and nephew. The medical examiner testified at Read's trial that he died from a combination of blunt force trauma to the head and hypothermia.
Who is Karen Read?
Read, 44, is a financial analyst who was living in Mansfield when she was accused of hitting O'Keefe with her SUV and leaving him to die after a night of heavy drinking in January 2022.
Read has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. She alleges there is an elaborate coverup involving law enforcement to frame her in O'Keefe's death.
