Karen Read judge says it will take "very long time" to find jury for high-profile second trial
The Karen Read case was back in court on Tuesday for the final hearing before jury selection begins on April 1.
As expected, Judge Beverly Cannone denied a prosecution request to get communications between Read and defense attorney David Yannetti. Also during the hearing, the defense asked Cannone to let them argue again during trial that three men were responsible for John O'Keefe's death, not Read.
Read is accused of hitting and killing O'Keefe, a Boston police officer who she was dating at the time, with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow outside a Canton home in 2022. Read claims she is being framed by several people, including law enforcement.
The first trial ended last year with a mistrial due to a hung jury. Though Read's defense team has sought to delay the trial while she makes a federal appeal on double jeopardy arguments, both Cannone and a federal judge rebuffed those requests and jury selection remains on track to start April 1.
Following Tuesday's hearing, Cannone denied Read's motion to dismiss the entire case in a written ruling.
When will Karen Read jury be seated?
On Tuesday, Cannone and attorneys from both sides worked to finalized the jury questionnaire.
Later, while discussing other items that needed to be finished before trial, Cannone told attorneys they could finish them in the coming weeks.
"I think we're going to have plenty of time to sort of, tie up loose ends during the empanelment process, because I think it's going to take a very long time to get a jury," Cannone said.
Karen Read and David Yannetti's communications
The prosecution sought text messages between Read and Yannetti from the days after O'Keefe's death, arguing that she gave up attorney-client privilege by disclosing the existence of the communications in public interviews. After hearing arguments from both sides at Tuesday's hearing, Cannone denied that request.
Special prosecutor Hank Brennan said he was not seeking all communications, only communications that may have been on phone records already in the state's prosecution.
Defense attorney Bob Alessi said the request would have implications beyond Read's case.
"The depth of this attempted intrusion by the Commonwealth should disturb and unsettle every citizen of this Commonwealth because they're either actual or potential clients of lawyers. And it should unsettle every criminal defense attorney in this Commonwealth. And I would dare to say that it probably does," Alessi said.
In the middle of Alessi's argument, Cannone stopped him and said she was denying the prosecution's motion.
"I'm not going to give you this information, Mr. Brennan. I don't think it's appropriate … so your motion is denied," Cannone said.
Outside court Tuesday, Karen Read said the prosecution's request was "unprecedented."
Brennan had referenced a recently released Investigation Discovery documentary in which Read talks on camera about hiring Yannetti on January 29, 2022.
"And then when I hired David Yannetti, I asked him those questions the night of January 29," Read said in the documentary. "'Like David, what if I ran his foot over or clipped him in the knee and he passed out and went to care for himself and he threw up or passed out?' And David said, 'Yeah, then you have some element of culpability.'"
Earlier in Tuesday's hearing, Brennan sought 200 hours of raw footage from the documentary makers. Cannone did not rule on the motion.
Third-party culprit defense
Cannone heard arguments Tuesday but did not rule on the defense's request to mount a third-party culprit defense, which Read's attorneys were allowed to do during the first trial.
Read's defense team claims O'Keefe was not killed by a vehicle. Instead, they argue three men could have killed him during a fight, then dragged his body outside and left O'Keefe to die.
According to the defense, retired Boston police officer Brian Albert, who owned the home where O'Keefe's body was found, is one of the men who could have been involved. His nephew Colin Albert is the second person the defense has named, along with Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent Brian Higgins, who exchanged "flirty" text messages with Read.
In a new filing, Read's attorneys opposed the state's request to prevent them from using a third-party defense. They say their third-party defense evidence "meets the relevant admissibility standards."
At the start of Tuesday's hearing, Brennan said the evidence should be banned from trial.
Brennan said that when it comes to Colin Albert, there is no evidence that he had any hostility with O'Keefe.
"Simply saying it is not evidence," Brennan said.
In its filing, the defense claimed Brian Albert was "known as a bully" and "did not have a good reputation among his fellow police officers." Brennan argued that "rumor has no place in a murder case."
"There is no evidence Brian Albert had any motive whatsoever to harm John O'Keefe," Brennan said.
Higgins testified in the first trial that Read kissed him not long before O'Keefe's death, but later stopped responding to his messages. The defense argues in its motion that "There is evidence that Mr. Higgins wanted to lure Mr. O'Keefe to the Albert residence."
Brennan said that never in the text messages between Higgins and Read does he express animosity toward O'Keefe, and any suggestion that it would serve as motive for murder is "beyond the pale."
"It's uncomfortable, it's an awkward situation because both of them appear to be deceptive as it relates to John O'Keefe. But there is no vengeance, no anger. And so the suggestion that there is a motive because there was flirtatious text messages to then kill the man is beyond the pale. It's beyond any logical connection that would support a third-party culprit," Brennan said.
Brian Albert "A violent man," defense says
Yannetti then was given the opportunity to argue why the evidence should be allowed during trial.
"There is ample evidence tending to show that somebody else caused John O'Keefe's death," Yannetti said.
Yannetti said that when O'Keefe's body was found, he had two black eyes and looked like he had been punched in the face.
"Brian Albert is a violent man. He was not only a boxer who punched people in the ring, he was also a violent drunk who has sucker punched other police officers," Yannetti told the judge, adding that those officers are on the defense witness list.
Yannetti then accused Brennan of trying to prevent the defense from entering evidence into the upcoming trial.
"There's I believe a certain amount of gaslighting going here in that on one side of his mouth he talks about he wants Ms. Read to have a fair trial. But we've spent weeks where he's just trying to knock out all our evidence, just limit everything," Yannetti said. "He's just I believe he's acting more like a defense attorney than a prosecutor in that regard."
Buffer zone extended
A buffer zone that was in place around the Norfolk Superior Courthouse during Read's first trial will be expanded for the second trial.
Nobody will be able to demonstrate within 200 feet of the courthouse. Judge Cannone ordered that the buffer zone will be extended to include the area "bounded by Bates Court, Bullard Street, Ames Street and Court Street."
Prosecutors are concerned about jurors being exposed to the protesters and messages displayed on signs. Prosecutors said the protesters could be "clearly heard" inside the courthouse during the first trial. A juror reported hearing the protesters screaming and yelling during their deliberations.
Cannone also ordered that no one in the courthouse during the trial will be able to wear buttons, photographs, clothing or insignia "relating to the case pending against the defendant or relating to any trial participant."
Who is Karen Read?
Read is charged with second-degree murder, leaving the scene of bodily injury or death, and manslaughter under the influence of alcohol. She has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
A 45-year-old financial analyst, Read was living in Mansfield in 2022 at the time of O'Keefe's death.
For a full timeline of the Karen Read case, click here.
