Karen Read prosecutors seek her parents' phone records, defense calls it "fishing expedition"
DEDHAM – A hearing in the Karen Read case was held Tuesday inside a Massachusetts courtroom as prosecutors seek new evidence, including phone records from her father and notes from a magazine reporter.
Read is accused of hitting and killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow outside a Canton home in 2022.
The case returned to Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham as Judge Beverly Cannone weighs several motions.
Read has pleaded not guilty to second degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence and leaving the scene of personal injury and death.
Following Tuesday's hearing, the case is next due in court on December 12 for another hearing.
William Read's phone records
Hank Brennan, a former Whitey Bulger attorney recently added as a special prosecutor in the case, is requesting phone records from Read's parents.
Brennan seeks phone records for William Read, Karen Read's father, for the 24 hours after O'Keefe's death and a call log for a 30-day period after. Prosecutors also are asking for a call log for Karen's mother, Janet Read.
During Tuesday's hearing, Brennan argued that Read called her father at 1:30 a.m., not long after she allegedly hit O'Keefe with her SUV. The call was not answered.
Brennan said he wants the additional call logs to show that it was out of the ordinary for Read to call her father in the middle of the night. He called it "terribly remarkable that she is panic calling her parents at 1:30 in the morning."
The defense called it a "gross invasion of her father's privacy" and "a fishing expedition plain and simple."
"I only tell the truth and I'm anxious to," William Read said outside of court.
Cannone did not rule on the requests during Tuesday's hearing.
Boston Magazine interview with Karen Read
The prosecution has also sought notes and video from news outlets that interviewed Read. That includes Boston Magazine reporter Gretchen Voss.
Brennan said there are redacted portions of that interview that show Read's attorneys tell her to change statements. He argues that all statements are admissible, and says attorney client privilege doesn't apply when Read and her lawyer chose to speak to a reporter.
An attorney representing Voss asked the judge to deny the request.
"The defense chose a strategy, a very strategic strategy to sell their story and disseminate to the public, potentially the jury pool," Brennan said. "She can make all the statement she wants, but when she does, there is a consequence for that."
Cannone took arguments under advisement and will rule in the future.
Karen Read trial date
Read stood trial once already, but the jury was not able to reach a unanimous verdict and a mistrial was declared.
Currently, Read's second trial is scheduled for January 27.
The prosecution and defense filed a joint motion asking for the trial to be delayed until April 1.
During a previous hearing, attorneys said they do not expect any additional delays beyond that.
Prosecutors also say they'll be retesting Read's Lexus SUV in the next two weeks. Judge Cannone is keeping a close eye on that timing.
Prosecutors suspect there are digital clues on the car's computer chips that were not recovered for the first trial.
Cannone did not rule on the potential new trial date on Tuesday.
Other motions in Karen Read trial
Read's attorneys filed a motion in early November asking for Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey's personal emails and phone records. Defense attorneys claim Morrissey used his personal email to contact judges and employees at Stoughton District Court about the witness intimidation case against Aidan Kearney. Kearney is a blogger known as "Turtleboy" who is covering Read's case.
Defense attorney David Yannetti said that Morrissey's text messages are set to delete automatically after 30 days.
No decision was made on the defense's motion during Tuesday's hearing.
Who is Karen Read?
Read is a financial analyst who was living in Mansfield and dating O'Keefe at the time of his death.
She is accused of running him down with her SUV during an argument after a night of heavy drinking.
Read is asking for two of the charges, second-degree murder and leaving the scene, to be thrown out on grounds of double jeopardy. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments on the issue in recent weeks, but no ruling has been made.
