The Karen Read trial concluded on Tuesday followiong two months of testimony, 74 witnesses, and two very different arguments. So did Read hit and kill boyfriend John O'Keefe or is she being framed?
Arguments in the Karen Read trial concluded on Tuesday after two months and 74 witnesses.
Now, the six men and six women on the jury, along with the two alternates, are deliberating Read's guilt on three charges: second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while driving under the influence, and leaving the scene of a collision causing injury or death. Read has entered a plea of not guilty to all three counts.
Jurors were in court for just two hours on Tuesday as they heard closing remarks from the prosecution and then the defense.
Prosecutors allege that Read, 44, drunkenly backed into O’Keefe, 46, with her car outside the home of Brian Albert and then fled the scene, leaving him for dead. The defense attorneys representing Read claim that O'Keefe was actually killed in a fight inside Albert's home and his body was then planted outside to frame Read in a cover-up involving Albert and multiple members of law enforcement. Albert has not been charged with any crime and testified that O'Keefe never entered his Canton home on the night in question.
The only thing that both sides agree on is the fact that Read and O'Keefe were both out drinking on the night of Jan. 28, 2022, and that the couple was invited to have a nightcap at Albert's home.
Prosecutor Adam Lally used his remarks to revisit the testimony of some of the witnesses called to the stand during the trial. Most notably, the four individuals who testified under oath that they heard Read say she hit her boyfriend John O'Keefe with her car in the early morning hours of Jan. 29, 2021.
"'I hit him, I hit him, I hit him, I hit him.' Those are the words of the defendant. Four times," Lally said to the jurors. "You heard testimony from four different witnesses who overheard and observed those statements from the defendant on January 29, 2022."
Jennifer McCabe, who was with Read when she discovered O'Keefe's body that morning, said on the stand that while they were searching for O'Keefe, Read allegedly said, "Could I have hit him” and “Did I hit him" while also speaking about a broken tail light on her car. McCabe also said during her testimonial that it "initially confused" her when Read "immediately stated that she saw the victim" given the lack of visibility caused by the blizzard that hit the area that morning.
One of the first responders on the scene that day, Canton Firefighter Katie McLaughlin also testified that when she approached Read about O'Keefe's injuries that morning, she heard Read say to a friend: "I hit him."
O'Keefe's niece, who he had been raising since the death of her parents in 2014, and Kerry Roberts, who joined Read and McCable when they went searching for O'Keefe, also testified that Read suggested she might have hit O'Keefe on the morning of his death during their testimony.
Lally also offered evidence to counter the defense claim that O'Keefe was killed inside Albert's home by reminding jurors of testimony they heard just last week.
Massachusetts State Trooper Nicholas Guarino testified last week that O'Keefe never entered the Albert home based on GPS data from his phone, which he said did not register any movement after 12:25 p.m. that night.
The largest part of the prosecution's closing though was devoted to Massachusetts State Tropper Michael Proctor and the text messages he sent about Read during his investigation, including one in which he said that he hoped Read "kills herself."
Forced to answer for his remark, Proctor said: "My emotions got the best of me with that figure of speech."
Proctor was questioned about texts in which he referred to Read as a "whacko," a "whack job," and one where he referred to the defendant as a c-word. He tried to avoid saying that slur, but after the defense objected, the judge ordered him to say the word.
In addition, the jury heard texts he exchanged with a fellow trooper after seizing and searching Read's phone, one of which read: "No nudes so far." He also referred to her as "a babe" with "no ass" and disparaged her "Fall River" accent in a text to friends on the day of O'Keefe's murder.
In another text, someone asked about the fallout the homeowner Brian Albert might have received since O'Keefe's body was discovered on his property.
"Bet the owner of the home will receive some s***," wrote Proctor's friend.
"Nope, homeowner is a Boston cop, too," replied Proctor.
Brian Albert has not been charged with a crime.
Then, after Read's arrest, Proctor's sister texted to inform him that Albert wanted to buy him a present. Proctor said he never received a gift from the man.
Trooper Proctor repeatedly apologized to the jury during his testimony, saying at one point: ”Comments I shouldn’t have made, that I’m not proud of,” Proctor said. “These juvenile, unprofessional comments had zero impact on the facts, the evidence, and the integrity of the investigation."
On top of all this, Proctor is also the focus of an internal investigation by MSP over "a potential violation of Department policy" a spokesperson tells Inside Edition Digital. The reason for the investigation is not being shared by the MSP at this time and the spokesperson said that the trooper "remains on full duty."
Lally addressed this on Tuesday, saying: "The text messages from Trooper Proctor are unprofessional, they're indefensible, they're inexcusable. However, as distasteful as those messages are and their contents, I submit they have no bearing whatsoever or impact whatsoever on the integrity of the entirety of the investigation that Massachusetts State Police collectively conducted into John O'Keefe's death."
Now jurors will decide if those messages are enough to create reasonable doubt in the case.
