Experts weigh in on key moments that could decide Karen Read's fate in murder trial

Karen Read's retrial successful the decease of Boston bull John O'Keefe is adjacent an extremity aft much than a month's worthy of pivotal testimony.

Experts accidental cardinal moments decided the lawsuit successful their minds. Now her destiny is successful the hands of jurors.

For David Gelman, a Philadelphia-area defence lawyer and erstwhile prosecutor, that infinitesimal was erstwhile peculiar authoritative Hank Brennan played constabulary dashcam video of the transgression scene, showing Read's frantic absorption to uncovering her fellow unresponsive successful the snow.

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Karen Read exits the Norfolk County Superior Court, Friday, June 13, 2025, successful Dedham, Mass. Read is charged with sidesplitting her Boston constabulary serviceman fellow by intentionally driving her SUV into him. (Richard Beetham for Fox New Digital)

"Showing the video of O’Keefe’s body, the assemblage saw however Read reacted, and it truly puts them astatine the alleged scene," helium told Fox News Digital. "Seeing her absorption successful the courtroom is simply a large moment. The assemblage I warrant wanted to spot her reaction."

Jack Lu, a retired Massachusetts justice and Boston College instrumentality professor, said the cardinal moments were peppered passim the proceedings whenever Brennan played clips from Read's galore televised interviews, putting her words successful beforehand of the assemblage without her taking the basal successful her ain defense.

"She boxed herself in," helium said.

Brennan reused immoderate of those clips successful his closing statement Friday to melodramatic effect, helium added.

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"I cannot place a amended proceedings lawyer I person personally observed successful 40 positive years astatine the Massachusetts bar," helium said of the peculiar prosecutor.

But the defence besides enactment connected a beardown lawsuit successful an effort to contradict the prosecution's full mentation astir how O'Keefe died, according to Grace Edwards, a Massachusetts proceedings lawyer who is intimately pursuing the case.

"The pivotal constituent for maine was learning that ARCCA, having been hired by the defense, did their ain investigating – and that investigating proved determination was nary collision," she told Fox News Digital.  "Add connected the grounds of Dr. Laposata to accidental the injuries were not accordant with being struck by a conveyance and I was sold."

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Karen Read and John O'Keefe airs for an undated photograph. (Karen Read)

ARCCA, a clang reconstruction firm, sent 2 scientists to attest successful the trial. Both agreed that the harm to Read's car and injuries to O'Keefe were retired of alignment. 

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Jurors began deliberating astir 2:40 p.m. Friday aft some sides had an hr and 15 minutes to springiness closing arguments and Judge Beverly Cannone spent astir an hr speechmaking assemblage instructions.

Cannone selected Juror No. 5 to beryllium the foreperson. The tribunal clerk randomly pulled Nos. 13, 7, 6, 17, 2, and 8 arsenic alternates, and they volition not instrumentality portion successful deliberations unless idiosyncratic is excused.

At 4:30 p.m., the justice sent jurors location for the weekend. Deliberations resume Monday morning.

Read, 45, is accused of slamming her 2021 Lexus SUV into O'Keefe and leaving him to dice connected the crushed successful a blizzard connected Jan. 29, 2022. Jurors heard much than 30 days of grounds successful a proceedings that began connected April 22. Before that was 3 weeks of assemblage selection.

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Karen Read listens during her execution proceedings successful Norfolk Superior Court successful Dedham, Mass., Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Libby O'Neill/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool)

Read's archetypal proceedings ended with a deadlocked assemblage past twelvemonth aft the sheet could not scope a unanimous statement connected each of the charges against her.

She is accused of second-degree murder, drunken driving manslaughter and leaving the country of a deadly accident.

Brennan and defence lawyer Alan Jackson gave impassioned closing arguments – with diametrically opposed conclusions astir the case.

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The defence asserted that a sloppy probe and a disgraced pb detective near excessively galore questions unanswered and prematurely accused Read of a clang that ne'er happened.

Prosecutor Hank Brennan, left, points to suspect Karen Read during closing arguments successful Read's execution proceedings successful Norfolk Superior Court, Friday, June 13, 2025, successful Dedham, Mass. (Mark Stockwell/The Sun Chronicle via AP, Pool)

"There was nary collision," Jackson told jurors 3 times to footwear disconnected his last argument. Furthermore, police didn't analyse different imaginable sources of O'Keefe's injuries, interrogation cardinal witnesses oregon adjacent travel protocols astatine the transgression scene.

But Brennan countered that the defence theories are far-fetched and contradicted by wide grounds – the information from O'Keefe's telephone and Read's car, arsenic good arsenic the taillight fragments embedded successful his clothes.

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"She was drunk. She deed him. And she near him to die," Brennan said. "It's that simple."

O'Keefe, described by friends arsenic a selfless 46-year-old who took successful his orphaned niece and nephew, whitethorn adjacent person survived if idiosyncratic had called for assistance aft helium fell, Brennan suggested.

Gelman, who has won and mislaid successful trials arsenic some a authoritative and a transgression defence attorney, said some sides enactment connected almighty cases from commencement to finish.

"Both closed strong," helium said. "But if it's even, that's tenable doubt."