Testimony continued on May 7 in the trial of Karen Read, with prosecutors playing enraged voicemails left by the Massachusetts woman for her boyfriend before his body was discovered in the snow. Read, 45, is accused of hitting Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV and leaving him for dead in January 2022. Massachusetts State Police Trooper Nicholas Guarino returned to the stand on May 6 to present the eight voicemails and over 50 unanswered calls and texts from Read to O’Keefe in the hours leading up to his body being found. These messages revealed Read accusing her boyfriend of cheating, calling him names, and desperately trying to find out his whereabouts. Investigators collected evidence at the scene, including blood using red Solo cups and pieces of a broken taillight found in the snow. Read’s defense claims bias and incompetence in the investigation, suggesting she was framed by the police. The case has attracted widespread interest, inspiring podcasts, movies, and television shows. Read’s previous trial in 2024 resulted in a hung jury, leading to the ongoing legal saga. The defense challenged the testimony of a digital forensics examiner, Jessica Hyde, pointing out discrepancies in her findings compared to another expert witness. Hyde clarified her report’s findings but acknowledged limitations in evaluating certain information. Another expert stated that key searches on a phone occurred after O’Keefe was found, contradicting the defense’s claims. Jennifer McCabe, a crucial witness for the prosecution, testified about her discovery of the body and Read’s alleged confession. Stay updated on the murder case involving Karen Read as the trial continues.
An untrained examiner might mistakenly assume that a search was conducted at 2:27 a.m., but the actual timestamp indicates when the tab was first opened or minimized. This could lead to a false implication that a search took place hours or days before it actually did, as some individuals keep tabs open indefinitely. Expert testimony revealed that the final search query, “hos (sic) long to die in cold,” was actually made at 6:24 a.m., after the victim, O’Keefe, was found around 6 a.m. Another expert confirmed that the Google search occurred at about 6:23 a.m., highlighting discrepancies in the timestamps. During the trial, a Massachusetts State Police trooper presented evidence found near the victim’s body and discussed attending the victim’s autopsy. Testimony from the Sandra Birchmore case was excluded from the trial of Karen Read, as it could potentially complicate proceedings. Those interested in following the Karen Read trial can tune into CourtTV’s live coverage from Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, starting at 9 a.m. ET.
Expert testifies on search for how long people take to die in the cold at Karen Read trial, as reported on USA TODAY.
