During the murder trial of Karen Read, a new witness testified on May 8 following a dispute between defense lawyers and an expert regarding the timing of a crucial Google search by a star witness. Read, aged 45, is accused of fatally injuring her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, with her Lexus SUV and abandoning him near the home of another officer in January 2022. Prosecutors allege that Read intentionally struck O’Keefe, aged 46, in a state of intoxication.
The prosecution’s witness, Jennifer McCabe, a friend of the couple, conducted a search on her phone asking how long it takes to die in the cold on the day O’Keefe was discovered. Contrary to the defense’s assertion, a second expert testified that this search occurred after O’Keefe was found unconscious, not before.
Read’s defense team claims that she has been wrongly accused of O’Keefe’s murder. The court session on May 7 concluded with prosecutors playing a recording of Read stating a threatening ultimatum to McCabe. This case, originating in Dedham, Massachusetts, has evolved into a lengthy legal mystery that has captured the interest of true-crime enthusiasts nationwide, inspiring various podcasts, films, and TV series. After a 2024 trial resulted in a hung jury, the former finance professor is back in court.
The trial commenced on April 23, with Judge Beverly Cannone predicting a duration of six to eight weeks. She recently informed the jurors that the proceedings are proceeding on or slightly ahead of schedule. Testifying about what Karen Read told the police after John O’Keefe’s death, Massachusetts State Police trooper Yuri Bukhenik detailed Read’s statements and the condition of O’Keefe’s body.
Bukhenik described the injuries on O’Keefe’s body, including swollen and discolored eyes, cuts on his face, arm, hand, and knee, and missing shoes. Noticing a missing taillight cover on Read’s SUV, he questioned her about it, to which she responded, “I don’t know how I did it last night.” Read told the police that after dropping O’Keefe off at a certain location, she departed without seeing him enter the house. When asked about O’Keefe’s injuries, Read mentioned a prior incident where he had bumped his head.
A digital forensics examiner, Jessica Hyde, revealed that Jennifer McCabe’s phone had a search tab opened at 2:27 a.m. on Jan. 29, containing queries on various topics. Notably, there were misspelled searches about dying in the cold, with the final query made around the time O’Keefe was discovered.
During the trial, the second expert informed jurors that the Google search took place after 6 a.m. Testifying on April 28, digital intelligence expert Ian Whiffin revealed that forensic data indicated the search occurred around 6:23 a.m. Read’s attorney sought to challenge Hyde’s testimony by highlighting discrepancies between her previous statements, her report, and Whiffin’s findings. For those interested in following the Karen Read trial, CourtTV has been providing coverage of the case and the ongoing criminal investigation since early 2022, following the discovery of O’Keefe’s body outside a Canton residence. Viewers can tune into CourtTV’s live stream of the trial proceedings at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, starting at 9 a.m. ET. – Contributing: Michael Loria, USA TODAY. This article was first published on USA TODAY: Karen Read trial updates: Jurors briefed on disputed Google search.
