Karen Read Trial Update: The Prosecution's Year is Off to a Bad Start as the Effort to Block a Key Defense Witness is Denied

Boston Globe. Getty Images.

I'm actually sorry to start a blog with so graphic a photograph. We're typically not in the business of posting the mutilated remains of a deceased human being. Especially not that of a police officer who died under tragic, but still unsolved circumstances. But such is the nature of murder trials. I regret that when I was in the Massachusetts Trial Court, I worked dozens of homicide trials. And the juries in those were exposed to much more grisly exhibits than Boston patrolman John O'Keefe's autopsy photo. It's an unavoidable necessity in the search for the truth. 

I bring this all up as part of a major update in the Karen Read retrial, which is scheduled to begin in early April. The last I posted about it, in mid-September, the Commonwealth appointed a new lead prosecutor:

And that attorney, Special Assistant Hank Brennan has spent the months since hyper-focused on one key issue in the first trial. And that is the defense's contention that Karen Read didn't hit O'Keefe with her car. He went inside the home of Boston PD officer Brian Albert, and was attacked, beaten and dragged outside to die in the snow in the Alberts' front yard. 

A key component of that claim? The scars on O'Keefe's arm, which Read's team argued are consistent with bite marks from a dog. Specifically the Alberts' German Shepherd, Chloe. That would be the Chloe that was never produced at the trial. The one that, according to every report, was allegedly "rehoused" in Vermont shortly after O'Keefe's death, despite being a beloved family pet for years. 

To support their theory about the dog attack, the defense called an expert to testify. And Dr. Marie Russell argued that, in her opinion, the marks on O'Keefe's arm were very much consistent with dog bites. (Note: The audio is sped up. My guess is 1.5X.):

And so Special ADA Brennan filed a motion to have Russell excluded from the retrial, and a hearing was held. We got the results today. And it did not go as the Commonwealth would've hoped:

Source - An expert for Karen Read's defense team can testify at Read's retrial later this year, the judge overseeing the case ruled Monday, handing a loss to the prosecution. 

The state had sought to keep Dr. Marie Russell [who] was interviewed at a pair of recent hearings, where the Norfolk County District Attorney's office referred to what they called inconsistencies in her testimony. …

"Here, the recognition of dog bite wounds is not within the common knowledge of a layperson and requires expert testimony, and Dr. Russell is a qualified expert as to these topics," Judge Beverly Cannone said in her ruling Monday.

If you'll pardon the unfortunate dog reference, Ruh-Roh for the prosecution:

Though according to the article, getting Dr. Russell excluded is by no means the only page in their playbook this time around:

The prosecution has filed several recent motions aimed at limiting the scope of the defense's argument and expanding their own, including seeking to prevent Read's lawyers from calling in the retrial the expert who says the infamous "hos long to die in cold" Google search, another key component in their claim of a coverup, was made before O'Keefe's body was found.

Which helps explain why this retrial that was originally scheduled to start in about two weeks has been kicked down the road until after Red Sox Opening Day. Because this latest lead counsel is not going to leave a stone unturned. Or a defense expert left unchallenged. 

Which should be fine by everyone. Even if you're 100% Free Karen Read to the core of your being. It's up to these "experts" to prove their expertise. If you're truly confident you know your field of study, it should be no problem to demonstrate your knowledge when challenged. Which apparently this dog bite forensics expert did. Now she gets to state her findings in court, get challenged further by the prosecutors, and we let the jury make of it what they will. Which is how this is all supposed to work. 

As far as the next step? The lead investigator in the case, State Trooper Michael Proctor has his disciplinary hearing coming up for all this nonsense he pulled:

That's going to be wilder than all the "motions to exclude expert witness testimony" hearings in all the world. Stay tuned. I'll keep you posted. We're in for an insane few months around here.