Case against Karen Read in limbo after judge extends hearing on ‘grave concerns’

DEDHAM, Mass. — The murder case against Karen Read remains in limbo after Judge Beverly Cannone extended Tuesday’s hearing on her “grave concerns” about the defense’s handling of two of their star witnesses into next week.

A previous pre-retrial hearing that was brought to an abrupt end continued Tuesday in Dedham’s Norfolk District Court, where Cannone addressed her concerns, saying the Commonwealth had raised issues on the rights of the council and Read’s right to a fair trial.

Tuesday marked the first opportunity the defense had to respond and they did, after Cannone warned them to “be prepared.” The hearing also came after Boston 25′s Ted Daniel first reported that the federal investigation into the Read case is over.

One of Read’s attorneys, Robert Alessi, responded in court after special prosecutor Hank Brennan accused the defense of essentially lying about dealings that they had with ARCCA crash reconstruction experts.

Alessi told the court that there was nothing shady about their interactions with accident reconstruction specialist Dr. Daniel Wolfe and biomechanical engineering specialist Dr. Andrew Rentschler, accusing Brennan of misleading Cannone.

Wolfe and Rentschler both testified on behalf of Read in June 2024 and stated that injuries to Read’s Boston police officer boyfriend weren’t consistent with a vehicle strike.

Brennan has alleged that the defense hid communications with ARCCA and a more than $23,000 payment they allegedly made to the engineering consulting firm initially hired by federal authorities to look into Read’s case.

Alessi confirmed that Read’s legal team did pay for the ARCCA testimony and Brennan maintained that the information should have been shared publicly.

“Of course, any attorney, unless they want to risk malpractice, is going to make a communication with that expert, which was perfectly legal,” Alessi argued.

Brennan responded, “It is the bias, the relationship that is critical, and that was hidden from the court.”

Cannon ended Tuesday’s hearing without deciding if the defense while face any consequences, however, she previously suggested that this could “have profound effects” on the future of the case.

The defense and prosecution are due back in court on Tuesday, March 4.

Read is accused of hitting her Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV on Jan. 29, 2022, and leaving him to die after a night of drinking.

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The defense has sought to portray Read as the victim, saying O’Keefe was actually killed inside the Albert family home and then dragged outside and left for dead.

The retrial of Read has been delayed until April 2025. Cannone declared a mistrial in July 2024 after finding jurors couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict on all three charges of second-degree murder, leaving the scene of a crash, and manslaughter.

In an exclusive one-on-one interview on Super Bowl Sunday, Read told Boston 25′s Ted Daniel that she has “nothing to hide” and that she’s “been framed” for murder.

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