DEDHAM, Mass. — A defense motion that seeks to dismiss all charges in the Karen Read murder case “should be denied,” prosecutors urged Judge Beverly Cannone in a new court filing.
Read, 44, of Mansfield, is accused of hitting her Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV in Canton on Jan. 29, 2022, and leaving him to die in a snowstorm after a night of drinking. The defense has sought to portray Read as the victim, saying O’Keefe was actually killed inside the Albert family home and dragged outside.
In a 147-page motion filed in Dedham’s Norfolk Superior Court earlier this week, Read’s lawyers argued to dismiss her charges of second-degree murder, leaving the scene of a deadly crash, and manslaughter on the “basis of extraordinary governmental misconduct,” accusing the Commonwealth of “destroying exculpatory evidence, withholding exculpatory evidence, and interfering with the jury.”
Read’s lawyers argued in the new motion that the state “altered the course” of Read’s first trial and that there is “no cure” for that other than dropping all charges against their high-profile client.
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Prosecutors fired back in a 15-page opposition to the defense’s motion, writing, “The Commonwealth disputes any ethical violations or misconduct, let alone misconduct that taints the legal system or infringes upon the defendant’s right to a fair trial. The defendant’s motion should be denied.”
Read’s lawyers claim missteps by the prosecution have “permanently and irreversibly denied” their client’s right to a fair trial and that “no remedy other than dismissal can adequately address the significant harm caused” to her.
In response, the prosecution stated in opposition, “Dismissal as a sanction is very strong medicine, and it should be prescribed only when the government misconduct is so intentional and so egregious and appropriate only upon a showing of irremediable harm to the defendant’s opportunity to obtain a fair trial.”
“Dismissal of the case is accordingly not appropriate. Further, where the defense’s claims do not raise any substantial issues, the request for an evidentiary hearing should be denied,” prosecutors concluded.
New motion to dismiss Karen Read murder case ‘should be denied,’ prosecutors say by Boston 25 Desk on Scribd
These new motions come after Boston 25′s Ted Daniel first reported on Monday that the federal probe of the Read case is over. Two sources told Daniel that federal prosecutors notified the Massachusetts State Police, the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office, and the Canton Police Department last week that no charges would be filed.
As 25 Investigates reported in December 2023, the federal probe was run by the U.S. Attorney’s Public Corruption Unit and agents from the Boston FBI office assisted with it. It was focused on widely publicized allegations that Read was framed for O’Keefe’s death by law enforcement and those she and O’Keefe had been drinking with in the hours before O’Keefe was found unresponsive outside 34 Fairview Road.
In an exclusive one-on-one interview on Super Bowl Sunday, Read told Daniel that she has “nothing to hide” and that she’s “been framed” for murder.
On Tuesday, a previous pre-retrial hearing that was brought to an abrupt end continued with Cannone addressing her “grave concerns” about the defense’s handling of two of their star witnesses.
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 fee after trial but Brennan has 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 will 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.
The retrial of Read is slated for April 2025.
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