Karen Read trial focuses on controversial testimony from ARCCA witnesses on alleged collision
The Karen Read trial on Friday focused on controversial testimony about the alleged collision involving Read's SUV and John O'Keefe. The only witness on the stand all day was Daniel Wolfe, a crash reconstructionist for engineering consulting firm ARCCA.
Read is accused of hitting her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow in Canton after a night of heavy drinking in January 2022. The defense contends that Read did not hit anybody, arguing that investigators could have planted evidence and suggesting instead that O'Keefe could have been fatally injured from a fight inside 34 Fairview Road.
ARCCA expert Daniel Wolfe testifies
The ARCCA experts recreated several scenarios of the crash with speed and impact testing.
Wolfe testified that he was asked to look at photos of Read's Lexus and autopsy photographs to determine whether John O'Keefe was hit by a car. He also described how ARCCA built a cannon to shoot a cocktail glass at the SUV's taillight at 37 mph. The prosecution alleges O'Keefe was holding a cocktail glass when Read backed into him.
ARCCA also ran tests to see if O'Keefe's head injuries were consistent with damage to the taillight.
"From a damage perspective, it was inconsistent," Wolfe said.
The defense played video in court of ARCCA's test showing what happens when a taillight collides at various speeds with a dummy arm.
"Based on the test results, [the damage] is inconsistent with striking an arm," Wolfe said.
ARCCA witnesses in Karen Read trial
Testimony from ARCCA crash experts has been a contentious issue in the Read trial. They were hired as part of a now-closed federal investigation into the handling of the case.
Prosecutors have tried to block the experts from testifying in Read's second trial. In the first trial, the experts said they concluded that O'Keefe's injuries were not caused by a car collision.
It was revealed earlier this year that ARCCA had sent a bill to the defense for nearly $24,000, even though they were presented in the first trial as experts who were not hired by the defense. There were also emails between the defense lawyers and ARCCA, with Wolfe telling the defense in one instance, "if you don't want me to say this, that's fine."
The defense sought to clear the issue up on Friday.
"Ultimately in March of 2025, were you hired by the defense?" attorney Alan Jackson asked.
"Yes," Wolfe answered, adding that ARCCA has now been paid about $50,000 by the defense.
Cross-examination of ARCCA witness
Special prosecutor Hank Brennan began cross-examination by going after Wolfe's credentials. He started by noting it took Wolfe two tries to complete a test for recertification. He also asked Wolfe about deleting text message communications with the defense, something Wolfe says he does routinely for his job.
"How many of those hundred or so text message did you delete?" Brennan asked.
"it would have been the whole text chain," Wolfe replied.
Brennan noted the dummy arm used for testing weighed 9.38 pounds, compared to O'Keefe's arm that weighed 11.86 pounds.
"Are you telling us that having a lighter arm does not impact the damage in this test, as opposed to using a heavier arm?" Brennan asked.
Wolfe testified that it would not have made a significant difference.
"The momentum of a 6,000 pound vehicle moving at 24 mph, 29 mph, that's going to overcome the mass of whatever it's hitting at that point," he said.
Karen Read trial latest
Wolfe will be back on the stand Monday for re-direct examination.
Judge Beverly Cannone asked jurors if next Thursday could be a full day instead of a previously scheduled half day. A decision on next week's scheduling will be made Monday.
"I'm told that we're nearing the end of the case," Cannone said.
There was no court on Thursday, partly because of hot weather. The air conditioning and fans inside Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham are noisy and can make it hard for jurors to hear what's being said.
Cannone said that after 27 days of testimony, both sides agree that the case is proceeding ahead of schedule.
The last witness to testify for the defense on Wednesday was Karina Kolokithas, who was at the Waterfall Bar & Grille with Read and O'Keefe, hours before O'Keefe's death.
Before Kolokithas took the stand, snowplow driver Brian "Lucky" Loughran testified that he never saw a body on the front lawn of 34 Fairview Road, the home formerly owned by Brian Albert, even though he made two passes by the address. During cross-examination, special prosecutor Hank Brennan asked Loughran if he was threatened by blogger Aidan Kearney, who writes under the name "Turtleboy." Loughran said he was not.
Earlier in the week, Read's attorneys called for a mistrial during contentious cross-examination of Dr. Marie Russell, who testified that O'Keefe was attacked by a dog. The judge quickly rejected the request.
How long will the Karen Read trial last?
It's not clear how many witnesses the defense has left to call because a gag order prohibits lawyers from talking to the press.
Read's first trial ended in a mistrial due to a "starkly divided" hung jury. She has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. Read's defense claims she is the victim of a coverup involving law enforcement and several others.
