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    • Judge postpones Karen Read’s testimony in wrongful death case
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    Judge postpones Karen Read’s testimony in wrongful death case

    Harry Posted on

    PLYMOUTH – A superior court judge has halted part of a wrongful death lawsuit filed against Karen Read by John O’Keefe and his representative, the estate of John’s brother Paul O’Keefe. Read is charged with second-degree murder in the January 2022 death of John O’Keefe.

    Read’s lawyer requests postponement of civil case until the criminal case is resolved, arguing that parallel civil and criminal proceedings could undermine Read’s Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.

    Judge William White Jr. ordered the postponement of Read’s scheduled deposition in the civil case and all other discovery directly related to him. According to the decision, other exploration operations will continue without interruption.

    In reaching the decision, White balanced the competition between “timely resolution of a civil wrong” and “the potential harm the defendant would suffer from being forced to choose between defending himself in a civil lawsuit and protecting himself from criminal prosecution,” he wrote.

    The attorney for O’Keefe’s estate opposed the arrest on the grounds that a delay would result in “corruption of evidence,” loss of memories, or future inability to locate witnesses.

    White’s order downplays those concerns.

    “Given the extensive investigation into O’Keefe’s death and the initial investigation completed, the risk of not preserving evidence and erasing witnesses’ memories does not appear to be significant,” the judge wrote.

    O’Keefe’s estate also argued that Read’s media coverage could poison the jury pool and also conflicts with her concerns about self-incrimination.

    White denied these allegations.

    “As unpleasant as Read’s media campaign was to the plaintiffs, it does not mean that he (his media coverage) waived his right to incriminate himself in connection with the criminal case,” he wrote.

    The wrongful death lawsuit also names two Canton bars, CF McCarthy’s and Waterfall Bar and Grill, as defendants. According to the plaintiff, after drinking excessively at both bars, Read hit O’Keefe with his SUV, leaving him unconscious and exposed during a snowstorm.

    Karen Read charged with second-degree murder

    Karen Read was charged with second-degree murder after the body of O’Keefe, a Braintree native and Boston police officer, was found in the driveway outside the Canton home of a fellow Boston police officer during a snowstorm on Jan. 29, 2022. Prosecutors say Read was drunk and angry when he deliberately hit her after a night of drinking at CF McCarthy’s and Waterfall.

    But Read’s defense attorneys say he was framed for O’Keefe’s death.

    Read is also charged with involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence and leaving the scene causing injury or death.

    Prosecutors called more than 65 witnesses for testimony that began on April 29.

    The defense’s witness list was much shorter and included a plow driver who said he saw nothing in the grass in Canton where O’Keefe’s body was found.

    Read’s first trial for O’Keefe’s death ended in a mistrial in July. His retrial is scheduled for January 27, 2024.

    Defense lawyers ask to drop some charges against Karen Read

    Read’s defense lawyers after mistrial motions submitted He asked to dismiss two charges in the case and said the jury unanimously agreed that Read was not guilty of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of an accident with injury or death.

    However, prosecutors said the defense chance to appeal the mistrial declaration at that time and I didn’t and The case has no verdict.

    Judge Beverly Cannone sided with the prosecution and ruled that Read could be retried on all charges.

    Read’s attorneys appealed Cannone’s decision to the state Supreme Judicial Court, filing a 37-page petition requesting oral argument before a single judge. This hearing is scheduled for next month.

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    Contact Peter Blandino at [email protected]

    Harry
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