DEDHAM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Day 12 of testimony in the Karen Read murder retrial ended for the day Thursday after State Police Sergeant Yuri Bukhenik was the only witness called to the stand.
Read is accused of hitting her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow on Jan. 29, 2022.
Read’s defense team has claimed she is innocent and is being framed.
Bukhenik was one of the investigators who worked on the Read case.
Bukhenik testified Thursday that he saw O’Keefe’s body at the hospital in the early afternoon on Jan. 29.
After viewing the body, Bukhenic testified that he spoke to Read at her parent's home in Dighton.
He also provided the jurors with details of Read's drinking at two bars on the night of Jan. 28.
Read's defense team cross-examined Bukhenik about former State Police Trooper Michael Proctor's involvement in the investigation and how key evidence was handled.
During the first trial, Proctor was told to read aloud to the court crude texts he had sent about Read to friends and co-workers.
He was later fired for misconduct.
Things got tense when Defense Attorney Alan Jackson asked Bukhenik if he thought Proctor's involvement in the case 'tainted' the investigation.
Bukhenik responded that he did not.
Bukhenik's testimony is expected to continue Friday.
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