Karen Read outside Norfolk Superior Court on Feb, 25, 2025. Photo: Jared Brosnan/WBZ NewsRadio
DEDHAM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Karen Read murder case returned to Norfolk Superior Court Tuesday for another motion hearing before the retrial.
Read is accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, with her SUV in 2022. Her first murder trial ended with a hung jury last year. The retrial is set to start on April 1.
During Tuesday's hearing, Special Prosecutor Hank Brennan said the federal investigation related to the death of O'Keefe had concluded and that no charges would be brought against law enforcement. The Canton Police Department confirmed that the investigation was over in a post on X Tuesday.
Also during the hearing, Read’s defense team argued to block the prosecution’s witness Dr. James Crosby from taking the stand.
Crosby is a dog bite expert who testified during the first trial that O’Keefe was not bitten by a dog, countering the defense’s claim that he was.
Defense attorney Robert Alessi argued that Crosby, a veterinarian and canine behavior expert, is not qualified to testify and did not include footnotes in his findings.
“His methodology not only is not reliable, but it’s not even documented,” Alessi said.
Brennan said Crosby’s experience is what matters.
“Doctor Crosby has testified in numerous cases before," Brennan said. "So those courts seem to disagree with Mr. Alessi’s opinion."
The defense team has their own dog bite expert, retired emergency room physician Dr. Marie Russell, who found errors in Crosby’s report.
Alessi also argued to block the testimony of Robert Gilman, a meteorologist who the prosecution wants to testify about the blizzard conditions on the night of O’Keefe’s death.
This was the first of several hearings in Read's case set for this week.