Jurors began deliberating after a lengthy two-month trial regarding the death of Boston police officer John O'Keefe in January 2022. The case has captured significant interest, amplified by true crime bloggers and supporters of Karen Read, who often wear pink shirts.
Alan Jackson, Karen Read's defense lawyer, portrayed a web of lies as a cancer that spreads into conspiracy. He urged jurors to see themselves as the last line of defense against what he called the injustice facing Karen Read.
"You've been deceived here. Your duty is to ensure you never turn a blind eye," he said on Tuesday.
Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally assured jurors there was no conspiracy. He opened his closing argument by recounting what four witnesses heard Karen Read say after John O'Keefe was found on the snowy lawn: "I hit him. I hit him. Oh my God. I hit him."
"Lally said those were the defendant's exact words,"
Read, formerly an adjunct professor at Bentley College, faces serious charges. These include second-degree murder, which could mean life in prison, manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol, punishable by five to 20 years, and leaving the scene of injury or death, carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years.
Her lawyers argue that O'Keefe was dragged outside after being beaten in the basement and bitten by a dog at Boston officer Brian Albert’s home in Canton.
"Ladies and gentlemen, plain and simple, there was a cover-up in this case," Jackson said.
However, Lally presented what Read herself said that night in a voice message left for O’Keefe moments after data from her car showed her reversing at about 24 mph and then leaving the scene. According to him, she was "seething with rage, screaming, 'John, I [expletive] hate you!'"
The defense argued that witnesses who claimed to hear her admit hitting O’Keefe either changed their stories or couldn't have heard clearly amidst the chaos. Jackson suggested investigators targeted Read because she was an easy outsider, saving them from exploring other suspects like Albert and other officers at the party. He pointed out links between Albert and the state trooper leading the investigation.
"Michael Proctor didn't just draw a thin blue line; he built a towering blue wall," Jackson said. "It's a wall you can't climb, a wall that Karen Read surely couldn't breach. It divides 'us' from 'them,' a place where you all aren't welcome. We protect our own."
Jackson implied that Brian Higgins, a federal agent who had exchanged flirtatious texts with Read, enticed O’Keefe to the house party. There, they allegedly got into a fight that escalated to punches and a fall.
"Then panic set in," he said. "It wasn't meant to go that far, but now it's done."
Testimony started on April 29 following several days of jury selection. Prosecutors focused on presenting evidence from the scene throughout most of the trial. The defense called only a few witnesses but spent time cross-examining prosecution witnesses to raise concerns about the investigation, citing conflicts of interest and poor police work. Supporters outside the courthouse echoed these complaints.
SOURCE: wbur