A dog bite expert was cross-examined Tuesday by prosecutors in Karen Read ’s second murder trial, as the defense argues she was framed for killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, and that wounds on his arms came from an animal.
Read, 45, is accused of fatally striking O’Keefe, 46, with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow outside another officer’s home when she dropped him off at a party there in January 2022 after the two had been drinking. She’s charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene outside Boston.
Her lawyers say O’Keefe was beaten inside the home, bitten by a family dog and then left outside as part of a conspiracy by the police that included planting evidence against Read.
A mistrial was declared last year and so far, Read’s second trial has followed similar contours to the first.
Prosecutors were challenging an assessment by Dr. Marie Russell, a retired emergency medicine physician, who said cuts on O’Keefe’s arms were the result of a dog attack.
Russell testified Monday she treated hundreds of dog attacks and bites over nearly 30 years and became interested in the Read case after seeing a news report about questions over whether O’Keefe was attacked by a dog before he died.
“These multiple groupings are patterns and they are, in my opinion, by the teeth and claws of a dog,” Russell said, pointing to a photo of O’Keefe’s arm. She described the wounds as linear and going in a similar direction.
Prosecutors previously sought to block Russell from testifying, questioning her credibility. Although the judge allowed her to take the stand, the prosecution renewed their scrutiny and noted Russell never testified before as a dog bite expert and hasn’t taken a dog bite forensics course - however she said she was unsure any such certification or training existed.
Prosecutor Hank Brennan asked Russell on Tuesday if there was any universally accepted standard for identifying dog bites. Russell said there was not.
Brennan also pressed Russell about changing her testimony from saying the wounds were caused by “teeth or nails” to specifically naming “canines.”
“When you testified, December 2024, you didn’t say nails could have caused these wounds, you didn’t say generally teeth, you said canines,” Brennan said.
“I believe that is true,” Russell responded, saying she “became more certain” the wounds were from canine teeth.
The defense team leapt on a chance to ask for a mistrial Tuesday after the prosecution pointed out that no dog DNA was found on O’Keefe. The defense said there had been no mention in the trial about DNA and the dog bite, and argued that raising the subject while questioning Russell had prejudiced the jury.
“That cannot be reversed. That cannot be cured. That cannot be ameliorated with a jury instruction,” defense attorney Robert Alessi said while the jury was outside the courtroom.
Prosecutors waved away the accusation, with Brennan saying, “The defense does not get to pick and choose what words the Commonwealth can or cannot use.”
After a brief pause, Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone said the trial could proceed.
An exchange between former Canton police officer Kelly Dever and defense attorney Alan Jackson quickly turned tense after he asked if she wanted to be in court. Dever said she had “no idea why I’m here,” and later remarked about the defense mispronouncing her name.
Dever testified that while working dispatch on the night O’Keefe died, she could see a video feed from the sally port, a garage area attached to police department. Read’s team has long argued a police cover-up including possibly moving Read’s vehicle that was brought into the sally port garage.
Dever said that she told federal agents “in good faith” in August 2023 that she saw ATF agent Brian Higgins and former Canton Police Chief Kenneth Berkowitz inside the garage. But on the stand, she said she realized that wasn’t possible because they entered the garage after her shift ended. She attributed the error to “false memory” influenced by media coverage, and said she retracted her statement.
Jonathan Diamandis, a friend of lead investigator Michael Proctor, was called by the defense to read Proctor’s texts messages about the investigation.
Proctor was fired in March after a disciplinary board found he sent sexist and crude text messages about Read to his family and colleagues. His testimony played a key role in the first trial. Defense attorneys used his texts to argue Proctor was biased and dismissed alternative suspects.
In select texts allowed in court, an unnamed person in Proctor’s group chat asked whether the homeowner where O’Keefe’s body was found would face scrutiny. Proctor replied “nope. Homeowner is a Boston cop too.”
“From all accounts, he didn’t do anything wrong. She’s a whack-job,” one text said.