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Judge declines to delay Karen Read murder trial as lawyers wait on additional evidence, information
Judge Beverly Cannone rejected a joint request from prosecutors and defense attorneys to push back Read's court proceedings.
The judge overseeing the Karen Read murder case has declined to delay the Mansfield woman’s trial, shooting down a joint request from prosecutors and defense attorneys during a brief hearing Thursday.
Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone said it would be “premature” to push back the start of Read’s high-profile trial, which is set to begin March 12.
Lawyers on both sides had filed a joint motion last week to postpone the trial, explaining that they’re still waiting on some cell phone records, DNA test results, and information about a federal probe into Read’s arrest and prosecution.
More on Karen Read:
Read, 43, is facing a second-degree murder charge in the Jan. 29, 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe. Prosecutors say she struck O’Keefe with her SUV while dropping him off at a home in Canton following a night out, but Read’s attorneys have alleged a widespread coverup, pointing the finger at other afterparty guests.
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According to defense attorney David Yannetti, the U.S. Attorney’s Office told both parties Wednesday that federal prosecutors may be able to release information from their investigation within a matter of days. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said it will file its motion in federal court as soon as it receives word from the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office on some edits to a protective order, according to Yannetti.
Assistant District Attorney Adam C. Lally agreed to a request from Cannone to issue a response from the DA’s office by Friday afternoon.
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Lally also noted that Virginia-based Bode Laboratory is expected to finish DNA testing on two pieces of evidence — Read’s SUV tail light and a hair allegedly recovered from her bumper — by the first week of March. However, he said the prosecution can’t file a motion for reciprocal discovery, the evidence defense attorneys turn over to prosecutors before trial, until it fulfills its own discovery obligations, leaving prosecutors in limbo until those DNA test results are in.
“So that is my reason for looking to push the trial date out a little bit, in order to be able to satisfy my discovery obligations, file the motion for reciprocal discovery, and give counsel at least some reasonable amount of time to provide whatever it is they have, of which I just don’t know,” Lally told the court.
Cannone replied: “Let’s keep on them [the laboratory] and see if we can get that DNA discovery before then.”
Read is back in court on Feb. 26, with Yannetti expected to argue a motion to dismiss and give an update on a separate motion to disqualify Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey’s office from prosecuting the case.
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