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Karen Read case: Judge sheds more light on ‘grave concern’ that cut hearing short
Judge Beverly Cannone has told Read’s lawyers to come ready to address allegations about ARCCA witnesses on Tuesday.
The judge overseeing the Karen Read case issued a notice Thursday advising her lawyers to come ready to address bombshell allegations about the defense’s handling of expert witnesses who billed Read’s team for nearly $24,000.
More on Karen Read:
Judge Beverly Cannone abruptly suspended a hearing Tuesday after special prosecutor Hank Brennan revealed correspondence between Read’s lawyers and crash reconstructionists from ARCCA Inc.
“The commonwealth just provided the court with information that causes me grave concern,” Cannone said as she cut the hearing short. “The implications of that information may have profound effects on this defense and defense counsel.”
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The hearing is scheduled to resume at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25. In Thursday’s notice, Cannone wrote that lawyers “should be prepared to address issues related to” the recently disclosed records, “especially as the materials produced relate to prior representations made to the Court on the record by defense counsel concerning the ARCCA witnesses.”
Who are the ARCCA experts?
Read, 44, is accused of drunkenly and deliberately backing her SUV into her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, while dropping him off at a fellow officer’s home in Canton in January 2022. Her lawyers, however, contend she was framed in a law enforcement coverup, and that O’Keefe was instead severely beaten.
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Read’s first trial ended with a hung jury last July, and her retrial is set to begin in April.
An engineering consulting firm, ARCCA was initially hired by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as part of a federal probe into the state’s handling of Read’s case, and two of the company’s experts testified during Read’s first trial. Daniel Wolfe and Andrew Rentschler testified that damage to Read’s taillight was inconsistent with striking a human head or arm, and that O’Keefe’s fatal head injuries were inconsistent with getting struck by a car.
Throughout the trial, jurors were not told about the federal investigation and were led to believe the ARCCA experts were working independently, having been hired by an unspecified third party.
What the lawyers said
The prosecution and defense received a copy of ARCCA’s report last year as part of a trove of documents federal authorities turned over through the Touhy process, which governs the production of federal records in cases where the United States is not a party. Those records are still largely shielded from the public.
“It was specifically outlined and ruled that they [the ARCCA experts] could not prep with us before trial,” defense attorney David Yannetti told Cannone during a June 10 hearing. Responding to a follow-up question from Cannone, he said the defense had spoken to the experts “only for the purposes of coordination of their testimony and their background. That’s it.”
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When Wolfe took the stand on June 24, he testified the defense hadn’t hired ARCCA, nor was the company working for the defense.
“You haven’t been paid by the defense?” defense attorney Alan Jackson asked.
“You have not paid us anything, no,” Wolfe replied.
But earlier this week, Brennan alleged Jackson’s private correspondence with Wolfe tells another story. He pointed to conversations the pair had back in March 2024, purportedly discussing an engagement letter and retainer. According to Brennan, later correspondence also included “an outline of questions and answers for direct examination,” as well as a bill from ARCCA to Read’s team for $23,925.
“The commonwealth, as I understand it, was not aware of any promised rewards or inducements or payment,” Brennan told Cannone. “They relied on a reciprocal discovery order of this court for that information.”
It wasn’t immediately clear when ARCCA sent the bill, or whether Read’s team ever paid it. Following the hearing, Jackson spoke to WBZ’s Kristina Rex and denied paying the ARCCA experts to testify at the first trial.
Brennan is seeking to bar the ARCCA experts from testifying during the upcoming retrial. Cannone has asked prosecutors to provide a transcript from the June 10 hearing to her and Read’s lawyers by close of business Friday.
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