The latest on the Karen Read murder case
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No Karen Read trial Tuesday due to ‘unavoidable circumstances’
A court official confirmed Tuesday’s testimony was canceled due to health reasons and said a brief closed-door hearing held around 11 a.m. concerned scheduling.
Karen Read’s murder trial will not be in session Tuesday due to “unavoidable circumstances,” according to a court spokesperson.
The alert was sent to media outlets shortly before the day’s testimony was slated to begin at 9 a.m. The spokesperson gave no further details, and the Norfolk Superior Court clerk’s office and security were unable to provide any explanation.
A court official later confirmed Tuesday’s testimony was canceled due to health reasons and said a brief closed-door hearing held around 11 a.m. concerned scheduling. Prosecutors and members of the O’Keefe family could be seen talking outside the courthouse Tuesday morning.
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Read’s trial entered its fourth week Monday. Jurors began the week with a third and final full day of testimony from Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuriy Bukhenik, one of the troopers who investigated the death of Read’s boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe.
Read, 45, is accused of drunkenly and intentionally ramming O’Keefe with her SUV while dropping him off at an afterparty in Canton early on Jan. 29, 2022. While prosecutors allege she left O’Keefe to die in a blizzard, Read’s lawyers have suggested O’Keefe was attacked after entering the home. They contend Read was framed in a vast conspiracy among law enforcement and afterparty guests.
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Taking the stand Monday, Bukhenik faced intense questioning about one guest in particular: federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives agent Brian Higgins. Read’s lawyers have sought to implicate Higgins in their third-party culprit defense, suggesting he had motive to harm O’Keefe after sharing flirty texts — and a kiss — with Read while she was in her relationship with O’Keefe.
However, Bukhenik testified Monday he found no evidence pointing to any animosity between O’Keefe and Higgins or homeowner Brian Albert.
The ongoing trial is Read’s second, after jurors in her first trial returned deadlocked last summer.
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