Day 17 of witness testimony in Karen Read’s retrial

Friday marks Day 17 of witness testimony in Karen Read’s murder retrial.

Read, 45, is accused of striking John O’Keefe, her Boston police officer boyfriend, with her SUV and leaving him to die alone in a blizzard outside of a house party in Canton at the home of fellow officer Brian Albert following a night of drinking.

A new witness is expected to take the stand after Dr. Irini Scordi-Bello, of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, offered a full day of testimony on Thursday.

Scordi-Bello told the court that she found the cause of O’Keefe’s death was blunt impact injuries to the head and hypothermia, however, she wasn’t able to reach a manner of death.

Graphic images were shown in court, but not to the public. He had lacerations to his arm, a bruise on his hand, and bleeding under his eyes.

Scordi-Bello claimed O’Keefe’s body temperature was around 80 degrees when he arrived at Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton on Jan. 29, 2022.

While he did show signs of hypothermia, Scordi-Bello said it’s unclear what killed O’Keefe and was asked if a punch could be to blame.

“Is that injury consistent or inconsistent with a punch?” defense attorney Robert Alessi asked. She answered, “Could be consistent.”

Special prosecutor Hank Brennan pushed back against the line of questioning.

“Did you provide an opinion that it could be consistent with a punch?” Brennan asked. “I did provide that opinion,” Scordi-Bello replied.

After the jury was dismissed for the day, the defense claimed they were given inconsistent evidence by the state pertaining to a timestamp.

The defense claims this is due to O’Keefe’s phone running 30 seconds off.

Judge Beverly Cannone said she would evaluate whether or not the defense needs more time to prepare.

Prosecutors allege Read intentionally backed into O’Keefe after she dropped him off at a house party and returned hours later to find him dead. The defense has claimed that she was a victim of a vast police conspiracy and that O’Keefe was fatally beaten by another law enforcement officer at the party.

A mistrial was declared last year after jurors said they were at an impasse and deliberating further would be futile.

Read has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death.

Get caught up with all of the latest in Karen Read’s retrial.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW