Judge delays start of Karen Read murder trial. What happened in court Monday

CANTON – The Karen Read murder trial will be delayed for at least a month following an appearance by the defense and prosecution in the case at Norfolk Superior Court on Monday.

At issue at the Feb. 26 hearing was over 3.000 pages of new information on a federal investigation into the case that the defense said it could not read and respond to in the original timeline.

Judge Beverly Cannone set out a new list of deadlines for both sides in the case. On top of the federal documents, the defense will argue motions relating to dismissal of the case and disqualification of the Norfolk County District Attorney's office.

The trial was scheduled to begin March 12, a date that will now be used to hear arguments on those motions. As of now, the trial will begin April 16, although that is subject to change after hearing the arguments on the motions, Cannone said.

Within the next week, the defense will put their reasons for delaying the case in writing. The DA's office has until March 11 to respond.

Read's attorneys said the pages of federal documents to review contains nearly as many pages of information as they've received about the case in the two-years the case has been in court.

The state, meanwhile, argued that the overwhelming majority of the information is not new and aligns with the prosecutions' narrative of what happened that led to the the death of Read's boyfriend, 46-year-old Boston police officer and Braintree native John O'Keefe.

The accusations against Read

Read, 43, is accused of backing into O'Keete with her SUV outside a Canton home belonging to another Boston police officer and leaving him in the snow to die two years ago.

The couple had been drinking and had been seen arguing before Read dropped O'Keefe off at the home during a blizzard in the early hours of Jan. 29, 2022.

Prosecutors allege Read, of Mansfield, struck O'Keefe while backing out of the driveway before returning home. She has pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder.

O'Keefe was found dead in the home's driveway several hours later.

O'Keefe and Read's troubled relationship

In a filing last week in response to the defense's motion to dismiss, prosecutors describe evidence from voicemails and text messages on O'Keefe's phone that "detailed strains" in his relationship with Read that led him to talk about breaking up with her. The voicemails, according to prosecutors, include ones in which was Read screaming about hating him and accusing him of sexual activity with "another girl."

Read’s own fidelity was also called into question.

Claims of a cover-up and DNA evidence

Read and her lawyer claim O'Keefe ended up being brought into the home, where they allege he was beaten by people in the house and then bitten by a dog before being taken back outside and left in the driveway to die. The defense believes the death was pinned on Read as part of the coverup.

In response last week to a defense motion to dismiss the charges, prosecutors said DNA and other forensic evidence lends credence to their theory of what led to O'Keefe's death.

What the DNA evidence revealed

According to the prosecution, evidence in the case includes pieces of the cracked taillight from Read's SUV. Two pieces of the red plastic were found by Massachusetts State Police Special Emergency Response Team members who dug through the snow, the prosecution said.

The response filing indicates that the Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory found O'Keefe's DNA on that broken taillight. The prosecution also states that microscopic pieces of red and translucent plastic, consistent with Read's taillight, were found on O'Keefe's clothing.

Prosecutors have also said human hair found on the back of Read's SUV is being tested.

The filing also takes a swipe at the defense’s claims of the dog attack, as the swabs taken from O'Keefe's clothing in the areas of his injuries did not contain any canine DNA.

Coverup claims amplified by 'Turtleboy'

Aidan Kearney, a Holden resident who blogs under the name "Turtleboy," amplified many of Reads' claims. His postings became popular and led to supporters holding "Free Karen Read" signs outside the superior court in Dedham. A Free Karen Read Facebook page furthered the claims and introduced even more claims in defense of their theory.

Kearney was arrested on 16 witness intimidation charges in December in connection the case.. He was arrested on a domestic abuse a few days later against his ex-girlfriend, who is also a potential witness in the case. The arrest violated his condition's of release on the previous intimidation charges, and he was sentence to 90 days in jail.

More: 'Turtleboy' blogger hit with new indictments in witness intimidation case

On Friday, Feb.23, Kearney was indicted on two additional charges of witness intimidation related to the domestic abuse charge. The indictments came on the same day a judge allowed Kearney to be released on personal recognizance after serving around 60 of the 90 days.

While Kearney was in prison, prosecutors said they found evidence that Read and Kearney had been in far more contact than either one had admitted.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Karen Read murder trial will not take place in March