The Karen Read trial continued in Massachusetts Friday with the jury making a visit to the crime scene at 34 Fairview Road in Canton before hearing more witness testimony. Jurors were bused over to the former home of Brian Albert, where Read is accused of hitting her Boston police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow in 2022. They also saw the Lexus that Read was driving that night.
When they returned to Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, jurors heard from prosecution witness Dr. Garrey Faller, who testified about Read's blood alcohol content on the morning after O'Keefe died. Karen Read jury visits 34 Fairview in Canton "We're going to a place that you've heard about and that you will continue to hear about over the course of the trial," Judge Beverly Cannone said before the jury's field trip to Fairview Road. The prosecution and defense both had a chance to address jurors before the visit.
Special prosecutor Hank Brennan asked them to pay attention to the street, the curb and the front yard, as well as Read's SUV. They were warned the taillight was completely missing as it's now evidence in the case. "I'd ask you to make a note on the Lexus about the height of the bumper," Brennan said.
"I'd ask you to make note of the height from the right rear taillight and I'd also ask you to note, on the top of the hatchback, there's a part that protrudes." Karen Read's Lexus in front of 34 Fairview Road in Canton on April 25, 2025 for a jury visit. Kristina Rex/WBZ-TV Defense lawyer David Yannetti told the jury to consider the distance between the second-floor front window and the front lawn, as well as the front doors and the lawn.
The defense has argued that O'Keefe was involved in a fight inside the home. "On behalf of Ms. Read, we have every confidence that you will do a proper investigation," Yannetti said. Neighbor Jim Malver has lived several houses down from 34 Fairview for nearly 50 years and said he follows the case closely.
"It's bad news. She's definitely innocent, there's no question about it," said Malver. "When you look at his arm, a car couldn't do that to an arm, no way."
Karen Read's blood alcohol content After the jury returned from the visit, they heard from Dr. Faller, the former chief of pathology and lab medical director at Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton, where a blood sample was taken at 9:08 a.m., hours after O'Keefe was found. Faller testified that Read had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.093%. The legal limit for driving in Massachusetts is 0.08%.
Defense lawyer Elizabeth Little asked Faller if he considered that Read had anemia and multiple sclerosis when testing her blood for alcohol. He said he did not. Little cited an article that said both conditions can affect alcohol testing.
"We'll hear at some point about the extrapolation of the blood alcohol level," said WBZ-TV legal analyst Katherine Loftus. "So what does 0.09 at 9 a.m. mean, for anywhere between 11 and 1 a.m.? Point-oh-nine is still in and of itself over the legal limit."
Canton paramedic Jason Becker testifies in Karen Read trial The prosecution then called Jason Becker, a paramedic with the Canton Fire Department, to the stand. Becker picked up Read to bring her to the hospital because there were concerns she might be suicidal. He said Read referred to O'Keefe as her husband.
"The last conversation she had with her husband at the time was an argument," Becker remembered Read saying. During cross-examination, the defense asked Becker why in previous testimony he recalled Read using the phrase "last words." "Did she tell you that her last words to him were in voicemails?
Did she say that?" attorney Alan Jackson asked. "She didn't give any details," Becker said.
The prosecution asked Becker why he didn't ask Read for more details about the argument. "We didn't think we'd be witnesses in a murder trial," Becker said. Karen Read trial update Friday marked day four of witness testimony in the trial.
On Thursday, jurors saw text messages between Read and O'Keefe that were exchanged just hours before he died. So far, the jury has heard from first responders, O'Keefe's mother and Kerry Roberts, who was with Read and Jennifer McCabe when they found O'Keefe's body in the snow. The prosecution has also been playing clips of Read's media interviews for the jury.
In one video shown Thursday, Read admitted she should not have been driving that night after drinking. Who is Karen Read? Read, 45, is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of personal injury of death.
She has pleaded not guilty to all charges and argues several people, including law enforcement, are framing her. Click here for a timeline of events in the case. Supreme Court considers Karen Read case Read has appealed to the Supreme Court to throw out two of the charges against her on double jeopardy grounds.
The defense says jurors from the first trial reached out after a mistrial was declared to say they had unanimously agreed to acquit her on the charges of second-degree murder and leaving the scene, but weren't sure how to communicate that to the judge. On Friday, the Supreme Court justices met privately to discuss Read's appeal and other cases that are petitioning for review. A decision on whether to take up Read's case will likely be announced by the court on Monday.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, acting alone, denied Read's request to pause her ongoing state trial while the court considers her case. How to watch the Karen Read trial Karen Read's second trial will stream live on CBS News Boston or in the video player above when court proceedings start at 9 a.m. Testimony concluded on Friday at 1 p.m. On Monday, it will be another half day of witness testimony in front of the jury. In the afternoon, a voir dire hearing will be held for crash reconstruction experts who were part of the federal investigation into O'Keefe's death.
Court typically starts at 9 a.m. and goes until 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Jurors get a morning break around 11 a.m. and a longer lunch break at about 1 p.m.
