'I hit him': Forensics take center stage in high-stakes Karen Read murder trial of dead cop

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The high-profile Karen Read murder trial resumed on Monday with key forensic testimony after the judge allowed the prosecution to present new evidence. The much-ballyhooed murder trial entered its fifth week, marking the 18th day of testimony.

This is the second trial for Read regarding the death of Boston police officer John O'Keefe. A "deeply divided" jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict in the first trial.

'John, I f***ing hate you.'

A mistrial was declared on July 1, 2024.

Read — a 45-year-old former Bentley University adjunct professor — faces charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. Read has pleaded not guilty to all of the criminal charges.

Read is accused of killing O'Keefe, her then-boyfriend, in January 2022.

Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Read and O'Keefe reportedly went to a bar and restaurant on Jan. 28. There was a heavy snowstorm that night.

The group of friends allegedly returned to Boston police officer Brian Albert's home in Canton.

According to court documents obtained by CBS News, Read left a voicemail with O'Keefe around 1 a.m. on Jan. 29 in which she allegedly said: "You are a f***ing loser, f*** yourself" and "John, I f***ing hate you."

Around 4 a.m., Read was "distraught" because O'Keefe had not returned home and was not answering his cell phone, according to court documents.

'How long to die in cold.'

Read called O'Keefe's niece, Jennifer McCabe, and allegedly was screaming, "John didn't come home. We had a fight."

Around 5 a.m., Read called a woman whose husband was friends with O'Keefe.

During the search, Read reportedly said: "What if he's dead? What if a plow hit him? ... I don't remember anything from last night, we drank so much I don't remember anything."

Around 6 a.m., Read allegedly found O'Keefe lying in the snow outside Albert's home.

According to prosecutors, a hysterical Read frantically called 911 and repeatedly told the emergency responder, "I hit him. I hit him."

The defense pointed to a Google search allegedly conducted on McCabe's phone for “How long to die in cold,” which they claim occurred at 2:27 a.m. — before O’Keefe’s body was found. However, prosecutors contend the Google search was conducted around 6:23 a.m.

Alan Jackson, an attorney for Read, claimed O'Keefe was killed during a fight inside Albert's home, and then his body was dragged outside and left on the snow-covered lawn.

In addition to Brian Albert, others in attendance at the party were Brian's brother Kevin Albert — a Canton Police Department detective — as well as former Canton Police Chief Ken Berkowitz — who died in December — and Brian Higgins, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives agent.

Prosecutors accused Higgins of exchanging "flirty" text messages with Read in the weeks leading up to O'Keefe's death.

Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Prosecutors allege that Read hit O'Keefe with her car and left him to die in the snow while she was intoxicated. A forensic toxicologist estimated that Read's blood alcohol content would have been between 0.13 and 0.29, exceeding the legal limit.

The medical examiner determined that O'Keefe's cause of death was blunt impact injuries to the head and hypothermia. Prosecutors noted that the medical examiner did not find "any obvious signs of an altercation or a fight."

Defense attorney Alan Jackson argued, "The damage on the car was inconsistent with having made contact with John O'Keefe's body. In other words, the car didn't hit him, and he wasn't hit by the car."

O'Keefe had scratches on his arms, which the defense argued were from an attack by Albert's dog.

'Hopefully she kills herself.'

Investigators discovered broken glass at the alleged crime scene, and the taillight was cracked on Read's Lexus SUV.

Detectives also found a hair on the bumper of Read's SUV.

Karl Miyasako of Bode Technology testified Monday in court about the hair, saying that “based on the genetic data” over 99.8% of the population could be excluded — but Miyasako “could not exclude” O’Keefe or his maternal relatives as the source of the hair, the Boston Herald reported.

Defense attorney Alan Jackson countered, "For all you know that hair could have been placed where it was found by somebody else."

Investigators also obtained an "extract from a taillight" to test, and Nick Bradford — also with Bode Technology — said O'Keefe could not be excluded as a potential contributor to the profile found on the taillight, according to CBS News.

Forensic analyst Shannon Burgess from Aperture LLC also testified Monday about data from Read’s SUV, saying that her vehicle was powered on at 12:12:36 a.m. on Jan. 29 and “not powered off” until 12:42:08 a.m. Then, there was activity again on Read's vehicle at 5:07:46 a.m. and 5:46:20 a.m.

Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

In the first trial, defense attorneys asked Massachusetts State Police investigator Michael Proctor to read damning text messages he sent to friends and colleagues while looking into O'Keefe's mysterious death.

Proctor allegedly said of Read in one message, "Hopefully she kills herself."

Proctor was fired two months ago.

Mark Bederow — a criminal defense attorney and former Manhattan assistant district attorney — told Blaze News that "there is nothing normal about this deeply flawed case. The conduct of the Canton Police and Massachusetts State Police in the investigation into the death of a police officer was dreadful."

Bederow also told Blaze News regarding Proctor that "the prosecution is simply ignoring that the lead investigator was terminated because of his alleged bias in the investigation."

"They are ignoring that independent accident reconstruction experts hired by the DOJ entirely support the defense’s contention that John O’Keefe was not killed in a vehicle strike," Bederow also told Blaze News. "They are ignoring that their own medical examiner refused to call O’Keefe’s death a homicide, instead ruling the manner of death of undetermined."

But not everyone is as convinced as Bederow. Local radio host John DePetro believes the prosecution is presenting a much stronger case, and he told Blaze News that the retrial is "much different" than the first trial.

"Special prosecutor Hank Brennan is in complete command in the courtroom and has streamlined the case," DePetro added to Blaze News.

DePetro also told Blaze News that in addition to Read's "angry voicemails" played in the courtroom, on other audio clips "she discusses drinking ... and flirting with Brian Higgins. [The] jury has no reason to like Karen Read."

He also warned, "Many of her interviews have come back to haunt her."