Former Rhode Island chief medical examiner testifies at Karen Read murder trial
DEDHAM, Mass. (WJAR) — The defense in the Karen Read murder trial called for a mistrial Monday, which was denied.
Defense attorney Robert Alessi accused the prosecution of "intentional misconduct" while cross-examining a crash reconstruction analyst.
The defense had brought in Daniel Wolfe, who works for the accident reconstruction firm ARCCA, to discuss the numerous tests he and others conducted with a dummy arm striking a replica of Read's SUV taillight at various speeds.
Near the end of the cross-examination, prosecutor Hank Brennan asked Wolfe about the holes in O'Keefe's sweatshirt by holding up a glass casing with the hoodie inside it and asked if they could have been caused by road rash.
Alessi accused the prosecution of purposefully misleading the jury by not disclosing that the back of the hoodie had certain holes due to a criminalist cutting into the sweatshirt as part of the O'Keefe investigation.
"I don't believe one could come up with more misleading, misdirecting elucidation of testimony than this, on the key issue in the case," Alessi said.
Brennan said he "made a mistake" when showing the jury the hoodie but asked the judge to clarify for the jurors that the holes were cut rather than declare a mistrial.
Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone agreed, telling the jury that they couldn't draw "any inference" that holes came from the incident on night of O'Keefe's death.
The defense has called for mistrial several times since the second trial started nearly seven weeks ago. The call for a mistrial came as the defense and prosecution butted heads over what testimony could be allowed to be heard in front of the jury, leading Cannone to urge both sides to move quickly.
Read is accused of backing her SUV into O'Keefe, who was her boyfriend, and leaving him to die during a snowstorm in 2022.
Her defense team questions that narrative, saying she is being framed.
Read's lawyers said Monday that they will pursue a Bowden defense, meaning they will challenge the police investigation.
"We are alleging that the police did not do a thorough investigation. They did not really investigate anyone other than Karen Read," defense attorney David Yannetti said.
Jurors also heard from Dr. Elizabeth Laposata.
"I was appointed chief medical examiner for the state of Rhode Island in 1993," Laposata said while answering questions about her experience.
Laposata resigned in 2005 after complaints of alleged mismanagement, but she denied those claims.
She testified about O’Keefe’s injuries.
"Was the laceration above his eyelid on the right side a separate injury altogether?" defense attorney Robert Alessi asked.
"Yes, it was," Laposata answered.
Laposata will return Tuesday.
A second crash reconstruction expert from the company ARCCA will also testify. He’s expected to be the final defense witness.
NBC 10 News provides complete streaming coverage of the trial on turnto10.com, the NBC 10 WJAR YouTube channel, and the NBC 10 Facebook page.
NBC 10's Katie Benoit and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
