What to know before Karen Read's retrial kicks off
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Karen Read's second trial is set to start April 1, despite her attorney's attempts to stop it from happening.
Why it matters: No one has been held accountable for the death of Boston police officer John O'Keefe, whom Read is accused of hitting with her SUV and leaving to die in January 2022.
- O'Keefe's family has called for justice, saying Read should be held responsible, while Read says she's been framed by police in the killing of her boyfriend.
Catch up quick: Read's attorneys have tried for months to get the case against her dropped in state and federal court, maintaining that she was framed for O'Keefe's murder.
- Multiple courts have sided against Read and her attorneys, though the defense is awaiting a ruling from the First Circuit Court of Appeals on whether two of the three charges against Read should be dropped.
- These were charges that her attorneys claim jurors agreed Read wasn't guilty of, but were confused about the directions on how to present a partial verdict.
The latest: The retrial will begin on April 1, despite the pending appellate decision, both state judge Beverly Cannone and a federal judge ruled last week.
Zoom in: The second trial may include messages between Read and blogger Aidan "Turtleboy" Kearney as evidence, per WBZ.
- A judge granted the prosecution's request recently to let them submit pictures, messages and data allegedly showing intimidation of the family members of a witness between April 3, 2023 and Oct. 5, 2023.
- Prosecutors also filed a motion to see texts between Read and her attorney, David Yannetti, between Jan. 28 and Feb. 2, 2022.
- Those messages are typically sealed under attorney-client privilege, but prosecutors argue that Read waived that privilege when she discussed their texts and thoughts in interviews with Vanity Fair, Boston Magazine and a new docuseries by HBO Max and Investigation Discovery.
What else you missed:
Yes, there's a five-part docuseries out. "A Body in the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read," is now streaming on Max.
- It was originally greenlit when Read's lawyers thought they were going to win, before the mistrial was declared July 1, Vanity Fair reported.
- Read wrote in a statement to VF that she had no plans to watch the docuseries: "I lived it. I don't need to see it editorialized for marketability."
Michael Proctor, the lead investigator into the Karen Read case who got called out for offensive texts about her, was fired last week after the state's trial board found him guilty of three charges of unsatisfactory performance.
- The trial board did not reference the Read texts explicitly, but said he sent "derogatory, defamatory, disparaging and/or otherwise inappropriate text messages about a suspect."
- This was several months after he came under fire for texting that Read was a "whackjob [expletive]" and that "hopefully she kills herself," per WBZ.
- Proctor's attorney said he plans to appeal the finding with the state's Civil Service Commission.
What we're watching: How the appeals court responds to Read's request to have two of the three charges against her dropped, and whether it has any bearing on her retrial.