Crime
Dr. Marie Russell, a key defense witness, testified Monday she believes John O’Keefe’s arm injuries “were inflicted as the result of a dog attack.”
Livestream via NBC10 Boston.
On the stand:
- Dr. Marie Russell, MD, CCHP-P, Los Angeles, CA
Karen Read’s dog bite expert returns to the stand in Read’s murder retrial Tuesday following an action-packed day in court.
In addition to testimony from Dr. Marie Russell, jurors Monday heard from a childhood friend of ex-Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, who offered jurors a glimpse into Proctor’s vulgar messages about Read. Jonathan Diamandis verified the texts Proctor sent friends during the early stages of his investigation into the death of Read’s boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe.
However, Diamandis expressed his discomfort when asked to read some of Proctor’s more graphic messages.
“These are not my words. I’m not really comfortable reading these,” he explained. “Do I have to say these words out loud?”
Special prosecutor Hank Brennan offered to read the texts instead.
“She’s a whack job [c***],” Proctor said of Read, according to Brennan. “Yeah, she’s a babe. Weird Fall River accent, though. No ass.”
In other texts, Proctor suggested there was “zero chance she’s skating. She’s f***ed.” He also called Read a “nutbag,” adding, “She’s got a leaky balloon knot. Leaks poo.”
Read’s lawyers have argued the texts indicate Proctor, who led the investigation into O’Keefe’s January 2022 death, was biased against Read. While prosecutors allege Read, 45, drunkenly and deliberately backed her SUV into O’Keefe while dropping him off at an afterparty in Canton, her lawyers contend she was framed in a massive law enforcement conspiracy. They’ve suggested O’Keefe entered the party at 34 Fairview Road — owned at the time by a fellow Boston police officer — and was beaten, attacked by the homeowner’s dog, and dumped outside in a blizzard.
Proctor, they claim, lied and fabricated evidence in a bid to protect the homeowner’s family and friends by framing Read, a “convenient outsider.”
A key defense witness, Russell testified Monday that she believes O’Keefe’s arm injuries “were inflicted as the result of a dog attack,” pointing to multiple “groupings” of wounds she felt were “inflicted by the teeth and claws of a dog.”
As he began his cross-examination of Russell, Brennan accused the retired emergency room physician and forensic pathologist of using her involvement in Read’s case to market her services as an expert witness. He pointed out it was Russell who approached the defense, not vice versa.
“You wanted to get involved in this high-profile case, didn’t you?” Brennan alleged.
Russell explained she felt she had the “unique skills or knowledge set” to weigh in on the dispute over O’Keefe’s injuries.
“I thought I could help clarify the issues as to whether or not this could be a dog bite, and maybe they could move on to something else if it wasn’t,” she testified.
Earlier Monday, jurors heard from Kelly Dever, a former Canton police officer who alleged Read’s lawyers threatened her with a perjury charge if she did not testify she saw witness Brian Higgins and former Canton Police Chief Kenneth Berkowitz in the police station’s garage with Read’s SUV. Now a police officer in Boston, Dever confirmed she previously offered that statement to law enforcement, though she recanted after she was reminded she left the station before Read’s vehicle arrived on Jan. 29, 2022.
Defense attorney Alan Jackson sparred with Dever throughout the heated exchange, confirming she initially told the agents she saw Higgins and Berkowitz enter the sallyport together “for a wildly long time” while Read’s SUV was in the garage. Dever also confirmed she had a conversation with Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox at some point, though she denied Cox discussed Read’s case with her or attempted to influence her testimony.
Speaking with reporters as she left the courthouse Monday, Read took a question about whether she was suggesting Dever could have been coaxed into changing her testimony.
“I didn’t suggest it; she did,” Read replied. “She was called into the [Boston police] commissioner’s office, and her story completely changed; she recanted.”
The ongoing trial is Read’s second, after a hung jury in her first trial prompted a mistrial last summer.
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