Karen Read defense tears into crash analysis, targeting gaps in state's theory of collision
Karen Read pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the death of Boston police officer John O’Keefe and is facing a retrial after a jury was unable to reach a verdict last year.
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Karen Read left court following day 22 of her trial. Read said "I don't have any comments today" as she left the Norfolk Superior Courthouse.
Her defense team will continue questioning state expert Dr. Judson Welcher on Thursday, which will be a half-day for the court.
Defense attorney Robert Alessi attempted to poke holes at state expert Dr. Judson Welcher's reconstruction of the crash on Wednesday.
"But you don't have the information necessary to conclude with any certainty that Mr. O'Keefe, at the time of impact, had a level of his head in an upright such that it hit that spoiler. You don't have that information, correct?" Alessi asked.
"We don't have that level of certainty. We have that the height and geometry matches," Welcher responded.
Judge Beverly Cannone (Credit: AP)
Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone dismissed court following day 22 of Karen Read's trial.
Thursday will be a half day, Cannone said.
When court resumes on Thursday, the defense will continue its cross examination of state expert Dr. Judson Welcher.
Robert Alessi speaking in court. (Credit: AP)
Karen Read defense attorney Robert Alessi questioned state expert Dr. Judson Welcher on how much force it takes to break a bone.
"For a Lexus SUV of 6,000 pounds, is there any part of the back of the Lexus in any manner where you can get a break to the hand from 300 to 400 pounds of force?"
"Any part on the back of the Lexus? Yes, probably," Welcher responded.
Karen Read defense attorney Robert Alessi attempted to target gaps in the state's theory of how Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe died.
Crash expert Dr. Judson Welcher, a witness for the state, testified on Wednesday that scratch marks found on O’Keefe’s forearm came from Read's taillight.
Welcher pointed to his own experiment, noting he's nearly the same height as O'Keefe. Welcher said that when he contacted the taillight, paint residue was found in the same location on his arm as O'Keefe's injuries.
Alessi attempted to say that Welcher didn't have enough data points to properly simulate the incident.
"So you don't have the information to do [the simulation] properly. So therefore you can't conclude that he had a lesser portion to the eye from the the spoiler by your own answer that you just gave him," Alessi said.
"It was done properly," Welcher responded. "We don't have absolute information to say where exactly he was. I'm pointing out that the physical evidence, the height matches the height of the laceration. That is one data point of many data points."
"So you would have at least concede that the level of his eye could be non-contact in that same spot. And you don't have information as you just described," Alessi responded.
"It could be from contacting the ground, it could be from other things," Welcher said.
"But you don't have the information necessary to conclude with any certainty that Mr. O'Keefe, at the time of impact, had a level of his head in an upright such that it hit that spoiler. You don't have that information, correct?" Alessi asked.
"We don't have that level of certainty. We have that the height and geometry matches," Welcher responded.
Dr. Judson Welcher talking on the witness stand. (Credit: AP)
The Norfolk District Attorney's Office will pay for the Lexus used by Aperture used in Dr. Judson Welcher's testing for the Karen Read trial.
When asked by defense attorney Robert Alessi, Welcher said the district attorney's office previously amended its contract with Aperture to include that it would pay the firm $325,000 for the Lexus used for testing.
The firm plans to sell the Lexus following the trial, with Welcher saying the difference will be paid by the district attorney's office.
Alessi said Aperture has been paid $44,000 for its work so far.
Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone during the Karen Read murder trial at Norfolk Superior Court, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Dedham, Mass.
Judge Beverly Cannone called Court into session Wednesday morning with Day 22 of Karen Read’s trial set to continue with crash expert Dr. Judson Welcher’s continued testimony.
Before the jurors entered the courtroom, Cannone issued a ruling allowing Welcher to testify that his investigation found the damage to Read’s Lexus SUV to be consistent with being in a collision on Jan. 29, 2022.
Cannone also decided that Welcher can testify that John O’Keefe’s injuries are consistent with being struck by a Lexus “that is physically identical to Miss Read’s Lexus.”
“This opinion is based upon, among other things, his experimental work that came into evidence without objection as to scientific methodology and application,” Cannone said.
Cannone then sided with the defense by ruling Welcher cannot testify that Read’s vehicle specifically collided with O’Keefe.
“The jurors are as well positioned to draw or reject the inference as is the expert,” Cannone said. “That is the inference is not compelled by the application of any scientific method.”
Karen Read arrived alongside her defense team at the Norfolk Superior Courthouse for the second day of testimony from Aperture LLC crash expert, Dr. Judson Welcher.
The prosecution is expected to rest its case this week, setting the stage for Read’s team to begin laying the groundwork for their defense.
Read is accused of striking her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, with her vehicle in a drunken rage outside of a house party in the early morning hours of Jan. 29, 2022. Read’s defense team, however, insists she never hit O’Keefe with her car.
Karen Read blasted the prosecution’s case against her following a full day of direct examination from crash expert Dr. Judson Welcher on Tuesday.
Read criticized a video shown in court depicting Welcher painting the taillight of a Lexus SUV, before brushing up against the vehicle to mimic the alleged vehicle strike of John O’Keefe.
“The speed, the positioning,” Read told reporters. “Recreate that for us. Back up into a crash test dummy at 24.2 mph in the arm and see what happens. That’s what I would want to see if I were you.”
Welcher testified that the scratch marks found on O’Keefe’s forearm were a result of coming in contact with Read’s taillight. Pointing to his own experiment, Welcher told the jury he is roughly the same height as O’Keefe and when he came in contact with the taillight, the paint residue was in the same area on his arm as O’Keefe’s injuries.
“So he tried to dress identically to John [O’Keefe],” Read said. “But didn’t do anything else to mimic what the Commonwealth is accusing me of.”
Karen Read sits in court on Tuesday. (AP)
Karen Read's trial is entering Day 22 as prosecutor Hank Brennan is set to continue direct examination of Dr. Judson Welcher, an accident reconstrictionist and biomechanical engineer with Aperture LLC.
Welcher testified Tuesday that Read's car didn't log a collision on the morning that O’Keefe died.
However, Welcher said such data only registers crashes between cars, and not pedestirans.
"Were you surprised that there was no information about a collision in the [black box]?" special prosecutor Hank Brennan said.
"No," Welcher said. "[It was] exactly what I expected."
Jurors aren't expected in the courtroom until 10 a.m.
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