Things to know about the retrial of Karen Read in the killing of her police officer boyfriend

A defense attorney in Karen Read's second murder trial on Thursday questioned a doctor who performed an autopsy on the body of her Boston police officer boyfriend.

Prosecutors say Read, 45, backed her SUV into John O’Keefe, 46, and left him to die on a snowy night in the front yard of another officer's home after she dropped him off at a party there in January 2022. Her lawyers say she was framed in a police conspiracy and someone inside the home that night must have killed him.

A mistrial was declared last year. Read's second trial on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene has so far appeared to follow similar contours to the first.

Doctor testifies about O'Keefe's head injury

Dr. Irini Scordi-Bello testified on Thursday that O'Keefe sustained “a severe injury” to his head. Scordi-Bello performed O’Keefe’s autopsy.

Scordi-Bello said the causes of O'Keefe's death were blunt impact injuries of the head and hypothermia. She said the blunt impact injuries were the primary cause.

Scordi-Bello said she could not, however, determine the manner of death to a reasonable degree of medical certainty.

A defense attorney asked Scordi-Bello Thursday if she evaluated in her autopsy whether O'Keefe appeared to have injuries consistent with a motor vehicle. She said she did, and she said she did not find any.

“Yes, I did examine his lower extremities. That is protocol in any case of suspected impact with a motor vehicle,” she said. “I did not see any evidence of an impact site.”

Scordi-Bello also testified that O'Keefe's head injuries could have been consistent with a fall backward.

Defense questions glass, hair found on Read's car

On Wednesday, Read attorney Robert Alessi pressed Maureen Hartnett, a Massachusetts state police forensic scientist, on the hair and glass found on the bumper of Read's vehicle.

Similar to when Hartnett was questioned during the first trial, Hartnett said she observed a dent in the trunk door, scratches on the rear bumper and a broken taillight, as well as what appeared to be a hair next to the taillight and pieces of glass on the bumper.

The hair and a swab used on the taillight were sent to outside labs for DNA testing, said Harnett, who also analyzed O’Keefe’s clothing.

The defense has long questioned the evidence found on the SUV due to the vehicle being driven or towed roughly 60 miles (97 kilometers) in a snowstorm.

While presenting a photo of the glass on the bumper, Alessia noted that two samples of glass were flagged in the picture but asked Hartnett if it was possible that it was actually one sample. Alessi theorized that it could be a reflection of the lone sample.

"Is it more than a possibility?" Alessi asked, which prompted an objection from the prosecution that was sustained by the judge.

Alessi also pushed Hartnett on the hair, showing her different photos depicting different angles of the hair found — noting that the hair appeared to have moved drastically between the two photos.

Hartnett refused to speculate about why or how the hair could have moved.

O'Keefe's niece takes the stand

Earlier Wednesday, O'Keefe's niece testified about her relationship with Read, according to news outlets that were in the courtroom. No cameras, laptops or phones were allowed in the courtroom during her testimony.

O'Keefe was taking care of his niece and nephew after their parents had died. Both testified during the first trial, but so far, only the niece has testified during the retrial.

CBS News reported that the niece said that her uncle's relationship with Read was initially close but later turned negative around the end of 2021, saying that they were “fighting a lot.”

Over New Year's, the two had an argument while vacationing in Aruba, said the niece who was with them, adding that Read was upset that he had kissed someone else.

On the night that O'Keefe died, the niece said that Read woke her up early to say that her uncle hadn't come home and began theorizing how O'Keefe could have died.

“Could I have done something?," the niece said that Read asked in those early hours. “Maybe I hit him.”