The Karen Read trial is not happening today. The weather is part of the reason.
There is no testimony scheduled for Thursday in the Karen Read trial. Read said Wednesday that her defense team is entering the final days of its case in her high-profile Massachusetts retrial.
Her attorneys are working to convince the jury that Read should not be convicted of killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe in January 2022.
Why is there no Karen Read trial today?
At the conclusion of testimony Wednesday, Judge Beverly Cannone told the jury that they would be getting the day off on Thursday.
"I'm assured that not only are we on schedule, we are ahead of schedule," Cannone said. "I understand [Thursday] is supposed to be very hot. Court officers are concerned about how we're going to be allowed to hear the witnesses. I've talked to the lawyers. Everybody's in agreement that because we're ahead of schedule, we give you [Thursday] off."
The sound of the air conditioning and fans inside Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham have been an issue throughout both of Read's trials. Often during the first trial, when witnesses were testifying, their words could not be heard clearly in the courtroom because of the sound coming from the units, so Cannone ordered them to be turned off.
With temperatures expected to climb well into the 80s Thursday, no air conditioning could be an issue.
WBZ-TV reporter Kristina Rex has covered both trials on a daily basis. She said that while people watching at home can clearly hear witnesses speaking, that is not always the case inside the room.
"I will offer this context from the courtroom -- the excellent audio you hear on stream comes from microphones that play directly into the camera/sound system. They do NOT amplify witnesses in court. The fan often has to be turned off so people in the room can hear," Rex .
After Thursday's day off from testimony, a full day of court proceedings is scheduled for Friday. Court typically begins at 9 a.m. and concludes around 4 p.m.
Karen Read trial latest
Read told reporters after court ended Wednesday that she expects the defense will rest its case "Tuesday, give or take." It is not known what witnesses are left to be called. Attorneys remain under a gag order in the case.
On Wednesday, snowplow driver Brian "Lucky" Loughran testified that he did not see a body in the lawn of 34 Fairview Road in Canton, the home owned by Brian Albert, when he made several passes overnight on January 29, 2022. The defense argues this proves Read did not kill O'Keefe, and his body was instead placed there later.
The prosecution, in turn, asked Loughran which neighbor had a dumpster in their front yard. The plow driver said none, and he would have noticed one if they did. Special prosecutor Hank Brennan later showed dashboard camera video of a neighbor's dumpster in an effort to show that Loughran may not have noticed everything in the neighborhood as he claimed.
Brennan also questioned Loughran about coverage of Read's case by Aidan Kearney, who writes for his blog under the name "Turtleboy." The prosecutor tried to show that Kearney's public pressure could have influenced Loughran's testimony.
Karina Kolokithas, who spent time talking to Read at Waterfall Bar & Grille on the night in question, also testified on Wednesday.
John O'Keefe's death
John O'Keefe was found dead outside the home of another Boston police officer early on the morning of January 29, 2022. Read and O'Keefe were at a bar in Canton the previous night with friends. Read then drove O'Keefe to the home of officer Brian Albert, where people were meeting after leaving the bar.
Prosecutors say that couple was arguing and that Read hit O'Keefe with her SUV and left him to die in the snow.
The defense says that Read left O'Keefe at Albert's home, where he was later killed and placed in the yard.
Read pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. Her first trial ended in a mistrial.
