Watch Live: Karen Read murder trial closing arguments

DEDHAM – Closing arguments are being offered Tuesday morning in Karen Read’s‘ high-profile murder trial at Norfolk Superior Courtroom in Dedham, Massachusetts. Each side will get an hour earlier than the jury is given the case for deliberations after almost two months of testimony.

You possibly can watch the closing arguments reside on CBS Information Boston by clicking on the video participant above. 

Learn is charged with second-degree homicide within the demise of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, on January 29, 2022. She has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecution opens with Karen Learn’s alleged “I hit him” statements

Simply earlier than 11:15 a.m., prosecutor Adam Lally opened his closing argument by quoting witness testimony of what the state says Read said the morning O’Keefe’s body was found.

“‘I hit him, I hit him, I hit him, I hit him.’ These are the phrases of the defendant. 4 instances,” Lally mentioned. “You heard testimony from 4 totally different witnesses who overheard and noticed these statements from the defendant on January 29, 2022.”

Lally identified Learn’s conduct within the early morning hours after O’Keefe’s demise. He famous that Learn made dozens of cellphone calls and textual content messages, however didn’t name police when she found O’Keefe was lacking.

“No calls to 911 from the defendant whereas John O’Keefe is laying, freezing and dying from a mind damage and cranium fracture, on the entrance garden of 34 Fairview Highway,” Lally mentioned.

Trooper Michael Proctor’s textual content messages

Lally addressed the conduct of Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, who was the lead investigator within the case.

When Proctor was on the stand, he needed to learn derogatory text messages he despatched to family and friends about Learn. In a single message, Proctor mentioned “She’s a whackjob [expletive]” and in one other mentioned “hopefully she kills herself.”

“Let me first simply deal with Trooper Proctor. The textual content messages from Trooper Proctor are unprofessional, they’re indefensible, they’re inexcusable,” Lally mentioned. “Nonetheless, as distasteful as these messages are and their contents, I submit they haven’t any bearing by any means or affect by any means on the integrity of everything of the investigation that Massachusetts State Police collectively carried out into John O’Keefe’s demise.”

Lally highlights “The little issues”

Lally referenced one of many first witnesses within the trial, John O’Keefe’s sister-in-law Erin O’Keefe.

Erin O’Keefe referred to as Learn the morning of January 29, 2022, after studying John O’Keefe was lifeless.

“Erin O’Keefe once more calls again later as a result of she’s involved for somebody that she thought-about her buddy. How does the defendant reply? These are a number of the little issues,” Lally mentioned. “The defendant signifies to Ms. O’Keefe that she simply has to recollect the dangerous instances, and signifies to her ‘I do not assume I am going to ever see you guys once more.'”

All through his closing argument, Lally urged jurors to contemplate “the little issues” as he did in recalling Erin O’Keefe’s testimony.

Karen Learn’s protection makes closing case

Protection legal professional Alan Jackson started his closing argument simply after 10 a.m. and took the complete one hour of allotted time. 

On the shut of his argument, he issued a closing plea to the jurors.

“Once you stare the reality down, you will see that the Commonwealth has not confirmed its case past an affordable doubt and to an ethical certainty. Not even shut. Women and gents, Karen Learn is harmless. Do justice and discover her not responsible,”

Protection says “There was a coverup on this case, plain and easy”

Earlier, Jackson laid out what he calls a transparent coverup.

“Women and gents there was a coverup on this case, plain and easy,” Jackson mentioned.

Jackson started to put out an allegedly elaborate coverup, referencing what he described as destroyed proof, compromised investigators and planted proof.

“It isn’t that it might occur. It is that each single a kind of issues that I simply talked about did occur, proper in entrance of you,” Jackson mentioned.

John O’Keefe’s accidents

In line with Jackson, the proof offered by the prosecution is “laughable.”

“It needs to be comparatively easy, proper? The Commonwealth claims that Karen Learn pulled as much as 34 Fairview, John bought out of the automobile, she reversed into him, after which she drove residence. That is 4 info. Simply 4 info, that is all it’s. What proof do they really must show that that SUV ever hit John?” Jackson mentioned. “The reply is none. They have no. There isn’t any proof by any means that Karen Learn’s automobile ever struck John O’Keefe or that Karen Learn ever needed to strike John O’Keefe.”

Jackson additionally claimed that O’Keefe’s accidents don’t match a automobile strike, and as a substitute are per a battle. He famous that the dearth of serious accidents like damaged bones or bruising present that O’Keefe was not hit by Learn’s SUV.

“John bought into an altercation. He was punched. He tried to defend himself by placing his arms up. He could have even scratched his personal nostril by placing his arms in entrance of his face to defend himself. His arms had been bruised in protecting up. As he continued, he bought hit and fell to floor, fracturing his cranium,” Jackson mentioned.

Alan Jackson blames Brian Albert, Brian Higgins

Jackson zeroed in on Brian Albert and Brian Higgins as two males who he says killed O’Keefe. 

Albert, a retired Boston police officer, owned the Canton residence the place O’Keefe’s physique was discovered and was internet hosting an afterparty that evening. Higgins, an ATF agent who exchanged flirty textual content messages with Learn, was on the occasion after consuming with the group that included Albert, O’Keefe, and Learn earlier within the night.

The protection has mentioned all through the case that O’Keefe was killed throughout a battle and bitten by Albert’s German shepherd Chloe. O’Keefe’s arm had scratch marks that the prosecution mentioned was brought on by Learn’s damaged taillight. 

“How lengthy does it take to have a cross phrase? How lengthy does it take to have a battle? How lengthy wouldn’t it take for Brian Higgins to say to John, ‘You already know your woman has been texting me?’ A push, a punch, a fall, pull Chloe off his arm and now it is executed,” Jackson mentioned in his closing. “What’s it? 5 seconds? Ten? It does not take lengthy in any respect. After which the panic units in. It wasn’t supposed to go that far. However what’s executed is finished. After which some very, very odd issues begin occurring on the Albert family.”

Juror dismissed earlier than closing arguments

The beginning of closing arguments was delayed as a juror was dismissed following a number of sidebar discussions. 

Earlier than the complete jury was introduced into the courtroom, attorneys met at sidebar with Decide Beverly Cannone and the feminine juror. 

Seventeen jurors had been initially sworn in after prolonged jury choice. Two jurors had been excused throughout the trial and the feminine juror on Tuesday grew to become the third to be excused. That left the panel with eight ladies and 6 males.   

John O’Keefe’s household arrives for closing arguments

Members of the O’Keefe household arrived for Tuesday’s closing statements and sat with a number of individuals who had been key witnesses within the trial.

Brian Albert walked into the courtroom with the O’Keefe household. 

Along with Albert, Jennifer McCabe, Colin Albert, and Kerry Roberts, who all testified for the prosecution, are sitting with the O’Keefe household.

With McCabe sitting simply ft away, Jackson mentioned throughout his closing argument that she was “blatantly mendacity” throughout her testimony.

“Free Karen Learn” supporters exterior court docket

In line with WBZ-TV’s Penny Kmitt, at the least 250 folks had been exterior the court docket Tuesday morning when Learn arrived, a lot of them chanting “Free Karen Learn.”

All through the trial, supporters have been saved again from the courthouse by a “buffer zone” put in place in an effort to keep up an unbiased jury.

What’s Karen Learn accused of?

The prosecution says Learn hit O’Keefe along with her Lexus SUV exterior a house in Canton and left him to die throughout snowstorm. Learn’s protection attorneys say she’s being framed. They declare O’Keefe was overwhelmed to demise inside the house, bitten by a canine, then dumped within the entrance yard by the lads concerned within the alleged battle.

After calling 68 witnesses over the course of almost two months, prosecutors rested their case on Friday. The protection accomplished its listing of six witnesses on Monday after which rested its case.

Who’re the attorneys within the Karen Learn trial?

Lally is the prosecutor from the Norfolk Rely District Legal professional’s workplace. He offered the state’s case together with Assistant District Legal professional Laura McLaughlin throughout the trial.

Jackson and David Yannetti are Learn’s lead attorneys. Elizabeth Little additionally questioned a number of witnesses throughout the trial for the protection. Yannetti dealt with the defense’s opening statements in April whereas Jackson was tasked with closing arguments.

Jackson represented Kevin Spacey on Nantucket in 2016 when the actor was accused of sexually assaulting a younger man. Prosecutors later dropped the case against Spacey.

Karen Learn homicide trial jury deliberations

On Tuesday, both sides shall be given one hour to current its closing argument. The jury heard from 74 witness throughout 29 days of testimony.

The jury of 14 shall be trimmed to 12 for deliberations. Decide Cannone will choose the foreperson after which 11 shall be randomly chosen to deliberate, by a bingo cage with wood quantity blocks in it. 

Then, Decide Cannone will give directions to jurors earlier than they start deliberations. 

Who’s Karen Learn?

Learn, 44, of Mansfield, Massachusetts, is charged with three felonies – second-degree homicide, manslaughter whereas working drunk and leaving the scene of non-public damage and demise.

She and O’Keefe had been courting on the time he died, although witnesses testified that their relationship was strained.

Prosecutors say Learn had been consuming for hours with O’Keefe in Canton earlier than she hit him along with her Lexus SUV after dropping him off an an after-party at 34 Fairview Highway.

Learn’s attorneys argue O’Keefe truly went inside Brian Albert’s residence and was killed throughout a battle. A number of prosecution witnesses testified that O’Keefe by no means went inside the home.