A request by prosecutors in the Karen Read murder case for the release of phone records between Read and her parents on the night of John O’Keefe’s death has been denied.
Judge Beverly Cannone denied the motion Friday afternoon, writing, “Despite the detailed arguments articulated in the supporting memorandum and at oral argument, the affidavit in support of the motion is insufficient on it’s face and fails to meet the requirements of Lampron and Mass.R.Crim P.(13)(a)(2).”
The prosecution was seeking phone records from Read’s mother, part of their planned questioning of her father in January’s retrial of some of Massachusetts’ most controversial criminal charges in years.
The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office wanted the records of all phone calls made by Janet Read between Dec. 30, 2021, and Jan. 30, 2022.
Read is accused of fatally hitting her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, with her SUV early on the morning of Jan. 29, 2022, leaving him to die in the cold. Prosecutors say she called both her mother and her father, William Read. She also allegedly texted with her father, too.
Prosecutors are looking to call William Read to testify in the retrial — he wasn’t called in her initial trial, which ended with a hung jury — because they believe his daughter told him she felt she might have hit something, something he said in a news interview. But his phone records indicate they spoke on a call for nearly four minutes before Read left the scene where O’Keefe’s body was found — prosecutors are seeking unaired footage from the William Read TV interview as well.
As for Janet Read, prosecutors were hoping to use her phone records “as potential impeachment evidence depending on the testimony of William Read.”
The Commonwealth believes that Read called her parents around 1:30 a.m. the day O’Keefe was found.
“The interference is strong evidence that Ms. Read knew she had done something terrible, she knew she had struck John O’Keefe and she knew she had left him behind,” attorney Hank Brennan previously argued.
The defense had pushed back on the prosecutions request, arguing that prosecutors should have the information they need from previously disclosed records from Read’s phone and calling the motion a “fishing expedition.”
Read’s first trial ended in a mistrial over the summer. Both the prosecution and her defense have asked for her retrial to be pushed from January to April so they have more time to prepare.
Led by new special prosecutor Hank Brennan, the prosecution has cast a wider net of evidence since the mistrial, seeking information from news organizations, including NBC.
Read has pleaded not guilty to the three charges against her, including second-degree murder, and alleges she’s the victim of a widespread coverup.
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