DEDHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - Karen Read entered Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham with her lawyers Friday, rounding out another week of her murder retrial.
Read is accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe by hitting him with her SUV and leaving him to die in a snowbank in January 2022. Her lawyers argue she is being framed in a police coverup.
Her first trial last year ended in a mistrial.
Andre Porto, a forensic scientist from the Massachusetts State Police, took the witness stand. He was tasked with conducting DNA analysis of evidence in the case, including from Read’s tail light and the broken drinking glass found on scene at 34 Fairview Road.
He told prosecutors that O’Keefe’s DNA was found on both items. The defense questioned Porto on two other sets of DNA also discovered.
“You found that there were three contributors of DNA to that tail light attached to the vehicle, correct?” defense attorney David Yannetti asked.
“Correct,” Porto said.
“One of those contributors appeared to be John O’Keefe? Is that fair to say?” Yannetti asked.
“He was included, to the profile,” Porto said.
“With regard to the other two contributors, who were they?” Yannetti asked.
“They could be anybody,” Porto said.
“Were you ever asked to compare DNA samples from either Canton Police Detective Kevin Albert or Canton Police Chief Kenneth Berkowitz to the DNA profile that you analyzed from that passenger side tail light?” Yannetti said.
“I was not,” Porto replied.
“Were you ever asked with regard to that broken drinking glass to compare the DNA profile that you analyzed with the DNA of either Boston Police Sgt. Brian Albert or ATF Agent Brian Higgins?” Yannetti asked.
“I was not,” Porto said.
The state did collect DNA from Sgt. Yuriy Bukhenik and now-fired Trooper Michael Proctor, to exclude them from the crime scene.
Porto analyzed a hair found on the bumper, but could not conclude a match with O’Keefe. The shaft of hair was sent to an independent lab for more testing. An employee of that lab testified last summer the hair likely belonged to the victim.
Ash Vallier, a member of the Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory, was also on the stand Friday.
She described her process of physical match analysis, piecing together sections of tail light collected from the Canton home. The jury was shown several photos of evidence found at the scene.
Read had no comment outside court Friday afternoon.
On Thursday, medical examiner Dr. Irini Scordi-Bello walked the jury through every injury O’Keefe sustained the night he died.
This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.
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