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DEDHAM — During a hearing Tuesday in the Karen Read murder trial, a defense expert testified that the injuries on her police officer boyfriend’s right arm were “consistent with a large dog attack.”
“Those injuries appear to be consistent with a large animal attack,” retired California emergency room physician Marie Russell testified after looking at an autopsy photo of the right arm of Read’s boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe.
Asked by defense lawyer Alan Jackson to further explain her opinion, Russell, who is also a retired pathologist and a former police officer, said the injuries “are consistent with a large dog attack.”
Russell’s testimony in Dedham Superior Court and that of two accident reconstruction experts took place without the jury present. Whether they will get to offer their opinions during the high profile trial of Read, 44, of Mansfield, will be up to Judge Beverly Cannone.
The judge said she would decide on Thursday whether the witnesses will get to take the stand when the defense presents its case. The jury returns to court Thursday to hear more prosecution testimony.
Read is accused of intentionally backing her Lexus SUV into O’Keefe, 46, outside the Canton home of another Boston police officer on Jan. 29, 2022, after a night of barhopping, then leaving O’Keefe to die in a snowstorm.
Read has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and two related charges and claims she is being framed as part of a wide-ranging conspiracy by law enforcement with close ties to Canton and state police.
Her lawyers have argued that O’Keefe was beaten in the basement of the house, owned by Boston police officer Brian Albert, and attacked by a pet German shepherd mix after Read dropped him off for an after party.
Russell said she reviewed autopsy photos and the medical examiner’s report and determined the marks on O’Keefe’s arm were scratches and bite marks from a large dog and that holes in his clothing were caused when the dog bit him.
Russell’s opinion appears to contradict the earlier testimony of a forensic scientist from the University of California, Davis veterinary genetics lab who found no canine DNA on clothing worn by O’Keefe.
Russell said she did not review the veterinarian’s findings or records related to Chloe, the pet dog owned by Brian and Nicole Albert, who the couple testified they “rehomed” in Vermont after it bit a woman.
Her conclusion also contradicts a state police accident reconstruction expert who testified Monday that O’Keefe’s arm injuries were caused when Read struck him with her SUV and her right rear taillight broke apart.
Prosecutor Adam Lally argued that Russell should not be allowed to testify because he was only notified by the defense about her last month while the trial was in its sixth week of testimony.
Lally also said Russell did not review police or lab reports, the veterinarian’s findings about the lack of canine DNA or Chloe’s “bite history,” which included photographs.
During his argument, Jackson said he did not know Russell and was contacted only recently by a friend in the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office who Russell called when she read about the case.
The defense lawyer said he sent the information about Chloe and the veterinarian’s findings but did not know why Russell did not review them.
Despite only recently learning about Russell after the trial started, Jackson said she should not be excluded because Read has a right to rebut the opinions of witnesses for the prosecution who say O’Keefe’s injuries were caused by being struck by Read’s SUV.
If she decides to allow Russell to testify, Cannone said she will allow the prosecution to call a witness to rebut her opinion.
The judge is also considering whether to allow testimony from two accident reconstruction experts who work for a private company and were hired by the FBI as part of a separate federal probe into Read’s case.
The witnesses, Daniel Wolfe and Andrew Rentschler, testified Tuesday about their credentials and experience but were not asked about their opinions.
They work for ARCCA Inc., a forensic engineering company in Pennsylvania, and prepared a report for the FBI. The confidential report was given earlier to the defense and the prosecution.
During a pretrial hearing in March, Jackson said the experts hired by the FBI determined O’Keefe’s injuries “were inconsistent” with being struck by Read’s SUV.
The U.S. attorney’s office has declined to comment on its investigation.
www.thesunchronicle.com
