What to Know
- Karen Read is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a vehicle under the influence and leaving the scene
- She is accused of striking John O'Keefe, her Boston police officer boyfriend, with her SUV in 2022 and leaving him to die alone in the snow outside of a house party in Canton, Massachusetts
- Her defense team has said she is the victim of a vast police conspiracy and that O'Keefe was fatally beaten by another law enforcement officer at the party
- On Thursday, Mass. State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik presented his case during direct examination, then endured questions about the investigation's integrity and the actions of disgraced former Trooper Michael Proctor, who he supervised back in 2022
Watch tonight's "Canton Confidential" in the video player atop this story.
On Day 13 of the Karen Read trial, Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik returned to the stand for more cross-examination by defense attorney Alan Jackson.
Bukhenik oversaw the investigation into John O'Keefe's death and supervised disgraced former Trooper Michael Proctor.
Proctor's testimony became a flashpoint of the first trial when it was revealed that he sent vulgar, unprofessional text messages about Read while investigating the case — texts Bukhenik read in court Thursday.
On Friday, the defense had Bukhenik read out different texts submitted as evidence, ones between Read and Brian Higgins, a federal officer whom Read's lawyers contend, as part of their third-party defense, may have been O'Keefe's real killer.
Proctor was fired from the department in part due to misconduct displayed while investigating O'Keefe's death.
Read is accused of hitting O'Keefe, her Boston police officer boyfriend, with her SUV in 2022 and leaving him to die alone in the snow outside of a house party at 34 Fairview Road in Canton. Her defense team has said she was a victim of a vast police conspiracy and that O'Keefe was fatally beaten by another law enforcement officer at the party.
A mistrial was declared last year after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
See how the day in court unfolded here:
