Karen Read murder trial delayed until Friday due to heat, judge says

The second trial of Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman accused of killing her police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe, will be delayed until Friday because of heat, Judge Beverly Cannone told the court.

Cannone's announcement came after a half-day of testimony from a snow plow driver and a resident who went to a bar with Read and O'Keefe the night before he was found dead. Citing the 90-to-95 degree temperatures expected in Massachusetts on June 5, Cannone opted to give the jury the day off.

Before the delay, the court heard testimony from Brian Loughran, a snow plow driver for the town of Canton, who said he did not see O'Keefe's body in the yard of now-retired Boston Police Officer Brian Albert, where O'Keefe was found dead on Jan. 29, 2022. He told the court he passed by the house multiple times on his route beginning around 2:45 a.m.

The state grilled him about his memory and recollections, citing different statements Loughran gave over the years regarding the times he passed Albert's house and when his shift ended. Prosecutor Hank Brennan also pressed Loughran about whether he felt intimidated by an unnamed internet blogger.

Loughran said he did not feel intimidated or threatened to testify a certain way. He did, however, say that he was "celebrated" for providing testimony positive to Read's defense during her first trial. He added that he found the acclaim "encouraging," but ultimately "did not want" the attention.

Prosecutors maintain that Read backed into O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV after a night of drinking and left him to die in the snow. Read's defense claims officers beat O'Keefe, let a dog attack him, threw him out in the snow and purposely bungled the investigation as part of a cover-up.

The high-profile whodunnit has sparked massive intrigue from true crime fans across the country, spurring an array of podcasts, movies and television shows.

Resident saw Read and O'Keefe walking toward Read's SUV

The second witness called to the stand on June 5 was Karina Kolokithas, a Canton pharmacist, who went out with her husband, O'Keefe, Read and others the night before O'Keefe was found dead.

She described the mood at Waterfall Bar & Grille as "celebratory."

After about an hour, she said she walked out of Waterfall Bar & Grille around midnight with Read and Jennifer McCabe, a friend of Read and O'Keefe. She said McCabe went to Read, put her arm around her and said "You're coming with me, you're coming with me." Kolokithas said Read seemed a bit puzzled, asking, "What, where are we going?"

“It was just strange,” Kolokithas said. “It stood out.”

Kolokithas said Read did not, however, leave with McCabe. She told the court the last time she saw Read was when she was walking beside O'Keefe in the direction of her SUV. She said she did not have any concerns about Read's ability to drive that night.

Witness recalls tender moment between O'Keefe, Read

Kolokithas said O’Keefe was “very happy” the night before he was found dead. She went out to Waterfall Bar & Grille in Canton with her husband, Read, O'Keefe and others on the night of Jan. 28, 2022.

Kolokithas said she spent most of the night talking with Read about their families. She remembered O’Keefe at one point walked over and kissed Read on the forehead.

“That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen,” Kolokithas remembered thinking. The defense then played surveillance video from the bar showing the forehead kiss.

Prosecutors questions snow plow driver on internet blogger

Brennan asked Loughran multiple times if he was ever threatened or intimidated to provide testimony that would support Read's defense. Loughran repeatedly denied that he was intimidated.

Brennan's questions centered on an unnamed blogger, presumably Aidan Kearney, also known as "Turtleboy," a internet personality who has stirred support for Read's claims of innocence. Kearney has been accused by prosecutors of harassing or intimidating witnesses in the case.

Loughran told the court he was aware of the blogger's large reach and said he follows the blogger's page, but does not pay for a subscription. Loughran said he received a call from the blogger at one point and added that it was recorded without his knowledge.

Further, Loughran said he has been "celebrated" for providing testimony positive to the defense. While he felt it was "encouraging," he said he "did not want" the acclaim and was just testifying truthfully.

He also said he took photos with people following the case closely, but reiterated that he did not want attention.

Prosecutor grills snow plow driver on his testimony

Brennan on cross-examination grilled Loughran on his varying statements regarding his shift on the morning of Jan. 29, 2022.

Brennan presented multiple examples of Loughran giving different statements on the time he passed by the house where O'Keefe was found dead.

He also grilled Loughran on the inclement weather and his recollections. Loughran said he would have been able to see a body in the front yard where O'Keefe was found dead.

But when Brennan asked if he remembered a large dumpster in front of one of the houses along a route, Loughran could not recall it.

"Did you have any reason to look for someone lying on the side of the yard?" Brennan asked.

"No," Loughran said.

Snow plow driver says he did not see O'Keefe's body

The first witness called to the stand on June 4 was Brian Loughran, a snow plow driver for the town of Canton who was working an overnight shift the day O'Keefe was found dead.

He told defense attorney David Yannett that he did not see a body outside the house of now-retired Boston Police Officer Brian Albert where O'Keefe was found dead under several inches of snow on Jan. 29, 2022. Loughran gave the identical testimony in Read's first trial last year.

"I saw nothing," he told the court on June 4.

Loughran said he passed Albert's house multiple times beginning at 2:40 a.m., hours after prosecutors allege Read had hit O'Keefe with her SUV. He said he could see straight out of the plow and diagonally "as far as my eyes would let me see." He also said he wore contact lenses that morning because of inclement weather.

Loughran said he knows all of the Albert brothers, including Brian Albert. He also used to deliver pizzas for Chris Albert, the brother of Brian Albert.

Judge denies Read a mistrial

The defense team representing Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman accused of killing her police officer boyfriend, has called their next witness to the stand after a judge denied their motion for a mistrial.

The motion came after hours of testimony this week centered on a dog named Chloe and whether she had attacked O'Keefe. Marie Russell, an emergency physician and former forensic pathologist, testified that the that large, surface-level gashes found on O’Keefe’s arm came from canine claws and teeth – supporting the defense's theory that officers beat O'Keefe, let the dog attack him and tossed his body in the snow.

Prosecutors questioned Russell about whether she knew that no dog DNA was found on the sweater O'Keefe wore on the night of the murder. It was the first time the jury had heard about the DNA evidence and the first time prosecutors presented it in Read's second trial. The defense argued it was not permissible for prosecutors to present the DNA evidence so late in the trial.

The judge disagreed and soon squashed the defense's motion for a mistrial.

How to watch the Karen Read trial     

CourtTV has been covering the case against Read and the criminal investigation since early 2022, when O'Keefe's body was found outside a Massachusetts home.    

You can watch CourtTV’s live feed of the Read trial proceedings from Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. Proceedings began at 10 a.m. ET.