Karen Read’s silence in murder trial raises stakes for defense
Karen Read’s defense team’s decision to not call her to the witness stand is a gamble that could help or hinder her case after the prosecution played her damaging interview clips in her second murder trial – allowing the jury to hear Read’s version of events in her own words.
Read is facing the possibility of life in prison for the alleged murder of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe. The prosecution claims Read struck O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV in a drunken argument, leaving him to freeze to death in the front yard of a friend’s house party shortly after midnight on Jan. 29, 2022.
Read’s defense team insists her vehicle never made contact with O’Keefe and there was no collision.
"When I first came to practice, it was ‘never put your client on stand, ever,’" New York City defense attorney Louis Gelormino told Fox News Digital. "But I tend to disagree with that sometimes. I think we have gotten our biggest wins when we put our client on the stand."
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On Tuesday, the defense submitted the team’s proposed jury instructions that indicate Read will not take the stand in her trial.
"As you know, Ms. Read did not testify at this trial," the instructions read. "You may not hold that against her. Ms. Read has an absolute right not to testify because, as I've explained, she is presumed to be innocent and does not have to do anything to convince you she is innocent."
The instructions stress that the reason Read chose to not take the witness stand is not relevant to the jury’s deliberations and cannot be considered evidence in her trial. Legal experts tell Fox News Digital the choice to keep a defendant from speaking may not always be the best choice.
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Gelormino said he believes Read would put on a strong performance on the witness stand, but calling her to testify does not come without risks.
"I think the reason they're hiding her is because they don't want to have to have her explain all these videos that they saw of her not acting in a good way," Gelormino said.
Special prosecutor Hank Brennan played numerous clips from Read's televised interviews, picking out clips that could potentially damage the defense.
"I also wonder, did I say, ‘could I have hit him,’" Read said in a 2024 interview with Investigation Discovery. "Or was it told to me that I said I hit him. And I knew I never could’ve said that, so the closest thing I must’ve said was, ‘did I hit him?’"
In the clip, Read questions if she "really [said] it as many times as law enforcement is claiming."
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In another clip, she talked about spiking her own drinks with extra shots because they weren't strong enough.
Gelormino said the defense team likely does not want Read to be confronted about her statements on cross-examination, possibly opening the door for days of tense questioning from the state.
"They don't want to have her explaining all of these misbehaviors or what people would think would be bad behavior," Gelormino said.
But the choice to keep Read off the stand could potentially keep her from providing an explanation for her statements in the interviews while also clarifying her side of the story.
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"There are two sides of every coin," Gelormino told Fox News Digital. "You could put her on and try to have her explain it, or you can avoid it altogether."
Gelormino pointed to the reality that Read could appear defensive while offering an explanation for her on-camera stories, which could shift the jury’s perception of her personality.
"As a defense attorney, you are going to have to clean that up," Gelormino said. "So you are going to be spending a lot of time defending your character there."
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The videos pose a new obstacle for the defense, since they were not played in Read’s first trial last year.
"The first jury almost convicted Read of manslaughter while operating under the influence," retired Massachusetts Superior Court Judge and Boston College law professor Jack Lu told Fox News Digital. "That was with no defendant video statements. Here, we have many damaging statements, and maybe a few more in rebuttal."
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Lu said the defense has not attempted to address the video clips or provide context regarding Read’s version of events at this point in the trial.
"So, the same trial plus the damaging video, where the jury almost convicted, is bad for the defense," Lu said.
As the defense continues calling witnesses, the notable absence of Read’s own testimony will likely only be fully felt once the jury reads its verdict, with the prosecution acting as the only side that opted to include her own words in the courtroom.
"Based on the fact that they had a hung jury the last time, [the defense has] a decent case," Gelormino told Fox News Digital. "So do you want to mess that up with having her defend her actions and character for the next two or three days on the stand? That's a tough decision."