The defense team’s final witness returned to the stand Wednesday in Karen Read’s murder retrial, as lawyers prepare to hand the case to jurors in the coming days.
Andrew Rentschler, a biomechanist and accident reconstruction expert, is expected to testify about his analysis of what caused Boston police officer John O’Keefe’s head, brain and body injuries.
O’Keefe’s was found lying frozen and unconscious underneath a pile of snow outside the home of another cop, Brian Albert, on Jan. 29, 2022. He had a skull fracture, cuts on his face, two black eyes and surface-level gashes along his right arm. Police later found red plastic pieces nearby and a broken cocktail glass near where his body was discovered.
More: The dog did it? What to know about the German Shepherd tied to the Karen Read trial
Read, 45, is accused of backing into O’Keefe, her boyfriend at the time, with her Lexus SUV while dropping him off at a house party after a night out drinking with friends and then leaving him to die outside in the middle of a historic blizzard. Prosecutors charged her with second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death.
