The defense in the Karen Read murder trial is challenging the prosecution's video evidence, claiming it has been "mirrored" and does not accurately depict the events leading up to the victim's death.
BOSTON - The prosecution in the Karen Read murder trial presented video footage on Monday that it alleges shows Read striking her ex-boyfriend and Boston police officer, John O'Keefe, with her SUV before leaving him to die in a snowbank.
The video, which was captured by a surveillance camera mounted on a nearby building, shows a black SUV approaching O'Keefe, who is standing on the side of the road. The SUV then appears to strike O'Keefe and drive over him before speeding away.
Assistant District Attorney John Pappas told the jury that the video evidence is "damning" and proves that Read intentionally killed O'Keefe.
"The defendant clearly had the intent to kill Mr. O'Keefe," Pappas said. "She struck him with her vehicle and left him to die in the cold."
However, the defense attorney for Read, David Meier, argued that the video evidence presented by the prosecution is unreliable because it has been "mirrored." This means that the video has been flipped horizontally, causing objects in the footage to appear on the opposite side of the screen.
Meier said that the mirroring of the video has made it difficult to accurately interpret the events that took place. He argued that the reversed video could give the impression that O'Keefe was standing on the driver's side of the SUV when he was actually on the passenger side.
"The prosecution's video is flawed," Meier said. "It has been mirrored and it does not accurately depict what happened that night."
Meier presented an alternative theory to the jury, suggesting that O'Keefe was struck by a hit-and-run driver while he was retrieving something from his trunk. He said that Read was not present at the time of the incident and that she was unaware of O'Keefe's death until she was questioned by police.
"The defendant is innocent," Meier said. "She did not kill Mr. O'Keefe and she does not deserve to be convicted of his murder."
The trial is now in the hands of the jury, which began deliberating on Wednesday. The jury is tasked with deciding whether Read is guilty of first-degree murder or a lesser charge.
If convicted of first-degree murder, Read faces a sentence of life in prison without parole.
