Jury in Karen Read’s murder trial visits the home where boyfriend and police officer John O’Keefe was found dead outside

By Jean Casarez and Holly Yan, CNN

(CNN) — Jurors in Karen Read’s second murder trial traveled Friday to the site of John O’Keefe’s death in 2022.

Read is accused of killing O’Keefe, her boyfriend and a Boston police officer, with her vehicle and leaving him in the snow outside a house in Canton, about 20 miles south of Boston. Her first murder trial ended in a mistrial last year after the jury said it could not reach a unanimous verdict.

Read has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death.

Prosecutors say Read struck O’Keefe with her SUV after dropping him off at a party and returned hours later to find him dead. Defense attorneys say Read was a victim of a conspiracy involving the police.

What we know about the house and the couple’s last night

The night before O’Keefe was found dead, he and Read went out drinking at two bars with friends.

Shortly after midnight, the couple climbed into Read’s SUV and drove to the Canton home of O’Keefe’s colleague for an after-party. There, O’Keefe got out of the vehicle, and Read later drove home.

Early the next morning, Read and two friends drove around in a snowstorm looking for O’Keefe and found his body in the front yard of the Canton house, according to court documents.

Prosecutors say Read’s SUV had a broken taillight, and pieces of it were found outside the Canton home.

But in Read’s first trial, the defense theorized O’Keefe was beaten in the home and mauled by the homeowners’ German shepherd, Chloe, and then tossed out in the snow to die. The police then conspired to fabricate evidence and lie under oath to protect their own, the defense alleged.

A medical examiner determined O’Keefe suffered multiple skull fractures consistent with blunt-force trauma that led to bleeding in the brain.

He also had two swollen black eyes and several abrasions and scrapes on his right arm, the autopsy found. Hypothermia was a contributing factor in his death, the autopsy said.

A crucial visit

Before traveling to the house, Judge Beverly Cannone told jurors that she and attorneys on both sides of the case would join them.

“I have to make something very clear: The purpose of this view is to help you better understand the evidence you will hear at trial and help you appreciate the location and surroundings,” Cannone told the jury.

“The observations that you make while on the view may be used and considered by you in your deliberations in reaching a verdict,” the judge said. “Also, while you are on the view, you are not to take any notes or photographs. You are not to conduct any investigation in this case. You really are simply to stop and look.”

The prosecution and defense each told the jury what they believed jurors should pay attention to at the scene.

The jurors then boarded a bus from the court in Dedham to the house in Canton. There, Read’s Lexus was parked in front of the home – but in a different spot than where it was when jurors from Read’s first murder trial visited last year, CNN affiliate WCVB reported Friday.

Instead of being near the end of the driveway, the SUV was parked near the flagpole where O’Keefe’s body was found, WCVB said.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

CNN’s Elise Hammond, Eric Levenson and Braden Walker contributed to this report.

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