Brown University professor to testify for defense in Karen Read trial

CANTON, M.A. — Clinical associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Brown University, Elizabeth Laposata, will testify as an expert witness for the defense in the Karen Read trial.

In his opening statement, one of Read’s attorneys, Alan Jackson, maintained that Laposata’s testimony would demonstrate that Officer John O’Keefe did not suffer from hypothermia after being discovered outside 34 Fairview Road in Canton.

“She will testify that John O’Keefe did not suffer from hypothermia, despite the prosecution’s expected claims,” Jackson stated. “His body exhibited no signs—no frostbite, no cold-related organ damage, no injuries consistent with prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures.”

Karen Read’s defense is arguing that O’Keefe must have been injured somewhere else, somewhere warmer, and that his body must have been moved out into the cold.

The Karen Read trial centers around the charges against Karen Read, a former police officer from Canton, Massachusetts, who is accused of manslaughter in connection with the death of her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, a Boston police officer. O’Keefe was found dead in February 2022, lying in the snow outside his home. Initially, Read claimed that she accidentally ran over him after a night of drinking, and that he had fallen in front of her vehicle.

Read’s defense, on the other hand, maintains that the incident was a tragic accident, and they have enlisted expert witnesses, including Elizabeth Laposata, a clinical associate professor at Brown University, to testify on their behalf.

As the trial unfolds, key points of contention include whether O’Keefe’s death was indeed accidental, and whether Read’s actions after the incident reflect criminal intent or a series of unfortunate, but not criminal, events. The trial has attracted considerable media attention due to the tragic nature of the case, the relationship between the parties involved, and the high-profile nature of the individuals in law enforcement.

Photo: WCVB5