Robert Alessi, the defense attorney, has once more requested a mistrial on Monday. He claimed there was “intentional misconduct” by special prosecutor Hank Brennan during Karen Read’s second murder trial. Alessi had previously made a similar motion which was denied.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
In a dramatic fashion, wearing two black gloves and emphatically striking the podium, Karen Read’s defense attorney Robert Alessi asked for a mistrial once again during her retrial for the murder of her former boyfriend, Boston cop John O’Keefe.
Alessi’s motion came after special prosecutor Hank Brennan’s line of questioning directed at a defense witness about holes found in O’Keefe’s sweatshirt, reportedly caused by an employee at a state crime lab. This incident caused Alessi to trend among true crime enthusiasts on X but also garnered appreciation from defense attorneys not involved in the trial.
Read’s defense denies the prosecution’s allegation that she killed O’Keefe by backing into him with her Lexus SUV amid a drunken argument and fled the scene. They have maintained that the vehicle never struck him at all, and that something else caused his injuries.
“If I’m Alessi, I’m throwing out those missiles every time,” said Louis Gelormino, a New York City defense lawyer.
Jack Lu, a former Massachusetts judge and now a law professor at Boston College, was more forgiving of the special prosecutor.
“To the aspiring trial lawyer-law student, it shows that even the greatest stumble,” he told Fox News Digital. “What a grueling occupation.”
Dr. Elizabeth Laposata returns to the stand Tuesday for a second day of testimony as the defense nears an end to its case. She testified Monday that O’Keefe’s skull fracture was consistent with a backward fall – but something else, possibly a fist, caused the cut above his right eye.
Read could face up to life in prison if convicted of the top charge of second-degree murder. She is also accused of drunken driving manslaughter and leaving the scene.
