Federal expert ruled out dog attack in Karen Read case, prosecutors say

An expert hired by Karen Read’s defense team was the subject of sharp cross-examination from a specially appointed prosecutor Tuesday as he sought to bar the expert from testifying at an upcoming trial to her belief that John O’Keefe’s arm injuries were caused by a dog attack before his death.

The expert, Dr. Marie Russell, testified over the course of two days about her experience, qualifications and methodology. Throughout both direct and cross-examination, she remained firm in her belief that wounds on O’Keefe’s right arm were caused by a dog bite, pointing to her years of experience treating such wounds in the emergency room.

During Russell’s cross-examination, the special prosecutor, Hank Brennan, revealed new details about the defense’s claim that O’Keefe was attacked by a dog inside a Canton home on the night of his death.

Brennan said that Norfolk County investigators tracked down the dog in question, a German shepherd named Chloe owned at the time by Brian Albert, whose home O’Keefe was found outside of. And, he revealed prosecutors “went up and saw” the dog and took molds of its mouth.

Prosecutors notified Read’s defense that they had found the dog late last year. Brennan sought to undermine Russell’s credentials to testify about injuries sustained from a bite by that particular dog because she had not personally examined it.

But Russell testified it would be unusual for an emergency room physician to do so and was not a “rational proposition.”

Brennan also revealed that a deputy medical examiner hired by the U.S. attorney’s office concluded O’Keefe’s wounds were “highly unlikely to be the result of an animal bite attack.

The medical examiner, John Walsh, wrote “the injuries do not photographically appear to be, nor are described as puncture bite wounds,” according to Brennan.

But Russell appeared undeterred by the revelation, saying she believed Walsh “didn’t recognize the pattern” and that few physicians in the country were as qualified to testify about dog bite wounds.

“I have at least as much experience as any other possible person in the country, and I have it from both aspects, from the clinical aspect and from the forensic aspect,” Russell said.

Brennan also pressed Russell on conclusions by Walsh that O’Keefe sustained injuries to his brain, scalp and skull consistent with a backward fall. Walsh also noted that unprotected, unobstructed backward falls can result in serious injuries leading to death, according to Brennan.

Walsh also determined that injuries to O’Keefe’s hand could have occurred during a backward fall.

Russell said it was “possible” that was how O’Keefe was injured but that there were “other mechanisms.”

Brennan is attempting to bar Russell from testifying at Read’s second trial on the grounds that she is not qualified to testify about dog bites. Judge Beverly Cannone permitted Russell to testify during Read’s first trial last year.

He argued she used “no real methodology” in reaching her conclusions and questioned her credentials in promoting the defense’s theory. Brennan also pressed Russell on whether she was an expert in accident reconstruction, orthopedics or biomechanics.

During much of his questioning, Brennan attempted to introduce the possibility that O’Keefe may have been hit by a motor vehicle, as prosecutors have determined, pointing to a cracked taillight on Read’s car, fragments of which were found in O’Keefe’s clothing.

But Robert Alessi, an attorney for Read, argued that Russell’s credentials and experience were “enormous.” Barring her from testifying would be a serious blow to Read’s ability to defend herself, he said.

“The greatest danger to a defendant’s right to a jury trial and present its witnesses is to have an entire motion supported by nothing but assertions of an attorney on the other side,” Alessi told Judge Beverly Cannone. “The presumption should be the defendant gets the right to present evidence.”

“Shouldn’t a jury be allowed to hear the alternative theory of the defense … so that justice can be served?” Alessi asked.

Authorities accused Read of intentionally hitting O’Keefe with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow after a night of drinking in January 2022.

Read, 44, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of O’Keefe, who was found cold to the touch and unresponsive on Jan. 29, 2022, outside of a home in Canton.

But Read’s defense has claimed O’Keefe was beaten inside the Albert home and bitten by their dog before his body was dumped outside. They have claimed Read is being framed.