Boston, MA

Karen Read team seeks DA's personal emails, says prosecution expert misunderstood data

Published

1 year ago

November 8, 2024

Karen Read team seeks DA's personal emails, says prosecution expert misunderstood data

The defense team in the high-profile Karen Read case has requested any communications that Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey made from his personal phone and email accounts involving the case, which is headed for a retrial.

It was one of several filings made by the defense Friday, along with a response to the prosecution’s request to have evidence from Read’s SUV re-tested because a new expert said the data previously taken from the Lexus was incomplete, and that more data may be recoverable. The defense now says that the expert misunderstood the data, but is willing to have the data retested anyway.

Morrissey’s office has been embroiled in controversy over the claims that Read was framed in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe. The prosecution has accused Read of hitting him with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow in front of a home in Canton, Massachusetts, in January 2022. The defense argues Read is the victim of an elaborate coverup.

Read is facing charges of second-degree murder, knowingly leaving the scene of an accident, and involuntary manslaughter, though she’s appealed to have two of the charges dropped.

Read’s new trial is currently set to begin on Jan. 27, 2025, though both sides have requested it be pushed back until April.

Karen Read defense’s request for Morrissey emails, texts

The new request for Morrissey’s personal communications, which refers to a claim made by an attorney for Aidan Kearney, the blogger known as Turtleboy, that Morrissey used his personal email account in communications concerning official matters, comes days after the prosecution moved for records from interviews read did last year with Boston Magazine

As prosecutors prepare for Karen Read’s second murder trial, they are asking for records of an interview she did last year with Boston Magazine.

The defense now argues that the district attorney has been using personal accounts to discuss Read’s case in an official capacity, meaning that information should be released to them as part of the discovery process.

They pointed to an email Morrissey allegedly sent a judge in September of last year, a day after a witness in the Read case applied for a harassment prevention order against Kearney — which was denied.

That email, lawyers say, came from Morrissey’s personal iCloud email account instead of his state email address.

Morrissey raised concerns in the email about a Stoughton District Court employee sharing a copy of an affidavit with Kearney, according to the letter from attorney Mark Bederow, who represents the blogger.

A court spokesperson said that court employee was placed on paid administrative leave last October and terminated the following month, but declined to comment on the reason.

Read’s defense is arguing that Morrissey’s contact with Trial Court Justices “is extremely concerning and raises concerns about the integrity of this prosecution.”

Asked for comment on the filings, Morrissey’s office said any response will be made in court, citing the pending case.

Data from Karen Read’s SUV

In the the defense’s response about re-testing information from her Lexus, the alleged murder weapon in the case, they claim that the commonwealth’s expert fundamentally misunderstood the difference between the terms megabit and megabyte — two different sizes of storage capacity of computer chips — from Read’s vehicle.

Hank Brennan, a new special prosecutor for the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office, signed a filing calling for new testing on the vehicle they allege Karen Read drove into John O’Keefe in 2022.

The misunderstanding of the “basic digital forensics concept” is important, the defense says, because the commonwealth’s expert was arguing that the defense expert’s extraction of data from the chips was incomplete, based on the assumed storage size. The defense expert extracted 8 megabytes of data from the chips, which the commonwealth had argued was not the full amount. But the defense says there is easy math involved – 64 megabits is equal to 8 megabytes. If there was confusion between the two terms, the storage amounts would reconcile.

Moreover, such a mistake calls into question what other mistakes could occur during testing, some of which would be destructive to the evidence, they said. But they agreed that new software could help pull more information from the vehicle.

So the defense requested their forensics expert be present during any future testing, and be given the power to stop any testing if there were concerns about its accuracy or necessity.

Karen Read was in Massachusetts’ highest court Wednesday where her lawyers argued why two of the charges against her should be dropped or at least reexamined following outreach from jurors saying Read would have been acquitted.

We asked legal expert Michael Coyne how the court might rule, and talked to Read’s father outside of court.

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Boston, MA

Despite Celtics loss, Jayson Tatum feels weight lifted after New York return

Published

10 hours ago

April 10, 2026

Press Room

Despite Celtics loss, Jayson Tatum feels weight lifted after New York return

NEW YORK — Jayson Tatum was not looking forward to his first game back at Madison Square Garden since he ruptured his Achilles there last May.

He won’t remember the outcome fondly, either. The Celtics lost to the Knicks in a 112-106 nailbiter, missing out on a chance to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

But regardless of the result, Tatum viewed Thursday night’s matchup as another important step in his comeback journey.

“It was a big moment, big hurdle for me,” he said. “I was nervous and anxious to come back here. Obviously, I wanted to win and play great, but more importantly, I just kind of wanted to walk off the floor on my own two feet.”

Tatum did that, delivering an uneven but productive performance in his 16th game of the season.

The good: He played a season-high 40 minutes and tallied 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, narrowly missing what would have been his second triple-double in Boston’s last five games. The not-so-good: He shot the ball poorly (7-for-22; 2-for-10 from 3-point range), committed six turnovers and was a team-worst minus-16.

Despite the loss — just the Celtics’ third with Tatum in the lineup this season — he called the night a “huge” mental victory for him. He made the call earlier in the week to play in this game rather than Friday’s home matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans, which would have delayed his emotional MSG return until a potential Celtics-Knicks rematch in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Tatum admitted he was “not thrilled” about the prospect of returning to MSG, but he wanted to “face the challenge head-on” and remove one of the final pieces of mental baggage he’d been carrying since his injury. The anxiety he felt when he arrived at the arena for morning shootaround lingered past tipoff before eventually dissipating.

“Today was important to me, especially when I made the decision to come back and then made the decision to play today,” Tatum said. “I’m glad I did. I feel a lot better. Even (with) the loss.”

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said Tatum “looked good out there.”

“It looked comfortable,” Mazzulla said. “… Obviously a ton of emotions on a day like this, but once the game started, he kind of got in a game flow.”

Tatum now is likely to sit out against New Orleans, as he is not yet cleared to play on back-to-back nights. The Celtics can clinch the second seed by beating the Pelicans or the Orlando Magic in Sunday’s regular-season finale (both at TD Garden), or with a Knicks loss to the Toronto Raptors or Charlotte Hornets.

“I’m definitely checking off a lot of boxes,” Tatum said. “This was one of the last few. Obviously, playoffs coming up soon, but this is one of the ones that was at the top.”

Reserves Payton Pritchard (23 points, 10-for-20, six assists) and Baylor Scheierman (season-high 20 points, 7-for-8) starred in supporting roles for a Celtics team that was playing without top scorer Jaylen Brown. The Celtics got little offensive production from starters Derrick White and Sam Hauser, who scored a combined 14 points on 4-of-17 shooting in the loss.

The Celtics listed four-fifths of their starting lineup as questionable for Thursday’s game before upgrading White, Hauser and Neemias Queta to available. Brown was ruled out with Achilles tendonitis, the same ailment that sidelined him for wins over Atlanta and Charlotte late last month.

Jordan Walsh filled Brown’s spot, making his third start in the last seven games. Walsh sat through six consecutive DNP-CDs after Tatum’s return but recently reclaimed a spot in Mazzulla’s rotation. He spent much of the first half guarding Jalen Brunson, New York’s All-Star point guard, before getting in foul trouble and sitting for the final 20-plus minutes.

Knicks wing Mikal Bridges opened the game with a personal 7-0 run, but the Celtics responded by scoring 21 of the next 28 points. Tatum sparked that early rally with a steal and a fast-break layup, followed by a spinning and-one finish over Josh Hart and a drawn foul on another drive. He also lobbed an alley-oop to Queta, who added a putback off a missed Hauser 3-pointer and drew a foul on his second offensive rebound of the first quarter.

Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta, left, and New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns battle for a loose ball during the first half of an NBA game Thursday, April 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)

Pritchard scored 11 points over the final five minutes of the opening period. Brunson countered with eight points in the final 63 seconds — free throws after a Walsh foul and two triples — to cut Boston’s lead to 29-26.

The Knicks built a five-point lead early in the second by capitalizing on a series of Nikola Vucevic miscues. The Celtics’ backup center allowed two makes at the rim by his counterpart, Mitchell Robinson, fouled Robinson on a lob and committed a turnover that led to a fast-break layup by Jordan Clarkson.

The Celtics were outscored by nine points during Vucevic’s first shift off the bench, continuing a trend that’s persisted since his return from a fractured ring finger last weekend. The trade-deadline pickup was a minus-15 in the first half Sunday against Toronto and a minus-11 in the first quarter Tuesday against Charlotte.

Vucevic eventually scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting and finished as plus-1 in 24 minutes. The Celtics view his often choppy minutes as necessary to get him reintegrated before the postseason.

“(They’re) very important,” Pritchard said. “He just came back from an injury, so he’s been out for a while. New team. So it’s an adjustment period, and we don’t have time to practice and play against each other, so this is kind of our practice time with him. He’s being thrown out there in these moments, but it’ll make us better and ready for the playoffs.”

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens recently said Vucevic will benefit more than any other Celtic from the team’s upcoming weeklong break, which will afford him valuable practice time before the playoffs begin. He’s been Mazzulla’s go-to big behind Queta since his finger healed, resulting in three straight healthy DNPs for Luka Garza.

As Boston entered halftime down 54-53, Tatum was one rebound shy of a double-double — plus four assists and a block on an OG Anunoby 3-pointer — but hadn’t made a field goal since his pair of early-game layups (2-for-11; 0-for-5 from three). Pritchard was the Celtics’ top scorer and shooter in the first half, scoring 15 points on 7-of-12. The rest of the team shot just 32.4% from the field.

Walsh picked up his fourth foul two seconds into the second half, then surrendered a Bridges 3-pointer. New York proceeded to hit four of those in quick succession, mounting an 18-6 run to stretch its lead to 72-59.

That’s when the Celtics finally found their stroke from beyond the arc. Six 3-pointers from five different players — including Vucevic’s first two 3-point makes since March 4 — erased New York’s cushion and put Boston up 78-76.

Pritchard and Scheierman — who subbed in for Walsh at the 9:23 mark of the third and played the rest of the way — each hit two threes in the quarter, and the Celtics took an 83-81 lead into the fourth.

“It was a fun experience, obviously,” said Scheierman, a second-year pro who’s looking to cement his spot in Mazzulla’s playoff rotation. “I wish we could’ve won at the end of the day, (but) obviously, it was a lot of fun to do that.”

Tatum sat for the first 2:15 of the final quarter before checking back in and burying a 3-pointer moments later. He then converted an and-one fadeaway over Robinson that made it 92-85, only for New York to reply with a 7-0 run. Hart’s transition layup off a Tatum turnover tied it at 92-92 with 6:21 remaining.

Boston scored on five of its next seven possessions — including two more 3-pointers by the red-hot Scheierman, who went 6-for-7 from deep — but could not manufacture enough stops at the other end. Consecutive threes by Hart in the final minute iced the game for New York.

Hart finished with 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting to lead all scorers, with Brunson adding 25 and 10 assists.

“We’re just taking it a game at a time, “Pritchard said. “Obviously, we wanted this one. Didn’t get it. We’re looking forward to tomorrow and trying to get that win. Once that game’s over, we’ll look forward to the next.”

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Boston, MA

Family of Stephenson King, man killed by Boston police officer, wants body camera video released

Published

22 hours ago

April 9, 2026

Press Room

Family of Stephenson King, man killed by Boston police officer, wants body camera video released

The family of Stephenson King, the man shot and killed by a Boston police officer last month in Roxbury, wants body camera video from the incident released.

King’s family joined high-profile civil rights attorney Ben Crump at a news conference on Thursday to call for “real accountability” in the case. They said King had long dealt with mental health issues and showed signs of schizophrenia and paranoia.

Shooting of Stephenson King

Investigators said Boston Police officer Nicholas O’Malley shot King three times through the driver’s side window of an allegedly stolen car while he was trying to escape from police.

O’Malley said that he fired because he believed King was trying to run him and his partner over with the car.

A Boston Police Department report after the shooting determined that “regardless of their perception, that statement was factually not true.” O’Malley was arrested and pleaded not guilty to manslaughter.

Police said there is body camera video of the shooting, but it’s not being released yet. King’s family and several city councilors have called for the release of the footage.

Stephenson King.

Family photo

“We should be able to see it on the video”

Crump repeated that request Thursday.

“We want everybody to understand that transparency is good for everybody. If the officer did nothing wrong, then we should be able to see it on the video. If the officer did something wrong, we should be able to see it on the video,” Crump said. “Consequently, if Stephenson did something wrong, we should be able to see it on the video. Because transparency is good for all of us. It’s good for the family, and it’s good for the Boston Police Department.”

Crump said that King had been struggling with mental health challenges since 2009. According to the attorney, King had mental health crisis the day of his death and his family had an ambulance come to the house and take him to the hospital. Crump said King somehow got out of the hospital and went to another medical facility in the hours before the encounter with Boston Police.

“Mental health is a very real issue. I pray that if you have family members who have mental health issues, when they have encounters with police, they will give them a helping hand and not three bullets in their body taking them from this world,” Crump said.

Stephenson King Sr. spoke at the news conference and said he had been trying to get his son help, even recently asking a judge to intervene.

“He shouldn’t be dead,” King Sr. said. “I’m hurt, disappointed in everything that’s happened. The day I put my son in an ambulance, I wasn’t expecting him to be dead that night.”

King’s sister Ebony said that before his death, her brother was so paranoid that he would put tape over cellphone cameras, wall outlets, and the emblems on his sneakers because he believed he was being watched.

Boston police officer hires Karen Read attorney

On Thursday, defense attorney David Yannetti announced that his firm will be representing O’Malley.

Boston Police Officer Nicholas O’Malley at his arraignment in Roxbury Municipal Court on March 19, 2026.

Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
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Yannetti called O’Malley “a good man who finds himself falsely accused of manslaughter because he performed his sworn duty and defended his fellow officers when confronted by a dangerous criminal with an established history of violence and felonies.”

Yannetti was the first attorney to represent Karen Read during her high-profile Massachusetts murder trial. He remained a key member of her defense through both of her trials. After a mistrial due to a hung jury, Read was acquitted of all charges except operating under the influence during her retrial.

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