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Read faces charges of second-degree murder, drunken driving manslaughter and fleeing the scene of a deadly accident for allegedly ramming her then-boyfriend with the back end of her Lexus SUV and leaving him to die during a blizzard on Jan. 29, 2022.
“Evidence of the ‘Aruba incident’ was proffered by the defendant through a series of text messages between the defendant and Brian Higgins, thus opening the door for the Commonwealth to rebut the defendant’s misleading and inaccurate claims about what had occurred weeks prior in Aruba,” Brennan wrote.
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“This incident in Aruba seems to also be the turning point in the relationship as the defendant told Brian Higgins that her relationship with the victim was a ‘very f—ed up situation’ as she had observed the victim ‘all over [a] friend’s sister in the lobby of our hotel’ and accused the victim of ‘having hooked up with another girl.’”
Brennan said he plans to call four witnesses to the Aruba incident to testify.
“In a domestic violence homicide, evidence such as prior disputes are relevant to show the ‘volatile nature of the relationship,’” Brennan wrote.
He added that he expected their testimony to show Read’s “intent and state of mind toward the victim.”
“Brennan is smart,” said Linda Kenney Baden, a high-profile defense attorney who squared off with Jackson in 2007 when he was the lead prosecutor in the murder trial of music producer Phil Spector. “You don’t get to represent Whitey Bulger for eight years if you’re not.”
Still, she said, Jackson may have been prepared for it.
“I think even if the judge allows him to bring it in, Jackson is ready for it,” she said. “That’s why he had the Aruba text read in the whole Higgins outline.”
Read has pleaded not guilty, and her attorneys deny she ever struck O’Keefe with her vehicle.
Four weeks into the trial, prosecutors have yet to show O’Keefe’s autopsy findings to the jury or allege specifically how she intended to kill him.
“This feels desperate to get the intent,” said Grace Edwards, a Massachusetts defense attorney who has been following the case. “I don’t think the jury will care to hear more evidence that there were issues. No relationship is perfect.”
The post Karen Read’s defense opens door for special prosecutor to bring in new evidence: court docs appeared first on Fox News.
