Karen Read Trial Day 26: Defense Blames Dog for O’Keefe Injuries

Karen Read Trial Day 26: Defense Blames Dog for O'Keefe Injuries

Well, this courtroom drama just added a dog to the suspect list.

On Day 26 of the Karen Read trial, the defense brought in a new theory—and it’s not your usual legal play. According to NBC Boston, retired emergency physician and forensic pathologist Dr. Marie Russell took the stand to say Officer John O’Keefe’s injuries might not have come from Read’s SUV at all.

Instead? She says it could’ve been the family dog.

Specifically, Chloe—the German Shepherd who lived at the Albert home where O’Keefe was found unresponsive in the snow. Dr. Russell told the court that O’Keefe’s wounds looked more like dog bites than injuries from a car. “This was consistent with a dog attack,” she said.

Yes, you heard that right. A dog attack.

But this wasn’t some seasoned courtroom expert on canine carnage. Dr. Russell admitted this is her first time ever testifying about dog bites. She also wasn’t invited—she contacted the defense herself after reading about the case.

Cue the skeptical looks from the prosecution.

They pounced, questioning her credibility and her methods. She was grilled about whether her theory had solid backing. She held her ground, but let’s be honest: the idea of a German Shepherd turning this trial on its head was definitely a twist.

And just when you thought it couldn’t get weirder—former Canton Police Officer Kelly Dever stepped in with some real-life courtroom whiplash.

Dever initially told defense attorneys that she saw Canton’s police chief and ATF agent Brian Higgins alone with Karen Read’s SUV—inside a secure sally port—for a suspiciously long time back in 2023. But when she took the stand, she reversed course fast.

She said she was wrong. And she blamed the defense for the mix-up.

“They threatened me,” Dever told the court, saying the defense warned her she could be charged with perjury if she didn’t cooperate. she described the interaction as “terrifying.”

That alone would be enough drama for one day. But there’s more.

The defense also name-dropped former lead investigator Michael Proctor—the one booted from the case after it came out he sent crude, misogynistic texts about Karen Read. Yeah, that guy.

Proctor’s texts have become a symbol for what Read’s team says is a biased, botched investigation from the beginning. They’re using his words—and now this new “dog did it” theory—to suggest a serious cover-up.

So where does that leave us?

With a trial that’s getting more tangled, more intense, and frankly more unpredictable by the day. If courtroom thrillers had sequels, this one just hit “Part Two: The Bark Side.”