John O'Keefe, a Yale-educated brain surgeon testified at Karen Read's murder trial Wednesday that John O'Keefe died of falling and hit her head on frozen ground.
Read, 45, is accused of killing her then-boyfriend, and O'Keefe, 46, hit him in a 2021 Lexus SUV with her on January 29, 2022, before leaving him dead in a snowstorm about 20 miles south of Boston.
According to Dr. Aizik Wolf, the head trauma and fractured skull, combined with cold hypothermia, would not kill him immediately.
"The only way he can get this kind of injury is to fall backwards, hit the back of his head, and then hit his brain and go into the bottom of the skull," he told the jury during an inquiry by Special Attorney Hank Brennan.
Karen reads trial witnesses' cruel questioning of vehicle data
Brain surgeon Dr. Aizik Wolf testified on John O'Keefe during the Karen Read murder trial in Norfolk Superior Court in Didem, Massachusetts on May 21, 2025. (Greg Derr/Patriot Ledger via AP/Pool)
Wolf said O'Keeffe suffered "classic blunt injury."
Wolf said O'Keeffe fell backward and hit his head, and the force of the impact broke his skull, which later resulted in "raccoon's eyes" that looked like black eyes.
"This is what happens when soft tissue hits a solid ground," he testified.
According to Wolfe, under normal circumstances, it usually takes swelling in the victim's brain to kill him within 24 to 48 hours. Some victims died from one to three.
O'Keefe's body temperature is also prone to drop in Nor'easter in January. When medical staff found him at 6 a.m., his temperature was only 80 degrees, below what medical professionals call "severe hypothermia."
Karen Read, right and attorney Elizabeth Little discussed developments during the Read murder trial on May 21, 2025. (Greg Derr/Patriot Ledger via AP/Pool)
Wolff said he treated many patients with similar injuries early in his career when he worked at the Minneapolis Trauma Center. In winter, the city can be cruelly cold. Many wounds are fatal. Some people are subject to intoxicated patients who slip on the ice. Others involved people who fell after a heart attack.
"This testimony of Dr. Wolf has accused the Commonwealth of the involuntary homicide," said Massachusetts defense attorney Grace Edwards. "The Commonwealth will argue to the jury that if they cannot find Karen Read's intention to cause the death of John O'Keefe, 1 and 3, then her driving or accompanying him, and then hurt him, that's wanton and reckless behavior, that's causing his death, then they should find Karen's Karen Read 2."
Karen reads the murder expert witness "error" to be mistaken for his qualifications
Karen Read and John O'Keefe (Karen Read)
According to Wolf’s resume at the Miami Neuroscience Center, he is a world-leading authority in the field and clinic director.
A brief cross-examination by defense attorney Robert Alessi discusses the solitary injury O'Keefe suffered, which has nothing to do with the trauma that killed him.
State Police Possible Weapons to Death of John O'Keefe - Not Karen Read's Car
"I think lawyer Alessi did a great job of redirecting Dr. Wolf from the back of his head to the front of his head and giving testimony that these injuries may not be fall," Edwards told Fox News digits. "This supports John O'Keefe's defense theory that he wasn't hit by a vehicle and suggests that it's another matter because of the injuries he suffered from his face and arm, and the investigation didn't pursue any other leaders who led to how John O'Keefe suffered those injuries."
State Police technician Christina Hanley discussed glass fragment evidence at the Karen Read trial on May 21, 2025. (Greg Derr/Patriot Ledger via AP/Pool)
Wolf started the day in the stands. After the testimony, Christina Hanley of the Massachusetts Police Crime Laboratory returned to the witness stand. She is an expert in glass and plastic shards, analyzing broken cocktail glasses found outside 34 Fairview Road, on the rear bumper of Read's Lexus SUV, and broken taillights.
Follow the Fox True Crime Team on X
Her testimony was interrupted at the end of Tuesday’s day.
John O'Keefe (Boston Police Department)
Some of the plastic fragments recovered from O'Keefe's clothing "consistent" with the materials used in Read's Lexus, but may have come from another source with similar characteristics, she said Wednesday afternoon.
During cross-examination, she revealed that there was no broken glass on Read’s bumper that matched the broken cocktail glass found in the yard near O'Keefe.
Get real-time updates directly The real crime center
Defense attorney Alan Jackson explained that the only matching bumper glass was a sample of glass taken back by former soldier Michael Proctor, who was fired in March after an internal investigation into inappropriate text messages he sent during the investigation.
Earlier in the trial, the defense played a video showing police standing outside the camera behind the vehicle while at the Guangzhou Police Department headquarters.
Proctor insists through his family that his investigation is consistent with evidence and is consistent with evidence.
If convicted of the highest charge, second-degree murder, Reid could face life in prison. She was also accused of driving drunk, killing and leaving the scene of the fatal accident.
Click here to get the Fox News app
Andrew Fone of Fox News contributed to the report.