Judge Denies Prosecutors' Phone Records Request in Read Case

Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone has denied prosecutors' requests to access phone records of Karen Read's parents, ruling that the motion failed to meet the legal requirements for obtaining third-party records. Prosecutors argued that the records could provide evidence that Read, accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, called her parents in the early hours after allegedly hitting him with her SUV. Special prosecutor Hank Brennan suggested these calls indicated Read's awareness of having done something wrong. However, Read's defense criticized the attempt as an invasion of privacy and a 'fishing expedition.' This decision comes as Read prepares for a retrial following a hung jury in her first trial. Both prosecution and defense have requested the retrial be postponed to April.