MA v. Karen Read: Killer or Cover-Up Murder Trial

DEDHAM, Mass. (Court TV) — The jury in a high-profile trial is deliberating the fate of a Massachusetts woman accused of killing her police officer boyfriend.

Karen Read is charged in the death of Boston police officer John O’Keefe, who was found dead in the snow outside the home of a fellow officer in Jan. 2022. Prosecutors accuse Read of hitting O’Keefe with her car while dropping him off at a party at the residence and leaving him to die. Her attorneys allege a sloppy investigation and a cover-up.

RELATED | Karen Read murder case: A timeline of events

Read is charged with second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter while driving under the influence, and leaving the scene of a collision causing injury or death. She is facing life in prison if convicted at trial.

RELATED | Key players in the Karen Read murder case

Read’s case has captured attention across the globe with allegations of a police cover-up orchestrated by parties with “significant relationships,” alleged “romantic entanglements” involving Read and O’Keefe, and even a blogger vocal in their defense for Read facing charges. Protesters have also taken center stage in their fight against a “buffer zone,” accusing the prosecution of going on an “unchecked bender.”

DAILY TRIAL UPDATES

DAY 34 – 6/28/24

• The jury sent a note saying that they were unable to come to a verdict, but Judge Cannone told them to return to deliberations and try again.
  • WATCH: Judge Asks Karen Read Jury to Continue Deliberations After Note
• WATCH: Killer or Cover-Up Murder Trial: Day 34 Recap

DAY 33 – 6/27/24

• The third day of jury deliberations ends without a verdict.
  • There were no questions from the jury on Thursday.
  • The jury has deliberated close to 15 hours.
    • WATCH: Karen Read Jury Excused For The Day, Deliberations Continue Tomorrow
• WATCH: Killer Or Cover-Up Murder Trial: Day 33 Recap

DAY 32 – 6/26/24

• No verdict in the case against Karen Read on Wednesday.
• Testy exchange between Judge Cannone and Karen Read when she catches Read smirking at her. “Excuse me. Is this funny, Ms. Read?” Judge Cannone asked.
• Judge Cannone reprimanded Read following her attorney, Alan Jackson, contesting the verdict slip that the jury must fill out, arguing that the wording would unfairly steer jurors toward a guilty verdict on the charge of Manslaughter While Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence.
  • A special instruction was given to the jury to clarify how to decide their verdict on Count 2 of the indictment – Manslaughter While Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence.
    • WATCH: Karen Read’s Attorney Challenges Judge Over Verdict Forms
    • WATCH: Karen Read Trial: Judge Agrees To Add Language To Verdict Form
• The jury has been deliberating for close to nine hours
• WATCH: Killer Or Cover-Up Murder Trial: Day 32 Recap

DAY 31 – 6/25/24

• Jurors began their deliberations after eight weeks of testimony.
• Defense Attorney Alan Jackson told jurors that the Commonwealth and their witnesses wants them [the jury] to “look the other way.”
  • “The incontrovertible fact is that you’ve been lied to in this courtroom,” Jackson said.
  • Jackson’s closing argument to the jury was that the police investigation went beyond mistakes and straight up the “thick blue wall” of corruption.
  • Read’s defense attorney emphasized how the lead investigator, Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, had missteps and his private text messages about Read as he investigated the case, including wishing Read would kill herself.
  • WATCH: Karen Read’s Defense Attorney To Jurors: ‘You Have Been Lied To’
• The defense also believes the Alberts and McCabes colluded to keep a secret. The defense was barred from pursuing a third-party killer theory in earlier proceedings.
• Adam Lally, Commonwealth Prosecutor, said the defense invented “conspiracy theories” so the jury would look away from physical evidence. “It’s a three-card Monte trick,” referring to the defense’s theory.
  • The Commonwealth believes that Karen Read struck her boyfriend and Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe with her luxury SUV on January 20, 2022, after a night of drinking.
  • Lally presented a detailed timeline of Read’s actions on January 28 – 29, 2022.
  • Lally told jurors Read’s statement to first responders while standing over John O’Keefe’s body shortly after 6: 00 a.m. that morning, “I hit him, I hit him, I hit him.”
  • WATCH: Prosecutor: Read Is ‘Guilty Of Each Of The 3 Indictments In The Case’
• Deliberations ended at 4: 00 p.m. ET. Jurors deliberated for about two and a half hours.
• A female juror was dismissed for an unknown reason before deliberations began Tuesday morning.
  • Two female jurors were chosen as alternates.
• WATCH: Karen Read Verdict Watch: Matt Johnson Recaps Dramatic Day In Dedham
• WATCH: Killer Or Cover-Up Murder Trial: Day 31 Recap

DAY 30 – 6/24/24

• Closing arguments expected Tuesday.
• Jurors heard from the defense’s final three witnesses before they rest their presentation of evidence.
  • WATCH: Karen Read’s Defense Rests
• Read’s defense believes someone inside the home on Fairview Road in Canton, Massachusetts, murdered Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe and left him for dead in a snowstorm in January 2022 after a night of heavy drinking.
• Retired Forensic Pathologist Dr. Frank Sheridan testified that some of the injuries to O’Keefe’s body were inconsistent with a person who was struck by a vehicle. He expected to see more bruising if O’Keefe had been hit by a vehicle.
  • Dr. Sheridan told jurors that the injuries to O’Keefe could have been sustained in a fight, and the injuries to O’Keefe’s arm were consistent with being scratches and possibly a bite mark from an animal like a dog.
    • WATCH: Pathologist: O’Keefe Injuries Are NOT Consistent With Being Hit By Car
• WATCH: Killer Or Cover-Up Murder Trial: Day 30 Recap

DAY 29 – 6/21/24

• Commonwealth rests its case-in-chief after calling its 68^th witness, the medical examiner who performed John O’Keefe’s autopsy.
• Defense moves for a judgement of acquittal arguing that the Commonwealth has not proven that John O’Keefe’s injuries were the result of a vehicle strike and that Trooper Joe Paul’s theory that O’Keefe was sideswiped, projected forward and struck his head on the ground is conjecture.
• Prosecution argues the case is not based solely on Trooper Paul’s theory and asks that the judge consider all the circumstantial evidence including JOK’s DNA on the taillight, on the hair found in the passenger wheel well, trace fragments of taillight on the victim’s clothes, the evidence at the scene, the data from the Lexus, etc and asks the judge to deny the motion.
• Judge is satisfied the Commonwealth has met its burden and denies defense motion for a judgement of acquittal.
• Medical Examiner agrees both scenarios in which John O’Keefe incurred his head injuries are possible, the government’s position is that O’Keefe fell and hit his head on the ground, the defense position is that he was struck in the back of the head by an object and fell.
  • WATCH: Karen Read Defense Expert: ‘Either Teeth Or Claw Marks’ On John O’Keefe
• Defense calls as its first witness the plow driver who testified he did not see anything unusual on the Alberts’ front lawn but did see a Ford Edge parked near the flagpole of 34 Fairview around 3: 15 AM.
  • WATCH: Karen Read Trial: Snow Plow Driver Denies Seeing Body On Lawn
• Defense Digital Forensic Expert testified Jennifer McCabe’s ‘Hos long to die in the cold’ was done at 2: 27 AM, hours before John O’Keefe’s body is found at 6: 15 AM.
• Defense expert claims O’Keefe’s GPS locations and health data do not rule out that he was inside 34 Fairview – as activity is not precise during the time periods recorded by the apps.
• WATCH: Killer Or Cover-Up Murder Trial: Day 29 Recap

DAY 28 – 6/20/24

• Jury hears profanity-laced voicemails that Karen Read left on John O’Keefe’s phone calling him a f’ing loser and a f’ing pervert in the minutes and hours after she allegedly hit him with her SUV and left him to freeze to death.
• Trooper Nicholas Guarino cross referenced data from John O’Keefe’s cell phone and Apple watch to track his locations in the early morning hours of January 29, 2022.
  • Guarino noted that O’Keefe had conducted a WAZE search of 34 Fairview at 12: 20 AM and arrived at 34 Fairview at 12: 24 AM.
  • Guarino testified O’Keefe’s phone indicated no GPS locations inside 34 Fairview and no movement was recorded by his phone between 12: 25 and 6: 15 AM. O’Keefe’s body is found around 6: 15 AM.
  • O’Keefe’s Apple watch data suggested that around 12: 22 he was ascending/descending three floors. Guarino explained that the Apple health data does not necessarily mean O’Keefe is climbing stairs as the app can record steps based on any kind of movement.
  • While the health app reflected ascending/ descending stairs GPS data suggests O’Keefe was still more than half a mile away from 34 Fairview.
    • WATCH: ‘The Kids Are Home Alone’: Jury Sees Karen Read’s Texts To John O’Keefe
• On cross defense attorney David Yannetti suggested the Trooper’s analysis is flawed, and his determinations of O’Keefe’s locations inaccurate as the app draws from different clocks and can be as much as three minutes off the time stamps that the Trooper is relying on.
• Dr. Irini Scordi-Bello performed the autopsy on O’Keefe and concluded his cause of death was a combination of blunt force trauma and hypothermia and the manner of death was undetermined.
  • Scordi-Bello opined that O’Keefe’s blunt force injuries came first, were not immediately lethal, but knocked out him out, allowing hypothermia to set in.
  • Scordi-Bello did not see evidence of an altercation.
    • WATCH: Medical Examiner: John O’Keefe Had Fractures, Lacerations To Skull
    • WATCH: John O’Keefe Had Fractures To Ribs, Not Hands: Medical Examiner
• WATCH: Killer Or Cover-Up Murder Trial: Day 28 Recap

DAY 27 – 6/18/24

• The judge heard from defense expert Dr. Marie Russell a retired Emergency Medicine Physician and pathologist who opined that the scratches and cuts on John O’Keefe’s arm are the result of a dog attack.
• Prosecutors are seeking to exclude her testimony arguing late disclosure of this witness. She had been contacted by Defense Attorney Alan Jackson on May 17, six weeks into the trial, after a colleague reached out to him about her expertise.
• Russell informed the court she had become familiar with the case after reading about it in the Boston Globe. She then discussed it with LA Deputy DA John Lewin, with whom she worked another case. She told Lewin she thought she could be of assistance, given her expertise in law enforcement canine bites – a topic about which she published – and which she had read was a contested issue in Read’s case.
• Court TV viewers will know Lewin as the lead prosecutor in the case against real estate heir Robert Durst.
• Two experts with ARCCA, a private engineering consulting firm testified that they were contracted by the Justice Department and the FBI to make an independent determination as to whether the vehicle damage to Karen Read’s car was consistent with his injuries.
• Daniel Wolfe and Andrew Rentschler experts in accident reconstruction are expected to testify about the conclusions they drew from the evidence they were given. Wolfe is expected to testify about the damage to Read’s vehicle, and Rentschler also an expert in biomechanical engineering is expected to opine about John O’Keefe’s injuries.
• Among their findings, that there is insufficient evidence to determine the cause of John O’Keefe’s injuries. Prosecutor Adam Lally objected to testimony about that conclusion.
• The judge did not rule on the disputed issue or whether Dr. Russell’s testimony is admissible but told Assistant District Attorney Lally that she would give him a week to find a rebuttal expert to counter Russell’s opinion if she agreed to let her testify.
• WATCH: ‘There is No Case Against Me’: Karen Read Speaks Outside of Court
• WATCH: Deep Dive Into The Case Against Karen Read

DAY 26 – 6/17/24

• Text messages John O’Keefe and Karen Read exchanged in the hours before his death suggest they were in the throes of an argument that threatened the future of their relationship.
• Government’s crash expert opined that John O’Keefe’s arm took the brunt of the vehicle strike, and that he was still holding the glass in his hand when he was hit.
  • The accident reconstructionist opined that the taillight caused the striations to his upper arm and forearm, and that the glass created the scratches on the back of Read’s car.
    • WATCH: Karen Read Crash Reconstructionist Grilled Over Interpretation Of Data
• A Forensic software expert testified that McCabe did not delete the Google search ‘hos long to die in the cold’ at 2: 27 am, and that the search occurred at 6: 23 and 6: 24 am.
• WATCH: Killer Or Cover-Up Murder Trial: Day 26 Recap

DAY 25 – 6/14/24

• Prosecutors called two experts Friday, one to debunk the defense’s contention that Jennifer McCabe participated in an alleged cover up of John O’Keefe’s murder and another to prove that Karen Read allegedly gunned her car in reverse and struck her boyfriend before leaving him to freeze to death in a blizzard.
• The Commonwealth’s forensic digital analyst testified that Jennifer McCabe’s ‘hos long to die in the cold’ Google search was done at 6: 24 AM and not 2: 27 AM, as the defense contends.
• Jessica Hyde explained the 2: 27 time stamp was indication the tab was moved to the background after McCabe searched a sports site and that that 6: 24 AM was the accurate time stamp for googling ‘how long to die in the cold.’
• The Defense contends Hyde’s’ analysis is flawed because the parameters of her assignment were restricted to the Google searches without access to McCabe’s call logs. Defense contends McCabe conducted the search about hypothermia hours before John O’Keefe’s body was found, deleted it and then searched again at 6: 23 and 6: 24 to conceal the initial 2: 27 search. Defense lawyers argue this is evidence of a cover up intended to protect the Alberts on whose front lawn O’Keefe was discovered.  Lead investigator Michael Proctor who is admittedly friendly with Chris and Julie Albert is being accused by the defense of planting evidence at the crime scene to frame Karen Read.
• Hyde testified that the browser suggested ‘How long to digest food,’ during the 6: 24 search making it more likely that it occurred when McCabe said she performed the search at the request of Read.
• Prosecutors also called an accident reconstructionist who opined that O’Keefe’s injuries and the evidence recovered around his body was indicative of a pedestrian vehicle strike. Data retrieved from software in the defendant’s Lexus suggested that O’Keefe was struck by the defendant’s car backing into him at 24 miles an hour. He further opined that the scratches on his arm were caused by the taillight and the dent in her car caused by the impact of hitting him, which would have forced his body to move forward and spin clockwise rather than fall underneath the wheels.
• Crash expert Joe Paul of the Massachusetts State Police testified that in a span of 10 seconds the SUV went from 0 to 24 m/p/ hour in reverse with the accelerator pressed at 74% (flooring the pedal would be 100%) and traveled a distance of 97 feet.
• Paul also proffered testimony outside of the jury’s presence that Read’s contact with O’Keefe’s car on the morning of January 29, 2022, would not have produced enough force to cause the kind of damage he observed on the defendant’s SUV.
• The defense is seeking to exclude his opinion, which was based on watching the Ring Video of Read backing out of the garage at 5: 18 AM to look for O’Keefe, claiming it violates discovery rules. The judge will rule after she takes the weekend to review the exhibits.
• Joe Paul returns to the witness stand to resume his testimony on Monday.
• WATCH: Juror Dismissed From Karen Read’s Trial
• WATCH: Killer Or Cover-Up Murder Trial: Day 25 Recap

DAY 24 – 6/13/24

• John O’Keefe’s DNA was found on the passenger taillight of the defendant’s car, and on a hair from the passenger wheel well.
  • There was a mixture of DNA on the passenger taillight, Troopers Michael Proctor and Sargent Yuriy Bukhenik were excluded as contributors to the mixture.
  • O’Keefe’s DNA was found on samples taken from reddish stains on his jean, orange t-shirt, and gray sweat shirt. He was the sole contributor of male DNA to the samples from his t-shirt and fingernail clippings. Mixtures of DNA were found on his jeans and gray sweat shirt but no comparisons were made to any other profiles.
• Surveillance video capturing Karen Read’s movements between 5: 00 AM and 5: 30 AM on the morning of January 29, 2022, suggest she traveled to 34 Fairview, before she went to Jennifer McCabe’s house – which may explain how she found John O’Keefe’s body in the middle of a pitch-dark blizzard.
•  Brian Tully, a Massachusetts State Police investigator testified data from Karen Read’s cell phone also suggest she was going to 34 Fairview at 5: 18 AM. She should have arrived much sooner than 5: 35 AM. The time lapse between 5: 18 and 5: 35 is more consistent with the drive time from Meadows to 34 Fairview then to Country Lane (McCabe’s residence)
  • An investigator testified that in the hours between 12: 33 and 6: 03 AM, Karen called John O’Keefe 53 times.
  • When asked about an eye witness report about seeing a Ford Edge (Albert’s car) from 2: 30 to 3: 30 AM parked in front of 34 Fairview, Tully said he dismissed the account claiming the witness was unreliable and had changed his story several times.
    • WATCH: Karen Read Investigator Defends Not Searching Albert Home
• WATCH: Killer Or Cover-Up Murder Trial: Day 24 Recap

DAY 23 – 6/12/24

• Lead investigator Trooper Michael Proctor spent the better part of the day being grilled over his text messages mocking Karen Read, his relationship with the Alberts, and his alleged bias against the defendant.
• Defense Attorney Alan Jackson accused Proctor of having tunnel vision in his investigation, dismissing potential suspects who could have had motive, means and opportunity to kill John O’Keefe and pointed to Brian Higgins, who the defense has painted as a romantic rival for Karen Read’s affections.
• “You’re aware he texted John O’Keefe to come to 34 Fairview,” Alan Jackson said. “Do you agree he had the means to commit the crime. He’s a big guy. He’s former military, an ATF Agent.”
• “Just because he’s a big guy, doesn’t mean he has the means or the motive,” said Proctor.
• Jackson suggested Proctor was downplaying how close he was to the Alberts, noting that Proctor texted his sister inquiring about Julie Albert’s availability for babysitting his toddler.  The defense attorney suggested Proctor gave the Alberts deferential treatment and tried to protect them from any scrutiny and suspicion, which Proctor promptly denied.
• Defense also noted Proctor’s relationship with Kevin Albert, a detective with the Canton police department and the reason why Canton was conflicted out of the investigation.
• Proctor conceded he went out drinking with Kevin a few times as a colleague. They were working a cold case together in Canton. Proctor described them as acquaintances, but Jackson pointed to a text that after a night of drinking, Albert texted Proctor about having left his badge in his car – and was also looking for his service weapon.
• Jackson painstakingly recalled line by line some of the text exchanges in which the trooper commented on Read’s body, including a remark about her ‘leaky balloon knot,’ which was a reference to her rectum.
  • WATCH: Officer Admits Calling Karen Read A ‘Babe’ And ‘Nutbag’ With ‘No Ass’
• The defense attorney revealed that Read had to undergo a colectomy and had 10 surgeries in 18 months to contrast Read’s suffering against the trooper’s insensitive remarks.
  • WATCH: Trooper Grilled Over Text Saying He Hopes Karen Read Kills Herself
• On redirect Prosecutor Adam Lally asked Proctor what he believed Karen Read did to John O’Keefe, Proctor paused before looking at the jury and stating, ““I believe based on all the physical evidence and facts, Mr. O’Keefe got out of the vehicle holding the cocktail glass he walked out of the Waterfall bar with and Miss Read pulled ahead and struck him with her vehicle then left.”
• WATCH: Killer Or Cover-Up Murder Trial: Day 23 Recap

DAY 22 – 6/10/24

• Trooper Michael Proctor’s personal text exchanges with friends and family were read to the jury during his direct examination revealing at times his contempt for the defendant and her attorney and early suspicions of her guilt.
  • WATCH: Proctor Calls Read a ‘Whack Job,’ Writes ‘No Nudes So Far’ in Texts
  • Proctor was reviewing the contents of Karen Read’s cell phone on the night of August 17, 2022 when a fellow trooper messaged him a picture of defense attorney David Yanetti.
  • He texted the group, which also included his supervisor Sargent Yuriy Bukhenik.
  • “I’m going through his retarded client’s phone. No nudes so far. I hate that man, truly hate him.”
  • Proctor said he was examining Read’s phone looking for evidence in the form of location data, texts, and Google searches, but stopped when he came across communication that Read had with her attorney.
  • “That was the update I gave the troopers in the office. It was a distasteful joke, I should have gave a proper update instead of that,” he said.
• In texts that he exchanged with a group of friends on February 20, 2022, Trooper Proctor responded to a friend’s message, “From all accounts, he didn’t do anything wrong. She’s a Wack job, c, yeah, she’s a babe with a fall river accent though. No ass.”
  • Proctor explained the text came on a day when there was compelling evidence that Read had struck O’Keefe with her car, and that Brian Albert had nothing to do with O’Keefe’s death. He went on to acknowledge that his comments about Read were ‘unprofessional and regrettable.’
• In an earlier text exchange on January 29 that he sent to the same group of friends – Proctor suggested Albert would not be in any trouble because he was a Boston police officer.
  • In response to his friend’s text, “Sure the owner of the house will receive some shit.”
  • Proctor texted, “Nope. Homeowner is a Boston cop too.”
• Proctor interviewed Chris and Julie Albert as part of his investigation and acknowledged his relationship with the Alberts, characterizing them as acquaintances that he knew through his sister. He claimed his familiarity with the Alberts had no impact on the investigation.
• As part of his investigation, Proctor said he returned to 34 Fairview repeatedly because the rising temperatures had melted much of the snow and displayed for the jury some of the plastic pieces of taillight he recovered from the Albert’s front lawn.
• On cross examination defense attorney Alan Jackson noted that Proctor was not reprimanded for the inappropriate texts, and that he abused his investigative authority by attempting to look for nude pictures of his client.  Jackson suggested Proctor’s bias against Read compromised the investigation.
• WATCH: Karen Read Trial: Lead Investigator Michael Proctor Testifies
• WATCH: Killer or Cover-Up Murder Trial: Day 22 Recap

DAY 21 – 6/6/24

• Jurors heard a short clip of a statement that Karen Read gave to police. The comments she made promoted officers to tell her to stop talking.
• Massachusetts State Trooper Yuriy Bukhenik testified that investigators recovered John O’Keefe’s baseball cap and shards of plastic from there area where his body was found as the snow melted.
  • WATCH: Karen Read Trial: Investigator Testifies to Missing Evidence
• A key piece of video presented by prosecutors is exposed by the defense as misleading because it shows an inverted image of the defendant’s car, leading jurors to believe they are viewing the passenger side of the car with the defendant’s tail light when, in fact, they are seeing the driver’s side.
  • WATCH: Killer or Cover-Up Murder Trial: Day 21 Recap

DAY 20 – 6/5/24

• Sgt. Yuriy Bukhenik a supervising trooper testified that surveillance video from the bars Karen Read and the victim visited the night of January 28, 2022, appear to show she consumed eight drinks in less than 3 hours.
  • Bukhenik said he recovered John O’Keefe’s clothes which were lying in a pile on the floor of his hospital room – and processed them by putting them into evidence. He displayed his blood-stained clothes to the jury – which prompted Margaret O’Keefe to leave the courtroom for a a spell.
  • Bukhenik also reviewed ring video from O’Keefe’s home and observed the defendant backing out of the garage at 5: 07 AM the morning of January 29. She appeared to meet O’Keefe’s car which was parked in the driveway – the prosecutor noted the video shows no damage to O’Keefe’s car and no taillight fragments left from the impact. The defense maintains exit from the garage is when she damaged her trail light.
  • Sgt. Bukhenik interviewed Read at her parents’ house the afternoon of January 29, when she was asked how the damage to her taillight occurred. Bukhenik said she told him she didn’t know and that ‘it happened last night.’
  • Bukhenik testified he told Read that they would be taking possession of her phone and vehicle as evidence.
• Video shows the defendant’s car being driven into the Sally Port of Canton PD and crime scene tape used to cordon off the vehicle.
• Jurors also saw video of the defendant leaving McCarthy’s with a tall glass in her hand, and John O’Keefe leaving the Waterfall with a shorter glass in his hand just after midnight on January 29, 2022.
• A forensic scientist examined a broken glass found in the vicinity of John O’Keefe’s body and matched that glass to 6 of 9 pieces of glass fragments recovered from the scene.
• The trace evidence analyst also testified that pieces of red plastic found in debris scraped from John O’Keefe’s clothes were a match to the defendant’s damaged taillight.
  • WATCH: Scientist Compares Plastic Tail Light Pieces In Karen Read Trial
• On cross defense attorneys suggested lead investigator Michael Proctor planted or contaminated the items tested by the crime lab. They noted that Proctor found larger pieces of broken taillight weeks after O’Keefe’s death, when another Trooper could only find small pieces of broken tail light closer in time to the date of the incident.
  • The defense on cross also questioned Proctor’s handling of the evidence, because of his ties to the Albert family. The defense is accusing two members of the Albert family and Brian Higgins of being third-party culprits in John O’Keefe’s death.
• The defense noted that the one piece of glass that was on the ground recovered by Proctor did not match the glass or fragments of glass from the scene.
• WATCH: Killer Or Cover-Up Murder Trial: Day 20 Recap

DAY 19 – 6/3/24

• State Trooper testified he and his team performed a grid search in the area where John O’Keefe’s body was found and recovered several pieces of broken taillight and his missing sneaker. All the items were found at ground level close in proximity to each other and between the flagpole and the fire hydrant at 34 Fairview.
  • WATCH: Karen Read Trial: Jury Sees Photos Of Taillight Found At Scene
• Forensic Scientist Maureen Hartnett examined Read’s black SUV, observed a broken taillight, a dent in the trunk door, glass fragments on the bumper, and a hair on the rear quarter panel.
  • WATCH: Witness: Apparent Hair, Glass Found In Karen Read’s Bumper
  • Hartnett tested the undercarriage of Read’s car for blood which turned out to be negative.
  • Hartnett also examined O’Keefe’s clothing, sneaker, gray sweatshirt, orange t-shirt and jeans. Tests confirmed reddish brown stains on his clothes were blood, including a spot on his sneaker.
  • Holes and tears on O’Keefe’s right sleeve which appeared to coincide with the injuries to his arm, were swabbed and sent to a lab to test for canine DNA. Hartnett said she could not explain how the damage to the right sleeve occurred. Teri Kun an animal DNA expert testified earlier in the trial that her tests showed no results for canine DNA.
• Ashley Vallier a trace evidence analyst examined the debris collected from O’Keefe’s clothes and found pieces of red and clear plastic. She sent them on to another analyst for further examination.
  • Vallier testified she was able to reconstruct the plastic fragments she was asked to examine into a bigger piece that she said was a physical match to the taillight from Read’s car.
  • WATCH: Karen Read Jury Sees Shards Of Glass Found Near John O’Keefe’s Body
• Defense Attorney Alan Jackson noted that Read’s car was towed from Dighton, 40 miles away through a blizzard, suggesting any evidence collected from the car would have been compromised.
• Defense also questioned the chain of custody of the items the scientists examined suggesting they could have been mishandled and tampered with due to lack of control over the crime scene and their connection to lead investigator Michael Proctor – who they have argued was a close family friend to the Alberts- and the owners of the property where O’Keefe was found.
• WATCH: Killer Or Cover-Up Murder Trial: Day 19 Recap

DAY 18 – 5/28/24

• Brian Higgins concluded his testimony. Higgins testified that if he had seen O’Keefe on the side of the road when he left, he would’ve done anything to help him. Higgins also testified to feeling embarrassed by betraying his friendship with O’Keefe while flirting with Read.
  • WATCH: Brian Higgins Testifies That Karen Read Kissed Him
• The state called a physician who testified O’Keefe’s body temperature was 80 degrees when he was brought in and they could not warm his temperature back up. During cross, the defense was able to get testimony from him that he did not see any injuries to O’Keefe besides the laceration above his eye and the scratches on his arm.
• WATCH: Killer Or Cover-Up Murder Trial: Day 18 Recap

DAY 17 – 5/24/24

• Brian Higgins, an ATF agent, and Albert family friend testified he spent the better part of the day with Brian Albert and went to his house after drinks at the Waterfall but left without seeing John O’Keefe or Karen Read at or near the home.
• A text he sent John from 34 Fairview, ‘Where are you,’ went unanswered. He denied he sent it with the intent of getting O’Keefe to come alone even though he had sent an earlier flirtatious text to Read, which was ignored when they were at the  Waterfall.
• The defense has billed Higgins as a third-party culprit, an alternate suspect who may have participated in the assault on O’Keefe, so he could pursue his romantic interest in Read. Higgins testified that Read initiated the dalliance in the weeks before O’Keefe’s death and read a series of text exchanges in which they declared their attraction for each other.
• “I think you’re hot,” Read wrote in one message. “Feeling is mutual,” Higgins responded.
  • WATCH: ‘I Think You’re Hot’: Jury Sees Karen Read’s Texts To Brian Higgins
• Higgins said Read invited him over to watch the Patriots game shortly that day and before he left – Read kissed him on the lips. Text exchanges that followed suggested Read was frustrated and disappointed in her relationship with O’Keefe, she stated that she was happy, but things were ‘deteriorating,’ following their New Year’s Eve trip to Aruba. She wrote that O’Keefe ‘was all over’ a girl, which the jury heard was Marietta Sullivan who testified that the defendant cussed at her when she greeted John O’Keefe, a longtime friend with a hug.
• Read also expressed her frustration over having to take care of children that were not her own.
• “I’m with him all the time. He never seems to want to go anywhere w/o me. But honestly the issues with the kids bother me more than him actually cheating. They’re constant and it feels like a lose/lose,” she wrote in a text to Higgins.
• The Commonwealth is expected to argue that the texts were evidence that the relationship was failing and after an argument with O’Keefe,  Read backed her car into him in a drunken rage then fled.
• In his cross-examination of Higgins, Alan Jackson noted that Karen Read did not greet Higgins at the Waterfall and ignored a flirty text he sent her while they were there. The defense attorney suggested he went to 34 Fairview because he thought she would also be there.
• Jackson noted that Higgins testified at one previous hearing that he thought he saw a tall dark-haired male arrive at the house, suggesting he was not forthcoming in his testimony.
• Higgins said he could not be sure and was not familiar enough with Colin Albert to identify him. He went on to say that  he left the gathering in the kitchen/dining area briefly to look at some pictures of Brian Albert’s son who was in the Marine Corps.
• Higgins stated he left 34 Fairview around 12: 30 AM.  O’Keefe never responded to his t