Boston 25 News Staff,Ted Daniel
·7 min read
The murder trial of Karen Read, the woman accused of striking her Boston Police Officer boyfriend John O’Keefe with her SUV and leaving him for dead in a snowbank in Canton in January 2022, entered its sixth week of testimony on Monday.
Monday’s testimony focused on a taillight and other important evidence as two Massachusetts State Police forensic scientists took the stand as did a high-ranking trooper.
The prosecution had them review dozens of photographs showing how evidence was collected and analyzed.
The evidence included a gray and black sweatshirt, an orange colored t-shirt and the jury saw John O’Keefe’s red and brown stained clothing for the first time.
State Police forensic scientist Maureen Hartnett testified she examined the clothes and Karen Read’s Lexus LX 570. She said she noted pieces of a broken co*cktail glass on the bumper and a strand of suspected human hair on the right rear quarter panel.
Hartnett inspected Read’s SUV in a garage at the Canton police department after it was towed there from her father’s home in Dighton. Defense attorney Alan Jackson questioned how the glass and hair remained on the vehicle during the trip - asking how the hair could have made the same 60-mile roundtrip in a blizzard.
The jury also heard from the state trooper who led a search for evidence outside 34 Fairview Road more than 6 hours after the scene had been cleared
Lt Kevin O’Hara says the state police supervisor of detectives for the Norfolk District Attorney’s office told him O’Keefe had been hit and dragged by a vehicle and directed him where to look. The team reported finding O’Keefe missing Nike sneaker and 6 to 7 pieces of red and clear plastic taillight on the street near the curb.
The jury is already aware that more taillight evidence would be found outside 34 Fairview a week later - by the then Canton police chief
Read’s SUV also appeared to have a small dent on it. The defense was quick to point out that no blood or tissue was found on Read’s SUV.
Defense attorney Attorney Alan Jackson he expects the prosecution will continue to present its case this week and next. Then the defense will present its case.
That’s expected to take about a week.
There are 3 days of testimony scheduled this week. Jurors will not be in the courtroom on Tuesday or Friday.
John O’Keefe’s nephew, niece testify about his relationship with Karen Read. Here’s what they said
PLAY-BY-PLAY FROM DAY 19 OF TESTIMONY:
2:55 p.m.
Hartnett is excused. ADA Lally calls Ashley Vallier, another MSP forensic scientist.
2:25 p.m.
AJ asking about pieces of glass found on the bumper during Harnett’s search. The car was towed to Canton PD from Dighton before Harnett examined it. AJ: according to your notes the glass pieces would have traveled 60 miles in a snowstorm before you saw it?
He asks the same question about the hair. “The hair would have made the same 60-mile roundtrip in a blizzard?”
2:10 p.m.
Hartnett says a Canton Police Officer removed the taillight housing from Read’s SUV when she was in the Canton PD garage.
2:00 p.m.
Alan Jackson begins cross-examination of Harnett.
She confirms no human tissue or blood was found on Read’s SUV.
1:45 p.m.
Stickers mark red-brown stains on JO’s T-shirt according to Hartnett.
1:40 p.m.
Court is back. ADA Lally resumes questioning MSP forensic scientist Maureen Hartnett
1 p.m.
A lunch break is called.
12:33 p.m.
Hartnett says she analyzed JO’s clothing and noted damage.
12:15 p.m.
Hartnett says she took swabs from the red Solo cups Canton PD used to collect blood evidence from the scene.
12:00 p.m.
Hartnett says she would have collected the hair with “tweezers” “to prevent contamination”. Paint chips were collected with “disposal scalpel”.
11:50 a.m.
“Those were negative” Hartnett responds when asked about tests she performed on Read’s Lexus for blood.
11:45 a.m.
Judge asks ADA Lally to keep his voice up because of portable air conditioner running.
11:40 a.m.
Hartnett says she noted a dent, taillight damage, scratches, and “an apparent hair” on the rear of KR’s SUV.
11:30 a.m.
Hartnett says she was dispatched to Canton PD at 9am on 2/2/2022 to examine Read’s Lexus.
11:20 a.m.
ADA Lally calls forensic scientist Maureen Harnett to the stand.
11:15 a.m.
David Yannetti resumes his cross of MSP SERT team leader Lt. O’Hara.
10:40 a.m.
DY asks about the parameters of search and going inside, and Lt. O’Hara responds: “no we never discussed searching inside the house”
10:35 a.m.
Lt. O’Hara confirms he wrote in his “final mission report” that “the officer was hit and dragged by a vehicle at approx. 12:30 am”
10:10 a.m.
David Yannetti is doing cross of Lt. O’Hara. He asks: “Are you aware the scene was left open to the public for hours before you were asked to search?”
KO: “I wasn’t aware of that”
9:55 a.m
Lt. O’Hara: “sneaker was completely buried” by snow.
9:40 a.m.
The initial SERT team search lasted 55 minutes. Lt. O’Hara says he told Lt. Tully: “there’s a good chance we did not find everything” and he wanted to come back in daylight
9:30 a.m.
Lt. O’Hara describes poor lighting conditions and heavy snow. The jury has already heard that then Canton Police Chief Berkowitz reported finding more taillight evidence about a week after SERT team search.
9:20 a.m.
Lt. O’Hara says MSP Lt. Brian Tully told him, “The death investigation involved a motor vehicle”
9:07 a.m.
We are underway. ADA Adam Lally calls Lt. Kevin O’Hara. He leads the Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) for the Mass State Police. SERT was called to look for evidence at 34 Fairview Rd.
From a previous prosecution filing in the Karen Read case regarding the SERT Team search: “Members from the SERT team located a black Nike sneaker with a white Nike logo along the side, matching the one worn by the victim at the time his body was discovered. In the same area, where the body had been recovered, two red plastic pieces ofa tail light were located, consistent to the pieces missing from the defendant’s black Lexus. One piece of clear plastic tail light was located in the same area as well, also consistent with the broken tail light of the Lexus.”
Good morning from day 19 of testimony in the Commonwealth vs. Karen Read. Today is scheduled to go until as late as 4:30
-MSP Detective Yuri Bukhenik could take the stand today.
-No court Tuesday or Friday
-They put portable AC units in the courtroom over the weekend and… pic.twitter.com/HXi4CqWq8E
— Ted Daniel (@TedDanielnews) June 3, 2024
PREVIOUS STORY:
The niece and nephew of late John O’Keefe were called to the stand Tuesday, the last day trial was held, testifying that Read and their uncle had many “disagreements and arguments” during their relationship.
O’Keefe’s nephew testified that he witnessed O’Keefe and Read have “lots of disagreements and arguments,” including during trips to Florida and Aruba.
Doctor Justin Rice revealed that when O’Keefe got to the emergency room, he had no pulse and his body temperature was 80 degrees.
Doctor Rice said O’Keefe had superficial abrasions on his right forearm.
Rice also took blood from Karen Read when she was brought in for a mental health evaluation.
A Massachusetts State Police toxicologist says he used that blood drawn to retroactively calculate that Read would have been drunk at the time the prosecution alleges she struck O’Keefe.
CATCH UP ON DAY 18 OF TESTIMONY LAST WEEK:
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