Video, updates: Testimony in Karen Read trial continues after juror shown on camera excused

DEDHAM, Mass. — Friday marked Day 25 of witness testimony in the murder trial of Karen Read, the woman accused of backing over John O’Keefe, Boston Police Officer boyfriend, and leaving him for dead in the snow in Canton in January 2022.

The start of Friday morning’s testimony was delayed after a juror was caught on a courtroom camera. Judge Beverly Cannon later excused that juror from the trial.

• WATCH LIVE: Streaming coverage of Friday’s witness testimony begins at 9 a.m.
• Also streaming on Facebook, X, and YouTube
• Live court updates from Boston 25′s Ted Daniel

PLAY-BY-PLAY FROM DAY 25 OF TESTIMONY:

4:00 p.m.

• Jury is sent home for the day. Court resumes with a voir dire of Trooper Paul about Ring camera video that shows Read backing into O’Keefe’s vehicle in his driveway. Before Jury left, Judge gave this schedule for next week: Monday is full day, Tuesday is voir dire (no jury), Wednesday no trial (holiday), Thursday full day, Friday half day.

3:00 p.m.

• Trooper Paul spoke about a “triggering event” where “the vehicle speeds up to 24.2 mph” and “accelerator went to 74 and a half percent”
• Paul tells the jury that the data from Read’s Lexus and O’Keefe’s injuries are “consistent with a pedestrian strike”. He says the impact would have caused O’Keefe’s body to “rotate counter-clockwise”

2:20 p.m.

• Trooper Paul says no data was recovered from the airbag control module of KR’s Lexus, meaning it didn’t register a crash. He says that is not uncommon with a pedestrian collision.

2:05 p.m.

• Trooper Paul says he examined Read’s Lexus at Canton PD and noted scratches, a dent, a broken taillight, and “glass on the bumper.”

1:55 p.m.

• Trooper Paul returns to stand after lunch break.

1:00 p.m.

• Judge calls for lunch break.

12:45 p.m.

• Trooper Paul says he created this diagram of 34 Fairview using a drone. He says the shoe was 9 feet from JO’s body.

12:20 p.m.

• Trial resumes. The judge has allowed the pool camera to be turned back on.
• David Yannetti does a quick cross of Jessica Hyde. She says she was not instructed to look at McCabe’s call log that DY says would have shown deleted calls.
• ADA Lally calls Trooper Joseph Paul to the stand. He works in the MSP CARS unit (crash reconstruction)

11:45 a.m.

• ADA Lally asks Hyde about defense expert who determined the search did happen at 2:27 a.m. and was deleted, she tells jury, there are “errors with that”
• Judge calls for morning recess.

11:15 a.m.

• Hyde tells jury the 2:27 a.m. time stamp is the “last time the tab was touched” when according to Hyde, Jen McCabe was searching “Hockomock” sports info.
• She says “the tab was moved to the background” and accessed 4 hours later for “hos long to die in cold”

11 a.m.

• Hyde says Cellebrite analysis found initial “hos long to die in cold” search was in a “suspended state tab,” Google says: “A suspended state tab is a browser tab that has been automatically put to sleep when it’s been inactive for a certain amount of time”

10:50 a.m.

• Different extraction tools were used to analyze Jen McCabe’s Google search. Jessica Hyde is expected to testify that this search happened at a later time than what’s indicated in this report
• Hyde says she used 5 different tools (types of software) to analyze Jennifer McCabe’s Google searches.

10:40 a.m.

• Jury entering. There is an empty seat where the juror who was shown on camera was sitting. Judge says there are good reasons for her to be excused for personal reasons.
• Jessica Hyde a cell phone expert is called to the stand.

10:33 a.m.

• 1st juror called in is called up to the bench for a 4th time.
• Juror exits. The judge calls another quick recess.

10:30 a.m.

• The court resumes and the judge calls both sides to bench.

10: 25 a.m.

• Sidebars have ended (for now). A 5-minute recess is called. The court clerk tells me we can air court zoom feed including the video. I’m not sure what the feed will look like but we will soon.

10:05 a.m.

• The juror who first went to sidebar this morning has returned and is back at sidebar.

10:00 a.m.

• After that juror walks out, a 4th is brought to sidebar.

9:55 a.m.

• A 3rd juror is brought to sidebar. These conversations are private so we don’t know what the issue is.

9:50 a.m.

• Court Clerk just confirmed for me we can record and live-stream the audio from the source being provided.

9:45 a.m

• We are back. Another juror is brought to the sidebar. The clerk says an audio feed is allowed. We are working to get that streamed because it’s from a different source than the pool camera.

9:30 a.m.

• Court clerk tells Boston 25 that the judge has ordered the camera off for at least the rest of the morning because it caught a juror. The photographer had a wide shot at the time and I didn’t see the photographer get notice that a juror was coming in.

9:25 a.m.

• The judge calls a recess and goes to her chambers. We have been given no indication of what the juror issue is. KR and her team are huddled together.

9:20 a.m.

• The judge announces that the “camera is to be shut off.”

9:15 a.m.

• We begin with a sidebar involving one juror who is speaking with the Judge, prosecution, and defense attorneys.

PREVIOUS STORY:

Prosecutors on Thursday called three DNA experts that the defense chose not to cross-examine, as well as a state police detective and a Needham Police Sergeant.

The defense resumed their cross-examination of Lt. Brian Tully, the unit commander of State Police detectives for Norfolk County. He reported Trooper Michael Proctor’s vulgar texts about Karen Read “up his chain of command.” He was questioned about the murder investigation, including what he thought caused O’Keefe’s injuries, the plastic taillight pieces, and statements made by a Canton plow driver.

Read’s defense attorney Alan Jackson asked Tully what, if any, evidence he had that O’Keefe entered the home at 34 Fairview Road on January 29, to which he replied, “I don’t on the contrary. I have evidence that he was outside.”

Through cell phone pings and surveillance video, Tully suggested Read returned to 34 Fairview sometime after 5:18 a.m. and then left again, while O’Keefe’s body was on the front lawn.

Jackson questioned why Tully never searched inside the home.

Next on the stand was Needham Police Sgt. Brian Gallerani who was quickly called to say he took Proctor and Bukhenik’s DNA. The defense did not have any questions for him.

Nicholas Bradford, a forensic DNA analyst at Bode Technology, and his colleague, Tess Chart, were both brought to the stand. They had both testified that John O’Keefe’s DNA was found on taillight pieces found outside 34 Fairview Avenue in Canton that matched Read’s SUV.

“The hair sample was consistent with the mitochondrial DNA profile obtained from John O’Keefe,” Chart said.

Andre Porto, a forensic scientist at the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab, testified that a DNA profile found on a drinking glass at the scene matched O’Keefe’s.

“The DNA profile from this item is at least 510 nonillion times more likely if it originated from John O’Keefe,” Porto said.

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Officer Killed Girlfriend Trial Karen Read reacts to he attorney Alan Jackson as he cross examines state trooper Michael Proctor during her trial, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in Norfolk Super Court in Dedham, Mass. Read is facing charges, including second degree murder, in the 2022 death of her boyfriend Boston Officer John O’Keefe. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool) (Greg Derr/AP)

Jackson argues the hair was planted and as for the other items — no big deal.

He says Read did not return to 34 Fairview as the prosecution suggests.

After court, Jackson told reporters Read was traveling to Jennifer McCabe’s home in a snowstorm – and it took her extra time to find it because she’d never been there before.

Trooper Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in the murder case, took the stand and read “unprofessional and regrettable” text messages he sent about Read after O’Keefe was found dead.

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