Read is accused of killing her boyfriend, John O'Keefe, with an SUV during a winter storm
Karen Read murder trial: Jurors see O'Keefe's clothing, SUV evidence
Read is accused of killing her boyfriend, John O'Keefe, with an SUV during a winter storm
YES, THIS WAS THEY THE JURORS HAD ALREADY SEEN PHOTOGRAPHS OF THESE ITEMS OF CLOTHING, BUT NOT THE CLOTHING THEMSELVES. UNTIL TODAY. THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY A DIFFICULT MOMENT FOR O’KEEFE FAMILY. HIS MOTHER, WHO MUST MUST HAVE KNOWN WHAT WAS COMING, GOT UP AND LEFT THE COURTROOM. ONE OF THE INVESTIGATORS SHOWED JOHN O’KEEFE’S BLOOD STAINED HOODIE, T-SHIRT AND JEANS, WHICH HE SAYS THEY COLLECTED THE SAME TIME THEY SAW HIS BODY AT THE HOSPITAL. HIS FACE. I OBSERVED THE SWELLING AND THE DISCOLORATION BEING PRODUCED THROUGH THE THE BLOOD POOLING IN THE EYELIDS, SURGEON YURI BUKINIK SAYS. HE THEN WENT TO SPEAK WITH KAREN REID AT HER PARENTS HOME IN DIGHTON. HE SAYS REID TOLD HIM SHE DROPPED O’KEEFE OFF AT A HOUSE IN CANTON THE NIGHT BEFORE, BUT DIDN’T GO IN HERSELF. THE DEFENDANT STATED THAT SHE WAS HAVING STOMACH ISSUES. THE PROSECUTORS PLAYED SURVEILLANCE VIDEOS, INCLUDING ONE SHOWING REID’S SUV PULLING OUT OF O’KEEFE’S DRIVEWAY A FEW HOURS AFTER THE PROSECUTORS SAY SHE BACKED INTO HIM AND KILLED HIM. THE PORTION OF THIS VIDEO AND THE STILL SHOT PRESENTED IDENTIFIES A MISSING, DAMAGED REAR RIGHT TAILLIGHT. ANOTHER VIDEO SHOWED INVESTIGATORS PULLING THE SUV INTO THE CANTON POLICE DEPARTMENT WITH AN APPARENTLY EXPOSED TAIL LIGHT BULB. THE DEFENSE HAS SAID THE TAIL LIGHT WAS BROKEN LATER BY DIRTY INVESTIGATORS, WHO PLANTED EVIDENCE AT THE SCENE. THAT IS PIECE ONE, A CRIME LAB ANALYST TESTIFIED HOW SHE PIECED THE TAILLIGHT FRAGMENTS BACK TOGETHER, AND ANOTHER SAID SHE’D FOUND PLASTIC PIECES IN O’KEEFE’S CLOTHING. UNDER CROSS-EXAMINATION, DEFENSE ATTORNEY DAVID EWUNETIE ASKED WHICH INVESTIGATOR DELIVERED THE CLOTHING TO THE LAB WAS SUBMITTED BY TROOPER MIKE PROCTOR. I BELIEVE IF YOU’VE BEEN FOLLOWING THIS CASE, YOU’VE HEARD THAT NAME BEFORE. TROOPER MICHAEL PROCTOR IS THE INVESTIGATOR WHO THE DEFENSE HAS TRIED TO TIE TO THE PEOPLE THAT IT SUGGESTS ARE TRULY RESPONSIBLE FOR O’KEEFE’S DEATH. INSTEAD OF REID. NOW, PROCTOR IS ALSO THE SUBJECT OF AN INTERNAL INVESTIGATION BY THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE POLICE. IT IS NOT CLEAR AT THIS POINT WHEN AND IF HE WILL TESTIF
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Karen Read murder trial: Jurors see O'Keefe's clothing, SUV evidence
Read is accused of killing her boyfriend, John O'Keefe, with an SUV during a winter storm
Jurors heard a full day of testimony from investigators in the murder trial of Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman accused of hitting John O'Keefe, her boyfriend, with an SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm.Read, 44, of Mansfield, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and other charges. The prosecution says she hit O'Keefe with her black SUV outside of a home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton during a snowstorm on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking. Her defense plans to argue that someone else is responsible for killing O'Keefe. Through the afternoon session, Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenick testified about numerous pieces of physical and digital evidence. He removed articles of clothing that O'Keefe was wearing from evidence packages and displayed them to the jury. Bukhenick also answered questions about a series of surveillance videos showing Read's SUV. He observed the taillight was damaged as the vehicle left O'Keefe's driveway during the storm.Christina Hanley, a forensic scientist at the State Police crime lab, testified that she examined a broken co*cktail glass found near O'Keefe's body and five pieces of glass found on the rear bumper of Read's SUV. Defense attorney Alan Jackson questioned if a piece of glass submitted as evidence matched pieces of the broken cup."There was no physical match," Hanley said.Hanley also examined debris found on O'Keefe's clothing and the taillight housing. Earlier, Ashley Vallier, who also works for the State Police crime lab, testified that she examined pieces of a damaged taillight housing from Read's SUV that were found in the snow, and Vallier explained how the pieces fit together. Defense attorney David Yannetti questioned how the items were delivered to the lab for testing. The defense has suggested that the evidence was planted by corrupt investigators and maintains that O'Keefe was killed during a fight and subsequent dog attack. Vallier said Trooper Michael Proctor delivered the evidence in March 2022, six weeks after the day O'Keefe died. Proctor was the lead investigator on the case and has been accused by Read's defense team of planting the evidence."Your chain of custody at the lab for the two shirts and the plastic, that began on March 14, 2022. So, between Jan 29 and March 14 you don't know what Michael Proctor did with the evidence?" Yannetti said."I don't know," Vallier said. Live updates: 3:42 p.m. Shown a closeup view of Read's SUV as it leaves O'Keefe's during the snowstorm. Bukhenik says the taillight is damaged.3:32 p.m. A series of videos are shown: Read's SUV leaving O'Keefe's home before the storm, leaving the house during the snow at approximately 5 a.m. (Bukhenik says it came close to O'Keefe's parked vehicle but did not damage it. He says no taillight pieces are visible on the ground.) 3:19 p.m. Bukhenik says every investigation takes the entire unit to conduct interviews, etc. "It's a team effort every time," he says. Says all interviews are done with two officers present. Says Trooper Proctor was the case officer. 3:04 p.m. Bukhenik says neither he nor Proctor touched the right, rear part of the vehicle as it arrived in the garage.2:48 p.m. With the jury and the witness out of the room, the judge, attorneys and Read watch this video of Read's SUV being pulled into Canton PD garage. Read's attorneys seem not to have seen this before. They are watching it intently.2:27 p.m. Surveillance video shows Read and her father arriving at her parents' home in Dighton. Bukhenik says Read and her father paused near the taillight before going inside. Surveillance video shows SUV being loaded onto tow truck. Bukhenik says the passenger-side taillight is visibly damaged. Another video showed the tow truck arriving at Canton PD. 2:20 p.m. Bukhenik says he asked Read to describe exactly how she did the three-point turn. Says he advised her that her SUV and phone were being seized as evidence. 2:16 p.m. Bukhenik says Read told him they'd had a fight that morning about what his niece and nephew had for breakfast. Says she'd been drinking vodka soda at CF McCarthy's. Bukhenik says Read told him she'd dropped O'Keefe off at a home in Canton, did not see him go inside, made a three-point turn and left. Bukhenik says Read told him she was having "stomach issues and did not want to enter the residence."2:08 p.m. Bukhenik says the interview with Read was polite and courteous. Says she had just gone through a traumatic event by losing her boyfriend so they just wanted to get her information.2:06 p.m. Bukhenik describes going to Read's parents home in Dighton. Saw Read's SUV in the driveway and noticed damaged right taillight. It was caked in snow and there were pieces missing, he says. Says he never saw Proctor or other police touch the SUV. 12:33 p.m. From McCabe residence, Bukhenik and Proctor went to Good Samaritan Hospital. They saw O'Keefe's body and gathered his clothing. Says clothing items were "in a pile stacked on top of each other." 12:30 p.m. From the police department, Bukhenik and Proctor went to the McCabe residence. Spoke with Jen McCabe, Matt McCabe and Brian Albert. Says each interview was done separately and individually. 12:25 p.m. Bukhenik says he drove his personal 4X4 truck through the snow to meet Proctor at the Canton PD at about 915am. They went inside and spoke with Sgt Sean Goode for about 25-30 minutes. 12:20 p.m. Next witness: Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik, Massachusetts State Police. He served in the Marines and protected presidential police helicopters. He was on duty as a MSP supervisor the day O'Keefe died. 12: 05 p.m.: Jackson: None of the items on the bumper were deemed to match the cup? Hanley: Correct. 12 p.m. Jackson makes the point that some glass pieces were submitted by Trooper Yuri Bukhenik and one single piece was submitted by Proctor. 11:44 a.m. Defense attorney Alan Jackson questions Hanley about the chain of custody for pieces of the evidence11:15 a.m. Hanley examined the broken co*cktail glass found near O'Keefe's body and five pieces of glass found on the rear bumper of Read's SUV. 11:03 a.m. Christina Hanley, a forensic scientist with the state police crime lab, takes the stand10:15 a.m. Vallier checks their notes and says the evidence bags were delivered by Trooper Michael Proctor on 3/14/22. Yannetti asks if Vallier can verify the chain of custody between 1/29 and 3/14. They cannot. 10:10 a.m. Yannetti asks which trooper delivered the plastic pieces. Vallier pauses before saying, "That's an odd question." Courtroom laughs. Yannetti says, "Not for me." 10:05 a.m. Defense attorney David Yannetti begins cross examining Ashley Vallier. He's asking about O'Keefe's orange T-shirt and long-sleeve shirt and debris collected from the items9:43 a.m. Some of the jurors are taking notes. Others appear to be struggling to pay attention to this testimony as Vallier repeatedly describes evidence groups, the number of pieces and various colors. 9:30 a.m. Vallier describes examining pieces and bringing them together to see if they fit, examined pieces under a microscope. Nobody has the analogy of a jigsaw puzzle, but that's what the process sounds like. 9:05 a.m. Good morning. Day 20 of testimony. We expect to hear more testimony from forensic scientist Ashley Vallier, who examined pieces of the damaged taillight from Read's SUV. Follow posts from reporter David BienickRelated links:Recap of testimony, evidence from each day of the case Evidence slideshowWhat to know about the case:Karen Read, 44, of Mansfield, is accused of second-degree murder and other charges. The prosecution says she hit her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, with her vehicle outside of a home in Canton during a snowstorm on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking. She returned hours later to find him in a snowbank.Read has pleaded not guilty.Read and her defense team claim she is the victim of a cover-up and plan to present a third-party culprit defense. They claim O'Keefe was beaten inside the home, bitten by a dog, and then left outside.In pretrial motions, prosecutors revealed the existence of text messages they said suggested a "romantic entanglement" with a friend who was present at locations Read and O'Keefe visited on the night of the incident. Other documents have also suggested trouble in the relationship between Read and O'Keefe.Read is also accused of having frequent contact with a controversial blogger known as "Turtleboy," Aiden Kearney, who now faces charges in related cases.Opening statements were delivered on April 29.The trial is expected to last 6-8 weeks.Case evidence slideshow: Prosecutors are trying to show that Read’s alleged actions outside 34 Fairview Road were intentional. Read's lawyers have alleged there was a cover-up involving members of several law enforcement agencies. They say O’Keefe was beaten by someone else inside the home, bitten by a dog and then left outside.The defense, which has been allowed to present what is called third-party culprit evidence, argues that investigators focused on Read because she was a “convenient outsider” who saved them from having to consider other suspects. Those they have implicated include Brian Albert, who owned the home in Canton where O’Keefe died, and Brian Higgins, an ATF agent who was there that night.Higgins testified about a "romantic" encounter and series of text messages he exchanged with Read. In those flirty messages, Read told him that O'Keefe had "hooked up" with another woman during a vacation. The defense is trying to convince the jury that O'Keefe was beaten and suggested that Colin Albert, nephew of the family that owned the home on Fairview Road, had been in a fight. Albert said a hand injury came when he fell in a driveway and that he never saw O'Keefe during the celebration of his cousin's birthday on the night in question.He also confirmed on cross-examination that he has known the lead state police investigator in this case, Trooper Michael Proctor, since he was a child. A former Massachusetts police toxicologist, Nicholas Roberts, testified that Read's blood alcohol content at 9 a.m. was between .078% and .083%, right around the legal limit for intoxication in Massachusetts. Based on a police report that suggested her last drink was at 12:45 a.m., her peak blood alcohol level would have been between .135% and .292%, he said.O’Keefe had been raising his niece and nephew, and they told jurors that they heard frequent arguments between him and Read. Both of the teenagers described an incident in which O'Keefe asked Read to leave the house and she refused.The trial's first few days detailed the futile efforts of first responders to save O'Keefe. They found him face up when they arrived just before dawn on Jan. 29. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, and an autopsy later found he died of hypothermia and blunt force trauma. Several of the first responders said they heard Read make statements, including, "I hit him," after O'Keefe was found. Defense attorneys confronted several of those witnesses by asking why those alleged remarks were not included in official reports.Officers also testified about unusual procedures used during the investigation, including the decision to collect bloody snow in red plastic cups and clearing snow from the crime scene.
DEDHAM, Mass. —
Jurors heard a full day of testimony from investigators in the murder trial of Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman accused of hitting John O'Keefe, her boyfriend, with an SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm.
Read, 44, of Mansfield, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and other charges. The prosecution says she hit O'Keefe with her black SUV outside of a home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton during a snowstorm on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking. Her defense plans to argue that someone else is responsible for killing O'Keefe.
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Through the afternoon session, Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenick testified about numerous pieces of physical and digital evidence. He removed articles of clothing that O'Keefe was wearing from evidence packages and displayed them to the jury.
Bukhenick also answered questions about a series of surveillance videos showing Read's SUV. He observed the taillight was damaged as the vehicle left O'Keefe's driveway during the storm.
Christina Hanley, a forensic scientist at the State Police crime lab, testified that she examined a broken co*cktail glass found near O'Keefe's body and five pieces of glass found on the rear bumper of Read's SUV.
Defense attorney Alan Jackson questioned if a piece of glass submitted as evidence matched pieces of the broken cup.
"There was no physical match," Hanley said.
Hanley also examined debris found on O'Keefe's clothing and the taillight housing.
Earlier, Ashley Vallier, who also works for the State Police crime lab, testified that she examined pieces of a damaged taillight housing from Read's SUV that were found in the snow, and Vallier explained how the pieces fit together.
Defense attorney David Yannetti questioned how the items were delivered to the lab for testing. The defense has suggested that the evidence was planted by corrupt investigators and maintains that O'Keefe was killed during a fight and subsequent dog attack.
Vallier said Trooper Michael Proctor delivered the evidence in March 2022, six weeks after the day O'Keefe died. Proctor was the lead investigator on the case and has been accused by Read's defense team of planting the evidence.
"Your chain of custody at the lab for the two shirts and the plastic, that began on March 14, 2022. So, between Jan 29 and March 14 you don't know what Michael Proctor did with the evidence?" Yannetti said.
"I don't know," Vallier said.
Live updates:
- 3:42 p.m. Shown a closeup view of Read's SUV as it leaves O'Keefe's during the snowstorm. Bukhenik says the taillight is damaged.
- 3:32 p.m. A series of videos are shown: Read's SUV leaving O'Keefe's home before the storm, leaving the house during the snow at approximately 5 a.m. (Bukhenik says it came close to O'Keefe's parked vehicle but did not damage it. He says no taillight pieces are visible on the ground.)
- 3:19 p.m. Bukhenik says every investigation takes the entire unit to conduct interviews, etc. "It's a team effort every time," he says. Says all interviews are done with two officers present. Says Trooper Proctor was the case officer.
- 3:04 p.m. Bukhenik says neither he nor Proctor touched the right, rear part of the vehicle as it arrived in the garage.
- 2:48 p.m. With the jury and the witness out of the room, the judge, attorneys and Read watch this video of Read's SUV being pulled into Canton PD garage. Read's attorneys seem not to have seen this before. They are watching it intently.
- 2:27 p.m. Surveillance video shows Read and her father arriving at her parents' home in Dighton. Bukhenik says Read and her father paused near the taillight before going inside. Surveillance video shows SUV being loaded onto tow truck. Bukhenik says the passenger-side taillight is visibly damaged. Another video showed the tow truck arriving at Canton PD.
- 2:20 p.m. Bukhenik says he asked Read to describe exactly how she did the three-point turn. Says he advised her that her SUV and phone were being seized as evidence.
- 2:16 p.m. Bukhenik says Read told him they'd had a fight that morning about what his niece and nephew had for breakfast. Says she'd been drinking vodka soda at CF McCarthy's. Bukhenik says Read told him she'd dropped O'Keefe off at a home in Canton, did not see him go inside, made a three-point turn and left. Bukhenik says Read told him she was having "stomach issues and did not want to enter the residence."
- 2:08 p.m. Bukhenik says the interview with Read was polite and courteous. Says she had just gone through a traumatic event by losing her boyfriend so they just wanted to get her information.
- 2:06 p.m. Bukhenik describes going to Read's parents home in Dighton. Saw Read's SUV in the driveway and noticed damaged right taillight. It was caked in snow and there were pieces missing, he says. Says he never saw Proctor or other police touch the SUV.
- 12:33 p.m. From McCabe residence, Bukhenik and Proctor went to Good Samaritan Hospital. They saw O'Keefe's body and gathered his clothing. Says clothing items were "in a pile stacked on top of each other."
- 12:30 p.m. From the police department, Bukhenik and Proctor went to the McCabe residence. Spoke with Jen McCabe, Matt McCabe and Brian Albert. Says each interview was done separately and individually.
- 12:25 p.m. Bukhenik says he drove his personal 4X4 truck through the snow to meet Proctor at the Canton PD at about 915am. They went inside and spoke with Sgt Sean Goode for about 25-30 minutes.
- 12:20 p.m. Next witness: Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik, Massachusetts State Police. He served in the Marines and protected presidential police helicopters. He was on duty as a MSP supervisor the day O'Keefe died.
- 12: 05 p.m.: Jackson: None of the items on the bumper were deemed to match the cup? Hanley: Correct.
- 12 p.m. Jackson makes the point that some glass pieces were submitted by Trooper Yuri Bukhenik and one single piece was submitted by Proctor.
- 11:44 a.m. Defense attorney Alan Jackson questions Hanley about the chain of custody for pieces of the evidence
- 11:15 a.m. Hanley examined the broken co*cktail glass found near O'Keefe's body and five pieces of glass found on the rear bumper of Read's SUV.
- 11:03 a.m. Christina Hanley, a forensic scientist with the state police crime lab, takes the stand
- 10:15 a.m. Vallier checks their notes and says the evidence bags were delivered by Trooper Michael Proctor on 3/14/22. Yannetti asks if Vallier can verify the chain of custody between 1/29 and 3/14. They cannot.
- 10:10 a.m. Yannetti asks which trooper delivered the plastic pieces. Vallier pauses before saying, "That's an odd question." Courtroom laughs. Yannetti says, "Not for me."
- 10:05 a.m. Defense attorney David Yannetti begins cross examining Ashley Vallier. He's asking about O'Keefe's orange T-shirt and long-sleeve shirt and debris collected from the items
- 9:43 a.m. Some of the jurors are taking notes. Others appear to be struggling to pay attention to this testimony as Vallier repeatedly describes evidence groups, the number of pieces and various colors.
- 9:30 a.m. Vallier describes examining pieces and bringing them together to see if they fit, examined pieces under a microscope. Nobody has the analogy of a jigsaw puzzle, but that's what the process sounds like.
- 9:05 a.m. Good morning. Day 20 of testimony. We expect to hear more testimony from forensic scientist Ashley Vallier, who examined pieces of the damaged taillight from Read's SUV.
- Follow posts from reporter David Bienick
Related links:
- Recap of testimony, evidence from each day of the case
- Evidence slideshow
What to know about the case:
- Karen Read, 44, of Mansfield, is accused of second-degree murder and other charges. The prosecution says she hit her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, with her vehicle outside of a home in Canton during a snowstorm on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking. She returned hours later to find him in a snowbank.
- Read has pleaded not guilty.
- Read and her defense team claim she is the victim of a cover-up and plan to present a third-party culprit defense. They claim O'Keefe was beaten inside the home, bitten by a dog, and then left outside.
- In pretrial motions, prosecutors revealed the existence of text messages they said suggested a "romantic entanglement" with a friend who was present at locations Read and O'Keefe visited on the night of the incident. Other documents have also suggested trouble in the relationship between Read and O'Keefe.
- Read is also accused of having frequent contact with a controversial blogger known as "Turtleboy," Aiden Kearney, who now faces charges in related cases.
- Opening statements were delivered on April 29.
- The trial is expected to last 6-8 weeks.
Case evidence slideshow:
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer
Slideshow
80 photos
Karen Read trial: Key updates, evidence from every day of testimony
Prosecutors are trying to show that Read’s alleged actions outside 34 Fairview Road were intentional. Read's lawyers have alleged there was a cover-up involving members of several law enforcement agencies. They say O’Keefe was beaten by someone else inside the home, bitten by a dog and then left outside.
The defense, which has been allowed to present what is called third-party culprit evidence, argues that investigators focused on Read because she was a “convenient outsider” who saved them from having to consider other suspects. Those they have implicated include Brian Albert, who owned the home in Canton where O’Keefe died, and Brian Higgins, an ATF agent who was there that night.
Higgins testified about a "romantic" encounter and series of text messages he exchanged with Read. In those flirty messages, Read told him that O'Keefe had "hooked up" with another woman during a vacation.
AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool
Hearst Owned
The defense is trying to convince the jury that O'Keefe was beaten and suggested that Colin Albert, nephew of the family that owned the home on Fairview Road, had been in a fight. Albert said a hand injury came when he fell in a driveway and that he never saw O'Keefe during the celebration of his cousin's birthday on the night in question.
He also confirmed on cross-examination that he has known the lead state police investigator in this case, Trooper Michael Proctor, since he was a child.
Greg Derr
A former Massachusetts police toxicologist, Nicholas Roberts, testified that Read's blood alcohol content at 9 a.m. was between .078% and .083%, right around the legal limit for intoxication in Massachusetts. Based on a police report that suggested her last drink was at 12:45 a.m., her peak blood alcohol level would have been between .135% and .292%, he said.
O’Keefe had been raising his niece and nephew, and they told jurors that they heard frequent arguments between him and Read. Both of the teenagers described an incident in which O'Keefe asked Read to leave the house and she refused.
The trial's first few days detailed the futile efforts of first responders to save O'Keefe. They found him face up when they arrived just before dawn on Jan. 29. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, and an autopsy later found he died of hypothermia and blunt force trauma.
Several of the first responders said they heard Read make statements, including, "I hit him," after O'Keefe was found. Defense attorneys confronted several of those witnesses by asking why those alleged remarks were not included in official reports.
Officers also testified about unusual procedures used during the investigation, including the decision to collect bloody snow in red plastic cups and clearing snow from the crime scene.
