COURTROOM IN DEDHAM WITH MORE FOR US TODD ANTOINETTE AND JESSICA. LIEUTENANT TULLY HAS BEEN TELLING THE JURY ABOUT THE STATE POLICE PROCESS OF COLLECTING EVIDENCE IN THIS CASE. FOR EXAMPLE, THE PIECES OF KAREN REED’S BROKEN TAIL LIGHT FROM HER SUV. HE HAS ALSO BEEN TESTIFYING ABOUT THE DECISION NOT TO SEARCH THE HOUSE NEXT TO THE YARD WHERE JOHN O’KEEFE’S BODY WAS FOUND THIS MORNING IN COURT, THE JURY WAS SHOWN MULTIPLE VIDEOS OF KAREN REED’S SUV DRIVING BY DURING THE SNOWSTORM IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF JANUARY 29TH, 2022, IN CANTON. THE PROSECUTION IS USING THIS VIDEO TO TRY TO CORROBORATE THE TIMELINE IN THIS CASE. IN ADDITION TO CELL PHONE TOWER DATA. NOW, GETTING BACK TO THE FACT THAT THE ALBERT HOME AT 34 FAIRVIEW WAS NEVER SEARCHED. TAKE A LISTEN TO LIEUTENANT TULLY’S EXPLANATION TO THE JURY ON CROSS. EXAMINE NATION. I SHOULD SAY, ON DIRECT EXAMINATION. AND THEN LISTEN AS DEFENSE ATTORNEY ALAN JACKSON CHALLENGES HIM DURING THAT. ON CROSS EXAMINATION. I DON’T BELIEVE THAT MR. O’KEEFE ENTERED THE HOME SO I HAD NO NEXUS TO THE HOUSE. DO YOU BELIEVE IT WAS REASONABLE IF A MAN IS FOUND 30FT OUTSIDE THE FRONT DOOR OF A HOME AND HE’S GOT NO WINTER GEAR ON WHATSOEVER FOR THAT, PERHAPS HE CAME FROM INSIDE THE HOME, NOT HAVING DONNED HIS WINTER GEAR. OBJECTION! CAN YOU ANSWER THAT, DETECTIVE LIEUTENANT? UM. IT’S NOT REASONABLE. GIVEN OTHER INFORMATION, I HAD. TESTIMONY CONTINUES AT THIS HOUR. THE TRIAL IS IN SESSION FOR A FULL DAY TODAY. WE’RE REPORTING LIVE AT NORFOLK SUPERIOR COU
Karen Read murder trial: Live updates as testimony focuses on cellphone tower data
Read is accused of killing her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, with an SUV during a winter storm
Testimony resumed Thursday in the murder trial of Karen Read, who is accused of hitting John O’Keefe, her boyfriend, with an SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm.Before testimony resumed Wednesday, Judge Beverly Cannone told the jury that one juror was excused, saying the reason was “personal.” The remaining jury is composed of 10 women and six men, 12 of whom will deliberate the case.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 on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking. Her defense plans to argue that someone else is responsible for killing O’Keefe. Massachusetts State Police Lt. Brian Tully returned to the stand Thursday after testifying that he admonished Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor about the “very regrettable” text messages Proctor sent about Read and reported the messages “up the chain of command.Tully testified about evidence collected in the investigation, including pieces of the broken taillight, in addition to the decision not to search the house next to the yard where O’Keefe’s body was found.”I don’t believe that Mr. O’Keefe entered the home, so I had no nexus to the house,” Tully said. “Do you believe it was reasonable if a man is found 30 feet outside the front door of a home and he has no winter gear on whatsoever that perhaps he came from inside the home not having donned his winter gear,” defense attorney Alan Jackson asked.”It’s not reasonable, given other information I had,” Tully replied. The jury was also shown multiple videos of Read’s SUV driving during the snowstorm in the early morning hours of Jan. 29, 2022, in Canton.The prosecution is trying to use the video evidence and cellphone tower data to corroborate a case timeline. Live updates: 12:55 p.m. Bradford says DNA from taillight was strong match with O’Keefe but not Proctor and Bukhenik. Says hair sample did not have enough material for nuclear DNA analysis, but maybe for mitochondrial analysis.12:32 p.m. Next prosecution witness: Nicholas Bradford, a DNA analyst for Bode technologies, based in Lorton, Virginia.12:30 p.m. Next prosecution witness: Sgt. Brian Gallerani of the Needam Police Department. He collected DNA swabs from Proctor and Bukhenik. He spends less than five minutes on the stand explaining the collection process. 12:15 p.m. Tully continues to insist that, in this case, the cellphone data cannot be used to calculate speed. 12 p.m. Jackson asks about a witness who said they saw a Ford Edge at 34 Fairview Road between 2:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. Tully says that witness changed their story several times and was not reliable. Jackson points out that the Alberts own a Ford Edge. 11:55 a.m. Tully agrees and says it’s not possible that the phone was traveling 135,000 mph. 11:50 a.m. Jackson says that based on the cellphone data Tully earlier testified about, Read’s SUV was traveling at 37.5 miles per second at one point. 11:42 a.m. Jackson shows this map which indicates the McCabe residence (12 Country Lane) is closer to the cell tower than 34 Fairview Road. 11:40 a.m. Jackson says cellphone data can also show which side of tower was pinged. Tully says he doesn’t typically use that part of the data. 11:30 a.m. Jackson says there are, in fact, five pieces. “Where did the other pieces come from?” Jackson asks. Tully speculates that the smaller piece may have broken off the bigger ones while in the evidence bag. 11:25 a.m. Jackson is asking about Tully’s 2/10/22 report that says three pieces of plastic were found at the scene. Tully has previously testified four pieces were found. 10:45 a.m. Tully says he recently asked Canton PD to double check for more video of the garage. Says that’s when they got new video. Jackson asks if he noted the video was inverted. Tully says no. 10:40 a.m. Jackson asks if O’Keefe might have lost his shoe while being dragged by others. Tully says he’s never seen that but says it’s not impossible. 10:30 a.m. Tully says cell phone data shows Read’s phone was somewhere on the red arc on this map at 5:18 a.m. (Prosecution is trying to suggest Read went back to 34 Fairview before going to McCabe’s residence.) 10:15 a.m. Tully describes how they use cell tower data to track phone movements. Says phones usually connect to closest tower but not always. Says phones connect to tower for data even when the phone is not actively being used. 9:55 a.m. Tully testifies that the SUV would have had time to go back to 34 Fairview Road before continuing on to McCabe residence. He says without the detour to the scene, the time of travel is too short. 9:45 a.m. Jury is shown photos from surveillance video that shows Read’s SUV in several locations9:25 a.m. Tully says they gathered surveillance video from the town library and from Temple Beth Abraham in Canton for the timeframes 12 a.m. to 1 a.m. and 5-6 a.m. Says those are the times Read was traveling in the area. 9:20 a.m. Tully says O’Keefe’s arm abrasions had a certain pattern. Says blunt force from objects can leave such patterns. Starts to say, “I’d be comfortable to say the marks on Mr. O’Keefe are consistent with…” Defense objects. Judge sustains. 9:15 a.m. Tully says the legal requirement for a search warrant is that a location more likely than not contains evidence. Says they had no indication O’Keefe ever entered the home. 9:10 a.m. Lt. Brian Tully, who oversees the state police detective unit at the Norfolk DA’s Office, returns to the witness stand. Prosecutor Adam Lally continues his questioning about the evidence search at 34 Fairview Road. Says they didn’t search inside because they didn’t have any reason to believe they’d find evidence. 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 a 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.Proctor, the lead investigator in the case, acknowledged during his testimony that he was friends with several witnesses, including the brother of the man who hosted the house party where O’Keefe’s body was found outside. The defense also criticized Proctor for sharing details of the investigation with friends and family on text exchanges and for texts in which he appeared to single out Karen Read as responsible for O’Keefe’s death less than 24 hours after his body was found.Proctor acknowledged to the jury that he called Read a series of names including “wack job” in texts to friends, family and fellow troopers. Proctor also repeatedly apologized for language used in text exchanges, saying they were “something I am not proud of and I shouldn’t have wrote in private or any type of setting.” But he insisted the comments had no influence on the investigation. The defense is trying to convince the jury that O’Keefe was beaten and suggested that Colin Albert 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 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.
Testimony resumed Thursday in the murder trial of Karen Read, who is accused of hitting John O’Keefe, her boyfriend, with an SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm.
Before testimony resumed Wednesday, Judge Beverly Cannone told the jury that one juror was excused, saying the reason was “personal.” The remaining jury is composed of 10 women and six men, 12 of whom will deliberate the case.
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 on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking. Her defense plans to argue that someone else is responsible for killing O’Keefe.
Massachusetts State Police Lt. Brian Tully returned to the stand Thursday after testifying that he admonished Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor about the “very regrettable” text messages Proctor sent about Read and reported the messages “up the chain of command.
Tully testified about evidence collected in the investigation, including pieces of the broken taillight, in addition to the decision not to search the house next to the yard where O’Keefe’s body was found.
“I don’t believe that Mr. O’Keefe entered the home, so I had no nexus to the house,” Tully said.
“Do you believe it was reasonable if a man is found 30 feet outside the front door of a home and he has no winter gear on whatsoever that perhaps he came from inside the home not having donned his winter gear,” defense attorney Alan Jackson asked.
“It’s not reasonable, given other information I had,” Tully replied.
The jury was also shown multiple videos of Read’s SUV driving during the snowstorm in the early morning hours of Jan. 29, 2022, in Canton.
The prosecution is trying to use the video evidence and cellphone tower data to corroborate a case timeline.
Live updates:
- 12:55 p.m. Bradford says DNA from taillight was strong match with O’Keefe but not Proctor and Bukhenik. Says hair sample did not have enough material for nuclear DNA analysis, but maybe for mitochondrial analysis.
- 12:32 p.m. Next prosecution witness: Nicholas Bradford, a DNA analyst for Bode technologies, based in Lorton, Virginia.
- 12:30 p.m. Next prosecution witness: Sgt. Brian Gallerani of the Needam Police Department. He collected DNA swabs from Proctor and Bukhenik. He spends less than five minutes on the stand explaining the collection process.
- 12:15 p.m. Tully continues to insist that, in this case, the cellphone data cannot be used to calculate speed.
- 12 p.m. Jackson asks about a witness who said they saw a Ford Edge at 34 Fairview Road between 2:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. Tully says that witness changed their story several times and was not reliable. Jackson points out that the Alberts own a Ford Edge.
- 11:55 a.m. Tully agrees and says it’s not possible that the phone was traveling 135,000 mph.
- 11:50 a.m. Jackson says that based on the cellphone data Tully earlier testified about, Read’s SUV was traveling at 37.5 miles per second at one point.
- 11:42 a.m. Jackson shows this map which indicates the McCabe residence (12 Country Lane) is closer to the cell tower than 34 Fairview Road.
- 11:40 a.m. Jackson says cellphone data can also show which side of tower was pinged. Tully says he doesn’t typically use that part of the data.
- 11:30 a.m. Jackson says there are, in fact, five pieces. “Where did the other pieces come from?” Jackson asks. Tully speculates that the smaller piece may have broken off the bigger ones while in the evidence bag.
- 11:25 a.m. Jackson is asking about Tully’s 2/10/22 report that says three pieces of plastic were found at the scene. Tully has previously testified four pieces were found.
- 10:45 a.m. Tully says he recently asked Canton PD to double check for more video of the garage. Says that’s when they got new video. Jackson asks if he noted the video was inverted. Tully says no.
- 10:40 a.m. Jackson asks if O’Keefe might have lost his shoe while being dragged by others. Tully says he’s never seen that but says it’s not impossible.
- 10:30 a.m. Tully says cell phone data shows Read’s phone was somewhere on the red arc on this map at 5:18 a.m. (Prosecution is trying to suggest Read went back to 34 Fairview before going to McCabe’s residence.)
- 10:15 a.m. Tully describes how they use cell tower data to track phone movements. Says phones usually connect to closest tower but not always. Says phones connect to tower for data even when the phone is not actively being used.
- 9:55 a.m. Tully testifies that the SUV would have had time to go back to 34 Fairview Road before continuing on to McCabe residence. He says without the detour to the scene, the time of travel is too short.
- 9:45 a.m. Jury is shown photos from surveillance video that shows Read’s SUV in several locations
- 9:25 a.m. Tully says they gathered surveillance video from the town library and from Temple Beth Abraham in Canton for the timeframes 12 a.m. to 1 a.m. and 5-6 a.m. Says those are the times Read was traveling in the area.
- 9:20 a.m. Tully says O’Keefe’s arm abrasions had a certain pattern. Says blunt force from objects can leave such patterns. Starts to say, “I’d be comfortable to say the marks on Mr. O’Keefe are consistent with…” Defense objects. Judge sustains.
- 9:15 a.m. Tully says the legal requirement for a search warrant is that a location more likely than not contains evidence. Says they had no indication O’Keefe ever entered the home.
- 9:10 a.m. Lt. Brian Tully, who oversees the state police detective unit at the Norfolk DA’s Office, returns to the witness stand. Prosecutor Adam Lally continues his questioning about the evidence search at 34 Fairview Road. Says they didn’t search inside because they didn’t have any reason to believe they’d find evidence.
- Follow posts from reporter David Bienick
Related links:
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:
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 a 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.
Proctor, the lead investigator in the case, acknowledged during his testimony that he was friends with several witnesses, including the brother of the man who hosted the house party where O’Keefe’s body was found outside. The defense also criticized Proctor for sharing details of the investigation with friends and family on text exchanges and for texts in which he appeared to single out Karen Read as responsible for O’Keefe’s death less than 24 hours after his body was found.
Proctor acknowledged to the jury that he called Read a series of names including “wack job” in texts to friends, family and fellow troopers. Proctor also repeatedly apologized for language used in text exchanges, saying they were “something I am not proud of and I shouldn’t have wrote in private or any type of setting.” But he insisted the comments had no influence on the investigation.
The defense is trying to convince the jury that O’Keefe was beaten and suggested that Colin Albert 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 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.
Discover more from PressNewsAgency
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.