DAY 15: Karen Read Retrial
John O'Keefe's niece takes the stand and describes the early morning moments when Karen woke her up prior to finding John in the snow.
Court resumed today after it was unexpectedly cancelled yesterday morning due to “unavoidable circumstances”.
Several tweets went out from some of Karen Read’s closest supporters pointing to Karen Read as the reason.
Jenna Rocco (who is active in the fundraising operation for Karen) tweeted “Karen’s not feeling well.” However, she swiftly deleted the tweet right after.
And then Mark Mazza (youtuber, and fanatical supporter seen hanging with Karen Read periodically at social gatherings), tweeted this…
AKR (Anti-Karen Read) is the acronym her fans use to refer to anyone who thinks the drunk driver defendant is guilty of driving recklessly into her boyfriend. Mark asserts that the murder trial was paused due to seasonal allergies as if that’s the most logical explanation that everyone should have made.
Mmm’kay. 🫠
Whatever the exact reason was, the court did not confirm it publicly.
ON THE STAND TODAY:
John O’Keefe’ Niece (Minor)
Sgt. Zachark Clark (MSP officer)
Sgt. Evan Brent (MSP officer)
Sgt. Brian Gallerani (Needham Police)
Maureen Harnett (Forensic Scientist)
Prosecution started the morning with two short video clips of Karen Read speaking with the media. Following the clips, Prosecution called John’s niece to the stand. Next, several officers testified very briefly about specific roles they played in the investigation, and then the last witness to take the stand was a forensic scientist.
VIDEO CLIPS:
John O’Keefe’s Niece - (Minor child)
Due to this witness being a minor, her identity was kept private. The media turned off cameras & digital devices during her testimony, but in-person media was able to take handwritten notes to share.
Journalist John DePetro tweeted his notes taken of the testimony.
Sgt. Zachark Clark (MSP officer)
Worked for the Norfolk Crime Scene Unit.
Sgt. Clark was called to document the inside and outside of Karen’s SUV on 2/1/22. Photos of the dashboard odometer, and backup camera are shown to the court.
Found no remarkable/noteworthy fingerprints.
Clark was also requested to photograph the crime scene (34 Fairview lawn area/ street). Says there was a significant amount of snow still on the ground, and could see lots of foot traffic patterns in snow.
Defense asks if Clark knows how long the vehicle was in Proctor’s possession prior to Clark’s analysis, and Clark says no.
Clark and Proctor both interviewed a person by the name of Colin Albert together. Defense asks if Clark was aware that Colin is the nephew of Brian Albert. Clark said yes, he was advised of that.
Sgt. Evan Brent (MSP officer)
On 2/3/22 Brent was requested to accompany officers for the planned excavation at 34 Fairview Road. Brent photographed evidence found as it was located, and then bagged it in evidence bags.
It had been raining and the weather was a bit warmer that day, so snow was melting. Some evidence found was revealed in the melted snow, and other taillight shards were found underneath about a foot of snow.
Later Brent drove to the victim’s home and photographed the outside of John’s vehicle (Traverse), as well as the security cameras near garage door area at John’s home.
Sgt. Brent says he witnessed no damage on the Traverse vehicle.
Sgt. Brian Gallerani (Needham Police)
Took DNA samples from both investigators Yuri Bukhenik and Michael Proctor.
Maureen Harnett (Forensic Scientist)
Forensic scientist for the MSP Crime Lab. Processed Karen’s black SUV at the CPD Sally Port on 2/1/22.
Maureen examined the back area of the vehicle and documented multiple scratches on the paint in the back right area of the vehicle. She noted several glass shards lying on the back bumper, as well as a broken right taillight. She had an officer help her to remove the right taillight housing, so she could collect it as evidence.
Maureen tested for the presence of blood underneath the vehicle (undercarriage) and that came back as negative.
Maureen swabbed the outside of the taillight housing in multiple places to send for DNA analysis.
Maureen shows the taillight housing to the jury, and it’s noted that she sees several more small plastic pieces in the evidence bag, which broke off likely due to the storing/handling of evidence between trials.
The forensic scientist found a single hair on the right side paneling of the bumper. The hair is removed with tweezers, and sent off to the lab. Defense shows two photos taken of the hair on the vehicle, and suggests that the documented hair looks like it moved at some point. Maureen says the photo angles are slightly different, which suggests it’s the same curved hair with a slightly different viewpoint. She says she cannot agree with the defense attorney’s suggestion that the hair moved.
Maureen also examined the victim’s clothing. She swabbed the areas of the sweatshirt where John’s injuries were located. She removed and scraped debris from the clothing, tested the shirt for blood detection (positive), and described the dirt and blood stains found on the items.
Maureen will be back tomorrow for more cross-examination.
Happy Hump Day Wednesday Tuesday....lol...trying to send a smile. This case is awful. Thanks, as always. :)