Day 2: Karen Read Retrial
John O’Keefe’s mother testifies, as well as Kerry Roberts, Trooper Guarino, and Medic Whitley.
We learned some interesting things today, like…
Karen did not give the investigators her cellular password willingly. It took months for them to access.
Karen resisted several times to give a urine sample at the hospital.
Karen made a snarky comment to the EMT in the ambulance about Kerry Roberts, the woman she called for help that morning to find John.
Trial Commentator (@RutRoJamz) posted these other top moments…
Are ya’ ready to browse through the summary of the testimonies from today?
KERRY ROBERTS (2nd Day on the Stand):
THE SEARCH FOR JOHN
When the three women (Kerry, Jen, and Karen Read) went to look for John at his house, Karen was the only one who did not remove shoes before entering. John was OCD about having shoes removed, and Kerry recalls this moment as unusual.
Karen says her tail light is cracked. Kerry and Jen looked. Kerry said it was broken with a missing piece, metal wire hanging out.
Karen asked if she could have hit John, but Kerry didn’t even entertain that idea at all at the time.
FINDING JOHN
They drive to look for John, and once they get close to the Albert house, Karen kicks the back car door and gets out. Runs towards a mound. Kerry says, “She’s crazy” to Jen.
Kerry and Jen get out and Kerry then sees a mound of snow that’s shaped like a person.
Karen lifts his shirt and lays on top of him.
Kerry emotionally describes having to dig his head out of the snow.
Kerry is CPR certified. She does compressions. Karen does some mouth to mouth. Jen dials 911. Jen grabs baby blankets from Kerry’s car. Kerry wraps them under his head. Doesn’t really know why. Jen helps with compressions.
Ambulance arrives and takes over.
When John is put on the stretcher and into the ambulance, Kerry sees his phone on the lawn. It’s on grass, not snow. Puts phone in her pocket, and at some point hands it to a paramedic.
AFTER JOHN IS TRANSPORTED TO HOSPITAL
Kerry calls John’s parents, offers to go pick them up and drive to hospital because weather conditions were very bad. Kerry has Karen get into the vehicle with her, but they are called back to the scene because Karen’s parents want her sectioned due to suicidal statements. Karen’s mom asked Kerry to not let Karen have her purse which has some sort of medication.
Ambulance takes Karen to hospital.
Kerry picks up John’s devastated parents and drives them to hospital. It takes about an hour.
Kerry recalls John’s mom on phone with Karen briefly and Karen says she dropped him off at a party. Peggy said Why did you leave him there?!
Kerry asks to pray in the chapel room at the hospital.
Kerry sees John. Says he looked even worse at the hospital. Both his eyes are now hugely swollen with blood.
John is pronounced dead.
LEAVING THE HOSPITAL
Kerry drives John Sr back to his house.
John’s mom drives with Paul (John’s brother) back to John’s house.
CROSS EXAMINATION
Kerry Roberts has spoken with victim witness advocate, Steven Nelson, Trooper Yuri Bukhenik, as well as the DA Michael Morrissey since John’s death. She has also spoken with the prosecution for trial prep, which is standard protocol.
Kerry and Jen sat down together after the tragic event and wrote a timeline of events that happened at the request of John’s mother. Alan Jackson asks if that timeline was a collaboration of both Jen and Kerry’s memories, and she says, yes.
Kerry knows officer Lank because their daughters are friends. She dropped her daughter off at Officer Lank’s house the day after John passed away. Jen was in the vehicle with her.
Kerry was asked about the Grand Jury back in 2022. Kerry was asked what she heard during a particular moment on scene, and she said Karen asked Jen to google hypothermia. However, Kerry testified at trial 1 and today that she didn’t hear that, she knows it happened because it’s part of the timeline they wrote down together. Kerry says she had misunderstood the question during the Grand Jury as simply ‘what happened’ not ‘what did you hear’.
Video clip shown of Karen from 2023 telling the media about how damaged her taillight was.
PEGGY O’KEEFE (John’s Mother)
(Photo source: Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP Pool)
THE FAMILY
Peggy emotionally describes the loss of her daughter, Kristen, and son-in-law years prior.
Says John stepped in as the primary caretaker of the daughter’s two young children.
THE HOSPITAL
Peggy briefly spoke with Karen on the phone as they drove to the hospital. Karen told her she dropped John off at a party and left him there. Peggy said sharply, “You just left him there?”
Mr. O’Keefe intervenes and has the call come to an end.
When Peggy and her husband arrived at the hospital, she saw Karen on the way to find John. Karen began shouting at her, “Is he dead, Peg?”. Peggy begins crying as she describes the moment.
AFTER THE HOSPITAL
Peggy rides with her son Paul back to John’s house.
They have to inform the kids that John died. The youngest child is vocally upset, and they were trying to comfort him.
Karen and her father arrive at some point, and they head upstairs. Peggy says she now wishes she never let them up there. Peggy does not recall Karen ever speaking with her at the house, and Karen leaves with her father.
Prosecutor Brennan asks if she recalls ever leaning over the kitchen island and telling Karen, “He looks like he was hit by a car’. She says no.
Karen never gives condolences, and she does not show up the next day at John’s house to see John’s family and friends.
Prosecution seeks to show this video clip from Karen Read’s interview with ID, and the defense objects because they said the tone of the clip is intended to vilify Karen. The prosecution says, no, the intent is to show her guilt of consciousness trying to make herself the victim of the narrative. The judge will decide by tomorrow morning if the jury can see it.
Defense does not cross-examine Peggy O’Keefe.
TROOPER GUARINO
His primary role is examining digital forensics for the DA’s office.
Guarino was responsible for several phone extractions in this case.
He received John O’Keefe’s phone the day John died, but didn’t get the passcode to unlock it until a few days later on 1/31/22.
Guarino also received Karen’s phone that same day as John’s.
Both phones were stored in a digital forensics lab, which has limited keycard access.
He could not gain access to Karen’s phone until July 2022 because they did not have her passcode. The software had been upgraded in July 2022 to brute force open Karen’s phone.
Guarino explains hash values, and why they can show up differently.
DANIEL WHITLEY (Medic)
Medic Whitley responded to the scene to transport Karen Read to Good Samaritan Hospital for an evaluation.
Karen asks him in the ambulance if he knows Kerry Roberts (he is an acquaintance of hers), and he says yes. Karen makes a snarky comment about her, which surprised him.
Karen asks if there’s a chance John could be alive. He tries to give her some hope that it’s possible.
Karen asks him how long can a person survive in the cold without a jacket.
Karen gives the hospital nurse pushback multiple times about giving her a urine sample.
Karen gives pushback on changing into a hospital gown.
CROSS EXAMINATION:
David Yannetti asks the medic if he reported Karen’s statements to the investigator, and he said if it’s not in the report, he probably didn’t.
Yannetti asks the medic that even though he assumed John was hypothermic, he is not a doctor, and that he wouldn’t know if his assumption is correct. The medic gave pushback on that.
Thanks Tuesday.🤗
Thanks Tuesday!❤️