Karen Read murder trial testimony focuses on bar drinking video, broken SUV taillight
DEDHAM – The high-profile Karen Read murder trial resumed on Wednesday with a full day of testimony. Among those taking the stand was Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuriy Bukhenik, who supervised the lead investigator in the case.
Read is accused of hitting her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow outside a Canton home in 2022. Her defense attorneys argue O'Keefe was actually killed inside the house during a fight and dragged outside.
Testimony ended for the day on Wednesday with Bukhenik still on the stand. He has not yet been cross-examined.
Video of Karen Read drinking
Bukhenik was the supervisor of Trooper Michael Proctor, who was the lead investigator in the case.
Prosecutor Adam Lally showed video from throughout the evening of January 28, 2022 inside C.F. McCarthy's in Canton. That is where Read and O'Keefe were drinking before later going to the Waterfall Bar and Grille.
In each video, Read can be seen receiving a combination of cocktail glasses and shot glasses.
She can be seen several times pouring liquid from the smaller glass into the taller one.
Bukhenik testified that Read can be seen consuming six drinks inside C.F. McCarthy's.
Prosecutors have attempted to show through previous witnesses that Read was intoxicated the night O'Keefe died. When her blood was drawn hours after O'Keefe was found, Read had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.093%. The legal limit for driving in Massachusetts is 0.08%.
Another expert said a "retrograde" test estimated that Read's BAC would have previously been a minimum of 0.135% or a maximum of 0.292%.
Karen Read's SUV
Videos were played for the jury showing Read's SUV at various times throughout the day O'Keefe was found dead, and the day before.
Video from the day before shows the right rear taillight appears to be intact. According to prosecutors, Read's SUV can be seen with taillight damage around 5 a.m., about an hour before O'Keefe's body was found.
Bukhenik said Read's taillight was also visibly damaged in the video from several hours later when it was being placed on a tow truck, as well as when it was inside a Canton Police Department sallyport.
"Did either yourself, or did you observe Trooper Proctor touch or manipulate in any way the right rear passenger side area of that vehicle?" prosecutor Adam Lally asked.
"No, we did not," Bukhenik said.
Karen Read's police interview
Bukhenik testified about the interview he and Proctor conducted with Read after O'Keefe's death. The interview took place at her parents' home in Dighton.
Bukhenik said he asked Read how her SUV's taillight was damaged. According to the police sergeant, Read said "I don't know. It happened last night."
Read told police she went to 34 Fairview Road in Canton, the home owned by now retired Boston police officer Brian Albert. Bukhenik testified that Read told him she dropped O'Keefe off, but never saw him go into the home. She said she was having stomach issues, so she did not go in the home. Read said she made a three-point turn and left.
Sgt. Yuriy Bukhenik on the witness stand
On the morning of January 29, 2022, Bukhenik said he drove with Proctor to the scene at 34 Fairview Road in Canton so it would be safe in the snow and Proctor could make phone calls on the way.
Bukhenik said he first spoke, with Jennifer McCabe, then her husband Matt McCabe, followed by Brian Albert, who has since sold the home.
According to Bukhenik, each interview was conducted separately.
Bukhenik testified about O'Keefe's injuries. He held up to show the court several items of clothing that O'Keefe was wearing when he died.
Will Trooper Michael Proctor testify?
One question in the trial is when - and how - will Proctor testify?
Proctor was the lead investigator assigned to the case by the Norfolk County District Attorney's office. Proctor is currently under internal investigation for his handling of the case. He has denied any wrongdoing and remains on full duty during the investigation.
Attorneys for Read accuse Proctor of planting evidence at the scene and helping cover up for friends who are witnesses in the case.
Taillight pieces back in focus
As was the case on Monday, pieces of broken taillight were the center of testimony to start the day on Wednesday.
Ashley Vallier from the Massachusetts State Police crime lab was first on the stand, describing photographs she took of evidence that was found in the area where O'Keefe's body was found.
Vallier went through the evidence and described which pieces found on the scene fit together.
"Those pieces from those specific items were at one point together as a larger unit," Vallier said of the larger pieces that were analyzed.
Defense attorney David Yannetti pointed out that the pieces of taillight tested at the lab were not embedded in O'Keefe's clothing. Among the evidence submitted by Massachusetts State Police to the crime lab was O'Keefe's orange t-shirt and a grey long-sleeved shirt.
The evidence was delivered to the crime lab by Proctor on March 14, 2022.
Yannetti asked about the gap between January 29, 2022 when O'Keefe died and March 14 when the evidence was delivered.
"You do not know what Michael Proctor did or didn't do with the orange t-shirt and grey long-sleeved t-shirt?" Yannetti asked. Vallier said she does not.
Yannetti showed on cross-examination that the pieces of taillight submitted to the lab by Proctor were larger than the pieces found by other troopers.
Who is Karen Read?
Read is a 45-year-old Massachusetts woman who is accused of hitting and killing O'Keefe with her SUV during a snowstorm on January 29, 2022. Read and O'Keefe were dating at the time, though witnesses have testified about what they say was a deteriorating relationship.
Read is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. She has pleaded not guilty in the case and her attorneys have argued that she is the victim of a coverup by several people, including law enforcement.
What's the schedule for the Karen Read murder trial this week?
After Wednesday's testimony, a half-day is planned for Thursday. There is no court in session on Friday.
Judge Beverly Cannone said last week that jurors may shorten their lunch break from an hour to 45 minutes so court can continue an extra half hour until 4:30 p.m. on full days of testimony in order to speed up the trial.
