Court video, updates: Day 11 of witness testimony in Karen Read’s retrial

DEDHAM, Mass. — Karen Read’s murder retrial entered its 11th day on Wednesday as witness testimony continued in Norfolk Superior Court.

Read, 45, of Mansfield, is accused of striking John O’Keefe, her Boston police officer boyfriend, with her SUV and leaving him to die alone in a blizzard outside of a house party at the home of fellow officer Brian Albert following a night of drinking.

NOW ON THE STAND: Jessica Hyde, forensics data scientist

PREVIOUSLY ON THE STAND: Connor Keefe, Massachusetts State Police trooper

COURT UPDATES:

3:45 p.m. -- Day 11 wraps up

Judge Cannone dismisses jurors for the day. Court resumes Thursday morning at 9 a.m.

3:30 p.m. -- Witness dismissed

Jessica Hyde is dismissed from the witness stand.

2:30 p.m. -- Sidebar called

Extensive back and forth between Alessi and Hyde on her wording regarding her certainty around Jennifer McCabe’s Google searches.

1:45 p.m. -- Court returns from lunch

Defense attorney Robert Alessi begins his cross-examination of Jessica Hyde.

12:50 p.m. -- Break for lunch

Judge Beverly Cannone announces 45 minutes for lunch.

12:32 p.m. -- Forensic examiner’s testimony continues

Prosecutor Hank Brennan asks, “You offered that the ‘hos long to die in cold’ is the last thing to happen. Do you have an opinion to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty on the time when that search was made?”

Hyde responds, “To a reasonable degree of certainty, I can say that has long to die in cold was searched at approximately 6:24 a.m."

11:55 a.m. -- “Hos long to die in cold’ search discussed

While being questioned by the prosecution, Hyde testifies that multiple Google searches on Jennifer McCabe’s phone were timestamped at 2:27 a.m., including one for a youth sports league and one for “hos long to die in cold.”

“There is a timestamp for the search ‘hos long to die in cold,’ however, that timestamp isn’t about active searches. It’s about the time that a tab was either opened or moved to the background,” Hyde explained. “So, ‘hos long to die in cold’ is the most current search in the tab that was opened at 2:27 a.m.”

11:25 a.m. -- Jury returns, testimony resumes

Hyde is called to the witness stand.

11:20 a.m. -- Court resumes

Judge Cannone rules defense can cross-examine Hyde over her methodology on her forensic examination of the infamous “hos long to die in cold” Google search.

10:30 a.m. -- Prosecution, defense argue over witness

Judge Cannone calls a 30-minute break to allow special prosecutor Hank Brennan and defense attorney Robert Alessi to argue over Jessica Hyde, an expert witness for the Commonwealth.

9:30 a.m. -- Trooper shows off evidence

Trooper Keefe, who is assigned to the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office, assisted in processing the scene of O’Keefe’s death at 34 Fairview Road in Canton and extracted data from phones that belonged to Kerry Roberts and Jennifer McCabe.

Keefe was asked to show evidence sealed in brown bags to the jury, including a black Nike sneaker.

Keefe also showed off red shards of plastic, which prosecutors allege are taillight pieces from Read’s SUV.

Massachusetts State Police Lt. Kevin O’Hara testified Tuesday that investigators were told O’Keefe was missing a shoe when he was taken to the hospital and that Read’s SUV “may have had a broken taillight.”

What happened on Tuesday?

On Day 10 of testimony, evidence collection, weather conditions at the scene of O’Keefe’s death on the morning of Jan. 29, 2002, and calls Read made to O’Keefe before his body was found in the snow were the focus of the retrial.

Even though Read hasn’t testified and may not testify in her second trial, the prosecution has continued to ensure the jury hears from her through interview clips and voicemails she left for O’Keefe after he got out of her SUV in front of 34 Fairview Road.

Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Guarino, a digital forensics specialist, testified that phone records indicate Read called O’Keefe 53 times between 12:33 a.m. and 6:03 a.m., leaving eight voicemails.

“John! I (expletive) hate you!” and “John, I’m here with the (expletive) kids. Nobody knows where the (expletive) you are. You (expletive) pervert,” were among the voicemail messages.

Earlier in the retrial, on Day 3 of witness testimony, Guarino read text messages that Read and O’Keefe exchanged before his death.

Before Guarino was called back to the stand, retired Canton Police Department Lieutenant Paul Gallagher, the ranking officer in charge of the collection of evidence at the scene of O’Keefe’s death, was on the stand.

Gallagher told the jury that he uncovered a broken cocktail glass and blood in the snow using a leaf blower, testifying that he used red Solo cups and a paper Stop & Shop bag to collect the evidence.

Gallagher also notably said he didn’t recover broken pieces of Read’s taillight, even though Massachusetts State Police Sergeant Kevin O’Hara claimed his team found “six to seven” pieces and one of O’Keefe’s shoes hours after Gallagher’s arrival at the scene.

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“You didn’t see 46 pieces of taillight material?” defense attorney Alan Jackson asked Gallagher.

Gallagher responded, “No, the only thing we discovered was the blood sampling and the glass.”

Jackson then asked, “The fact is, you never searched the house.” Gallagher said, “That’s correct.”

“The fact is, you never searched the basement,” Jackson followed with. Gallagher again responded, “That’s correct.”

O’Hara testified that he “was aware” pieces of taillight were recovered at the scene in the days and weeks following O’Keefe’s death.

Jackson made sure to point out that Read’s SUV had already been seized by the time any taillight evidence was found. He also noted that investigators didn’t photograph the SUV’s taillight for three days.

Gallagher said the case was turned over to the state police after O’Keefe was pronounced dead, with now-fired lead investigator Michael Proctor overseeing the matter.

Prosecutors allege Read intentionally backed into O’Keefe after she dropped him off at a house party and returned hours later to find him dead. The defense has claimed that she was a victim of a vast police conspiracy and that O’Keefe was fatally beaten by another law enforcement officer at the party.

A mistrial was declared last year after jurors said they were at an impasse and deliberating further would be futile.

Read has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death.

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