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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
The witnesses that defined the retrial of Karen Read for the death of her police officer boyfriend
Karen Read's retrial for the death of John O'Keefe is nearing its finale, likely closing a yearslong chapter in the lives of the defendant, the victim's family and the many witnesses called to testify — some of them in two high-profile and divisive murder trials. In the retrial — the first ended with a deadlocked jury — Massachusetts prosecutors and Read's defense called a combined 49 witnesses. Some were laypeople, others were law enforcement and many were experts who analyzed mountains of digital and physical forensic evidence. Collectively, their testimony sought to answer one essential question: What happened outside the home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton, Massachusetts, around 12:30 a.m. on January 29, 2022? Prosecutors allege Read drunkenly struck her boyfriend with her Lexus SUV and left him to die in the snow. But Read's defense contends there was no collision. They have cast her as the victim of a cover-up, alluding to a conspiracy by those who they say killed O'Keefe and framed the defendant, while painting the police investigation as biased and flawed. Read has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death. Here, CNN highlights about a dozen witnesses called over the last eight weeks, whose testimony illuminated key pieces of the theories presented by prosecutors and Read's defense: On the evening of January 28, 2022, Read and O'Keefe went to a local bar to meet up with friends before the group decided to move the party to a home at 34 Fairview Road. Read has said she dropped off O'Keefe, but other witnesses said he never arrived. Prosecutors allege this is the moment Read put her Lexus SUV in reverse and pressed on the gas, striking O'Keefe and scattering pieces of her vehicle's taillight across the scene. Read did not take the stand to testify. But throughout the trial, prosecutors played numerous clips from Read's media interviews, offering jurors a chance to hear from the defendant herself. Prosecutors tried to use these clips against Read to bolster the testimony of their own witnesses, refute the defense's arguments or highlight inconsistencies in Read's account. In one clip from her October 2024 interview for NBC's 'Dateline,' she asked: 'Could I have tagged him in the knee and incapacitated him?' Read said. 'He didn't look mortally wounded as far as I could see — but could I have done something that knocked him out and, in his drunkenness, and in the cold, (he) didn't come to again?' In another clip, taken from an Investigation Discovery series, Read strongly denied her vehicle made contact with O'Keefe. (Investigation Discovery and CNN share a parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.) Jennifer McCabe, called by the commonwealth, was present for each key moment surrounding O'Keefe's death, including the gathering at the bar; the after-party at her sister's home at 34 Fairview; and finally, the discovery of his body. McCabe expected Read and O'Keefe at 34 Fairview, and she spoke to O'Keefe to help him with directions, she testified. At the house, McCabe saw what she believed was Read's SUV out front, but the couple never came inside. McCabe testified she was awoken the next morning by a phone call from Read, who she described as frantic and hysterical. McCabe detailed the search for O'Keefe, first at his home and then at 34 Fairview, where they found him in the snow. Stunned, McCabe called 911. McCabe recalled Read telling a first responder, 'I hit him, I hit him, I hit him' — testimony echoed by other witnesses who were on the scene. On cross-examination, defense attorney Alan Jackson highlighted McCabe's family ties to law enforcement, including her brother-in-law, Brian Albert, who owned 34 Fairview. He also questioned her about interviews she'd given investigators and interactions with her family and other witnesses, accusing McCabe of coordinating her account and colluding with others. McCabe denied those allegations. The second witness called by the commonwealth, Kerry Roberts — another friend of O'Keefe's — testified she, too, was woken up by Read the morning of January 29. She joined the search for O'Keefe by first driving to meet the two women at McCabe's home. Central to the commonwealth's case was Roberts' testimony about the defendant's taillight: Roberts saw the damage that morning when she pulled into McCabe's driveway and parked behind Read's vehicle. McCabe and Read were in Read's SUV, and Roberts was in hers, she testified, but she heard their conversation while on the phone with them: In previous testimony, Roberts said the conversation about the taillight happened upon their arrival at O'Keefe's home. But on cross-examination, Jackson played home surveillance footage showing the arrival, and Roberts conceded the footage did not show the interaction she described, saying she had been incorrect about the timing. Called to the stand for the defense, Brian Loughran, a snowplow driver, testified he did not see a body in the yard at 34 Fairview early in the morning on January 29, 2022, despite passing by multiple times. Loughran first drove the snowplow past the home between 2:40 and 2:45 a.m. Though it was dark and snowing hard, Loughran testified he could clearly see to the front door of the home. Asked what he saw on the lawn by the flagpole, Loughran responded: 'Did you see a 6-foot-1, 216-pound man lying on that lawn?' defense attorney David Yannetti asked. 'No,' Loughran said. Jonathan Diamandis testified about sexist and crude text messages he received from the lead investigator: his longtime friend, former Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor. Diamandis was called as a defense witness, but it was the commonwealth who had him read the texts into evidence. He declined to do so for the most offensive messages, including one calling Read 'a whack job c*nt.' Proctor apologized for the messages in the first trial, but the defense has continued to use them to paint the investigation as biased. Neither side called him to testify in the retrial. The messages ultimately led to Proctor's dishonorable discharge from the state police. Prosecutors underscored Proctor's texts did not indicate he committed misconduct. Asked whether Proctor ever suggested he framed the defendant or planted evidence, Diamandis said, 'Absolutely not.' Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik testified about the investigation and Read's emergence as the suspect in O'Keefe's death. But Proctor, his former direct report, loomed large over his testimony. Through Bukhenik, prosecutors tried to minimize Proctor's influence in the investigation. While the defense held Proctor up as the lead investigator, Bukhenik said each homicide case is a 'team effort.' During cross-examination, Jackson tried to restore the sense of Proctor's control over the case, showing Bukhenik investigative documents that carried Proctor's name or signature. Still, Bukhenik refused to call Proctor the 'lead investigator,' referring to him as the 'case officer.' Bukhenik was emphatic the investigation itself was handled with integrity and honor. But when pressed by Jackson, he said Proctor's texts lacked both. The defense also used Bukhenik to present flirtatious text messages Read exchanged with another man, Brian Higgins, prior to O'Keefe's death. Higgins was among the revelers who got together the night of January 28, and the defense tried to suggest he should have been considered as a suspect. An attorney for Higgins denied any wrongdoing by his client. Nicholas Guarino described communications between Read and O'Keefe. In one instance, he showed the jury text messages between Read and O'Keefe from January 28, 2022, showing the couple had been at odds. Guarino later testified for the commonwealth that Read called O'Keefe more than 50 times and left eight voicemails between the time she said she dropped him off at 34 Fairview and when she started searching for him the next morning. All went unanswered. 'You're a f**king pervert,' she said in one voicemail left at 1:10 a.m., per Guarino's testimony. Seven minutes later, she left another: At 5:23 a.m., she left her seventh voicemail: 'John, where are you?' Paul Gallagher, who retired as a lieutenant from the Canton Police Department, testified for prosecutors about the initial recovery of evidence from the scene where O'Keefe's body was found. There were about four inches of snow on the ground, so Gallagher debated how to remove it, he said. He feared a shovel would harm any evidence, including a broken cocktail glass found in the snow. Gallagher saw pink spots in the snow he said he determined to be 'frozen or coagulated blood.' To preserve it, he got red plastic cups and placed the bloody snow inside, noting these decisions were made in a blizzard, under 'terrible' conditions. On cross-examination, Jackson raised questions about the adequacy of the evidence collection. Gallagher acknowledged plastic cups are not normally used for evidence recovery. Additionally, Gallagher testified he did not write a report about his actions on the scene. Nicholas Barros, a sergeant for Dighton Police, was called by the defense to refute the commonwealth's narrative about Read's taillight being broken when it allegedly collided with O'Keefe. The defense has tried to raise the specter of the taillight being tampered with after police seized the vehicle and suggested its pieces were planted at the scene. Barros responded on January 29, 2022, to Read's parents' home in Dighton, Massachusetts, at Proctor's request to help seize the vehicle, he said. Read went there after it was confirmed O'Keefe had died. In a report, Barros noted there was damage to a taillight. But he suggested on the stand it was relatively minor. Shown a photograph of the taillight after it was seized, Barros said it did not reflect what he saw that day. 'That taillight is completely smashed out,' he said. Under cross-examination, Barros said his report from that day merely noted 'damage,' but did not describe it. Dr. Irini Scordi-Bello, the Massachusetts medical examiner who performed O'Keefe's autopsy, outlined his injuries and his cause of death. The blunt impact injuries were the 'primary cause' of death, Scordi-Bello said. O'Keefe had a significant laceration on the back of his head, as well as skull fractures and bleeding on the top of his brain. Scordi-Bello also noted O'Keefe's body temperature at the hospital was 80.1 degrees Fahrenheit — far below the normal temperature of 98.6. The medical examiner could not reach a conclusion on the manner of O'Keefe's death — whether it was accidental or a homicide, for instance — acknowledging to defense attorney Robert Alessi there was not enough 'compelling' evidence to decide. Neurosurgeon Dr. Aizik Wolf described O'Keefe's injuries — specifically a laceration on the back of his head — as 'classic blunt trauma' consistent with the victim falling backward and striking his head against the ground. Wolf testified this type of injury was relatively common in places with cold climates, referencing his time working at a trauma center in Minneapolis: 'Very frequently, patients that are drunk fall down on ice, sidewalks, and could develop lacerations in their head.' A pivotal witness for the defense, Dr. Marie Russell is a retired emergency room physician, a forensic pathologist and a former Massachusetts police officer who testified injuries on O'Keefe's arm were 'the result of a dog attack.' The defense has theorized O'Keefe was mauled by a German shepherd owned by the family who lived at 34 Fairview. The dog was rehomed sometime after the victim died. Referencing a photograph of O'Keefe's injuries, Russell testified the wounds appeared to be going in the same direction. On cross-examination, Russell conceded she had never before testified as an expert witness on dog bites. Through Russell, Brennan pointed out holes in the arm of O'Keefe's sweatshirt were swabbed for DNA — but that no dog DNA was found, only pig DNA. There was no explanation for the pig DNA's origins. Ian Whiffin, a digital forensics expert, illustrated the victim's final movements after analyzing data taken from O'Keefe's cell phone. The data showed Read and O'Keefe came to a stop outside 34 Fairview at 12:24 a.m., Whiffin said. From that time on, he said, the data indicated O'Keefe's phone remained near the flagpole until his body was found the next morning. O'Keefe's phone screen locked for the last time at 12:32:09 a.m. Whiffin also testified to the phone's temperature: Throughout the evening, the phone had an average temperature of about 80 degrees Fahrenheit. But the temperature began steadily dropping around 12:22 a.m., Whiffin said, falling to 50 degrees at 1:36 a.m. The next recorded temperature was after 6 a.m. — about the time O'Keefe's body was found — when it dropped to its lowest recorded temperature of 37 degrees. Judson Welcher, an accident reconstructionist and biomechanical engineer, testified for the prosecution the evidence is consistent with O'Keefe being struck by a vehicle identical to Read's on January 29, 2022, around 12:32 a.m. Black box data from Read's SUV included two 'trigger' events recorded on her drive from the bar to 34 Fairview, Welcher said. By comparing this information with location data from O'Keefe's cell phone, Welcher's firm found Read's SUV reversed between 12:32:04 a.m. and 12:32:12 a.m. — the time the commonwealth alleges O'Keefe was struck. The data showed, at that time, Read's vehicle first moved forward before being put in reverse and moving backward, Welcher said. The data also showed the SUV reached a speed of about 24 mph at 74% of the full throttle while in reverse. Welcher also testified about the damaged taillight, describing tests he conducted with a Lexus SUV identical to Read's. In contrast to Russell, Welcher testified the lacerations on O'Keefe's arm were 'consistent with the geometry and orientation' of Read's taillight. Asked whether O'Keefe's injuries — both to his arm and his head — were consistent with him being struck by a Lexus identical to Read's, Welcher said they were. On cross-examination, Alessi seized on Welcher's admission he did not have enough information to state exactly how O'Keefe was struck. Alessi pressed him to explain why he did not conduct a more robust crash test. Pedestrian impacts 'are so very sensitive,' Welcher said, and if the results of the tests came out differently, he'd have to defend it in court. The defense called accident reconstructionist Daniel Wolfe to refute Welcher's findings. Wolfe described tests his firm, ARCCA, undertook to figure out if O'Keefe's injuries were consistent with the damage to Read's Lexus — specifically, the broken taillight. Footage taken from those tests showed an example taillight and vehicle striking a dummy arm at different speeds to recreate the alleged collision between the SUV and O'Keefe. But at each speed — 10 mph, 17 mph, 15 mph, 29 mph and 24 mph — the damage to the test taillights was less than what was seen on Read's taillight, Wolfe said. None of the tests indicated the broken taillight would cause the holes found in O'Keefe's sweatshirt. The firm considered other possibilities for what might cause the damage, including a drinking glass found alongside O'Keefe's body, as well as his head and his 'center of mass.' In each instance, Wolfe said, the damage was inconsistent with that of Read's vehicle. Brennan tried to discredit the test results on cross-examination: he noted the dummy arm weighed nine pounds, while O'Keefe's weighed 11.86 pounds. Brennan also emphasized the dummy was secured by a harness, which prevented it from being thrown to the ground and illustrated the trajectory the victim's body would have taken once hit. CNN's Ali Zaslav contributed to this report.
Fox News
21-05-2025
- Fox News
Karen Read trial shifts focus to physical evidence after contentious tech testimony
incoming update… Karen Read's defense revved up its attacks on unexpected new expert findings Tuesday, which contradict the timeline they say proves she didn't hit boyfriend John O'Keefe with her Lexus SUV and leave him to die in a blizzard in 2022. Shanon Burgess, an expert on vehicle and phone data from the digital forensics firm Aperture, returned to the stand for a second day of brutal cross-examination with defense attorney Robert Alessi at the wheel. Alessi pointed out inconsistencies in Burgess' resume and revealed he got the dates wrong on a timeline that was supposed to be accurate "to the second." And nothing in Burgess' findings directly indicated that a fatal crash happened. "As you sit here today, none of the information in that black box that you referred to on direct testimony indicates that there was a collision on Jan. 29," Alessi said. "Does it?" "Not by itself," Burgess replied. Special prosecutor Hank Brennan pumped the brakes when he returned for redirect questioning, asking the expert about flaws he had found in a previous analysis that indicated O'Keefe, a Boston police officer, was interacting with his iPhone after the time when prosecutors allege he was fatally struck by the defendant. The math veered out of alignment, Burgess testified. A defense expert had relied on call logs to synchronize the internal clocks in Read's Lexus SUV and O'Keefe's iPhone. But that doesn't work, Burgess explained, because the expert used calls that Read made when her car was powered off, so the vehicle's internal clock had nothing to do with them. Their timing was the product of the internal clock on her smartphone, which he said synced up with the Lexus the next time she turned it on. Read the full story here. Karen Read arrived alongside her defense team at the Norfolk Superior Courthouse for Day 20 of her murder trial. The prosecution is expected to call Massachusetts State Police forensic scientist Christina Hanley to the witness stand for continued testimony regarding crime scene evidence in Read's trial. Karen Read's trial is resuming Wednesday with continued testimony from Massachusetts State Police forensic scientist Christina Hanley as the prosecution aims to further solidify its timeline. Read is facing the possibility of life in prison for the alleged murder of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe. The Commonwealth, led by special prosecutor Hank Brennan, alleges Read struck O'Keefe with her Lexus SUV in a drunken rage, leaving him to freeze to death in the front yard of 34 Fairview Road in the early morning hours of Jan. 29, 2022. Read's defense team claims Read dropped O'Keefe off at a party that night and drove off, insisting she never hit O'Keefe with her vehicle. Live Coverage begins here
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘He preyed on us': Pennsylvania woman scammed out of $45,000 in sophisticated ‘dealership cloning' scheme
When Adrianna Parsons and her husband found a shiny Lexus SUV listed for sale on CARFAX, they thought they were in safe hands. 'It all looked very legitimate at first glance,' said Parsons, a resident of Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The vehicle was listed for $46,000 and linked to a dealership called Specialty Auto in Lincoln, Nebraska. Concerned about buying a car from a dealership 1,400 miles away, Parsons called the number listed on the website and spoke with a man claiming to be the owner, Jim Woods. 'He played the role. He preyed on us. He knew that I was worried. My gut was telling me to stop. I didn't listen to it well enough,' she shared with ABC 6 Action News. The man offered to send a custom video of the SUV — what Parsons called a 'cold video' — to confirm he had the car. Reassured, the couple agreed to wire $45,000. The SUV never arrived. What Parsons didn't know was that the man wasn't the real Jim Woods — and the website wasn't legitimate. Though Jim Woods does own a dealership by that name, he told ABC 6 he doesn't sell cars online and has no internet presence. Multiple other victims have since contacted him with similar stories. Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how I'm 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement — what should I do? Don't panic. Here are 5 of the easiest ways you can catch up (and fast) Nervous about the stock market in 2025? Find out how you can access this $1B private real estate fund (with as little as $10) The scam that ensnared Parsons is a sophisticated form of fraud called dealership cloning. Scammers replicate the name, location, and even employee details of real dealerships to create convincing fake websites. They then upload fake listings to platforms like CARFAX, Facebook Marketplace, or Craigslist, often using stolen images and real VINs. Despite being a trusted resource, CARFAX listings aren't immune to scams. When reached for comment, the company declined to explain how it vets dealer listings. In a statement, it said, "If CARFAX is made aware of a potentially fraudulent listing, the team acts swiftly to investigate and remove [it].' Since Action News began investigating, the fake Specialty Auto website has been taken down. Local police and the Nebraska DMV are investigating. The FBI has also been alerted. Still, Parsons says the loss was 'cataclysmic' for her family. Read more: You're probably already overpaying for this 1 'must-have' expense — and thanks to Trump's tariffs, your monthly bill could soar even higher. Here's how 2 minutes can protect your wallet right now As more car sales move online, so do the risks. Here's how to protect yourself: Verify the seller: Confirm the dealership's website URL and call the dealership. Be wary of inconsistent contact details, slight misspellings or prices that are too good to be true. You can also search the dealership's name alongside terms like 'scam' or 'fraud' to find any complaints. Avoid risky payments: Never wire money, pay with gift cards, or send cryptocurrency. Instead, use a credit card or a reputable escrow service that holds the funds until the vehicle is delivered and verified. Get proof of the car: Ask for a custom video to prove the seller has the vehicle. Order a VIN report independently and cross-check it with photos and seller info. If buying remotely, hire an independent mechanic to inspect the vehicle in person. Trust your instincts: If a deal feels too good to be true, it probably is. In Parsons' case, her intuition told her to walk away but the scammer's smooth demeanor made her second-guess herself. With many legitimate dealerships and platforms moving their business online, the burden increasingly falls on consumers to vet who they're buying from and whether the transaction is a possible scam. Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan 'works every single time' to kill debt, get rich in America — and that 'anyone' can do it Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead Robert Kiyosaki warns of a 'Greater Depression' coming to the US — with millions of Americans going poor. But he says these 2 'easy-money' assets will bring in 'great wealth'. How to get in now Here are 5 'must have' items that Americans (almost) always overpay for — and very quickly regret. How many are hurting you? This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
India.com
14-05-2025
- Business
- India.com
Anil Ambani and Tina Ambani's Mumbai house has 17 floors, Helipad, they own a private jet worth..., cost of home is...
Anil Ambani and Tina Ambani's Mumbai house has 17 floors, Helipad, they own a private jet worth..., cost of home is... While India's richest man Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita Ambani own the headlines with their home Antilia and international gala appearances, Anil and Tina Ambani have built a life that's no less fascinating—albeit wrapped in a slightly more private cocoon. At a time when Mukesh Ambani stays in the headlines for his sky-touching skyscrapers and pre-wedding parties, his younger brother, Anil Ambani, has a no less glamorous existence. Anil and Tina Ambani live in a stunning 17-storey mansion in Mumbai worth Rs 5,000 crore, complete with a helipad, private gyms, and luxury interiors. Their lavish lifestyle includes a Rs 311 crore private jet, a fleet of high-end cars, and a combined net worth exceeding Rs 2,500 crore—despite Anil's past financial setbacks. Once the sixth-richest man on the planet, Anil Ambani with his family stays in Mumbai's Pali Hill at 17-storey residence which is worth staggering Rs 5,000 crore. The house rooftop has a helipad. Spread over 16,000 square feet, the building has 17 floors. Anil Ambani is known to be a car enthusiast and their car collection is no less than Hollywood movies. Rolls Royce Phantom: Price tag—Rs 3.5 crore. A car so regal, it might bow before it lets you in. Lexus SUV: Sleek, sophisticated, and screaming subtle power. Audi Q7: Valued at around Rs 88–97 lakh, it's one of their more 'humble' rides. Mercedes GLK350: Worth Rs 77 lakh, this one blends luxury and muscle like a silk-covered tank. According to reports, Anil Ambani's net worth is approximately Rs 249 crore as of 2024 and Tina Ambani's net worth is a whopping Rs 2,331 crore even after hitting the financial brakes.
Hindustan Times
10-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Did Karen Read flip the middle finger in court? Video sparks confusion
During the cross-examination of Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik on Friday, Karen Read, who is currently standing trial for the second time on charges of second-degree murder in the death of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, made headlines when she appeared to display her middle finger in court. The incident added an unexpected moment to an already tense trial, where Read's actions have been under intense scrutiny. Also Read: Why Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested at New Jersey ICE center | Revealed The video, which has since gone viral on social media, comes from the courtroom where Read's trial was being held on Thursday, May 8. It shows her subtly raising her middle finger while she holds her face in the same hand. In the video, the middle finger is blurred. The movement that caught everyone's eye came while the witness was reading the texts between her and Brian Higgins in court. There have also been speculations about whether Read flipped the finger in court or was just scratching her eye, since it only happened briefly. While some give her the benefit of the doubt and believe it was the latter, others went on to guess who she was flipping in the courtroom. A user wrote on X, 'That's towards the judge though'. A second user wrote, 'Slow-motion touching her eye.' A third user supported as they wrote, 'She's itching her eye, you idiot!' While another user argued, 'That isn't scratching your eye.' A user wrote, 'Karen Read freely flipped her middle finger because she feels untouchable.' Also Read: 100 Brits vs 100 Americans: New TikTok trend about bare-knuckle fight surfaces Read's first trial, held in 2024, ended in a mistrial after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict. She faces charges of second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter while driving under the influence, and leaving the scene of a collision causing injury or death. These charges stem from the January 2022 death of her boyfriend, O'Keefe, whose body was found outside of a friend's house following a night of drinking, as reported by Court TV. The prosecutors argued that the Boston Police Officer's murder was a result of her anger, as Read knew he was going to break up with her. Thus, she intentionally hit him with her Lexus SUV in the driveway of her friend's house after drinking. However, the defence stated that she simply dropped O'Keefe at the home, and the murder was committed by someone from inside the home who then left him in the snow.
