Cell tower records, video show Karen Read drove to Canton home by herself before returning with others, investigator testifies - The Boston Globe (2024)

State Police trooper Michael Proctor, lead investigator on the case, concluded a bruising cross-examination Wednesday.

Here’s a primer on some key witnesses who’ve testified so far in the high-profile trial.

Here’s how testimony unfolded on Thursday.

2:25 p.m. — Andre Porto is called to the stand

Porto is a forensic scientist in the DNA unit of the State Police crime lab. He said John O’Keefe’s DNA sample was compared with a sample from the passenger-side taillight of Read’s SUV.

The DNA profile was a “three-person mixture” including a male, Porto said. The DNA on the taillight was substantially more likely to come from O’Keefe and two unknown contributors than from elsewhere, he said.

Porto said the hair found on the back of Read’s SUV was also analyzed at the State Police lab. He said the lab is not equipped to conduct mitochondrial DNA testing, while the Virginia lab is.

Porto said he also tested a DNA sample from glass found on the SUV bumper.

”Insufficient human DNA was detected” on the glass at the State Police lab, Porto said.

But when samples of the broken drinking glass were reviewed, the DNA found was substantially more likely to come from O’Keefe than other contributors, he said.

Pieces of a co*cktail glass were found at the scene, according to testimony. Video footage shown at trial O’Keefe leaving a bar with a glass in hand before Read, who had consumed nine drinks, drives him to the after-party.

Porto said DNA samples were also reviewed from stains on O’Keefe’s orange T-shirt and gray long-sleeve shirt.

”It was determined to be from a single contributor,” Porto said of one of the shirt stains. Another tee shirt stain was determined to be from two contributors.

Porto stepped down without any cross-examination, and the lawyers were called to sidebar.

Judge Beverly Cannone sent jurors home for the day around 3:30 p.m. and told them to expect a full day of testimony on Friday.

2:20 p.m. — DNA analyst takes the stand

Tess Chart said she analyzed a hair taken from the bumper of Read’s SUV at the Bode Technology lab. She said she “continued testing for one of the hair samples” sent to the lab in the Read case.

Chart described the technical processes by which analysts review samples.

”It was received, it was inventoried ... and a small portion of the hair was put into a tube, and it went through that DNA extraction,” Chart said of the hair sample.

She said the hair’s mitochondrial DNA profile was “consistent with” John O’Keefe’s DNA, meaning he couldn’t “be excluded” as the source of the hair. Analysts could exclude at least 99.8 percent of the population from being the source, she said. Chart stepped down without any cross-examination.

Maureen Hartnett, a forensic scientist in the State Police crime lab, had previously testified about her analysis of Read’s SUV, which was seized hours after O’Keefe’s body was found.

“There was a dent in the trunk door, there were scratches on the rear bumper, and there was a broken taillight,” Hartnett said, reading from a report. “I observed an apparent hair” and “apparent pieces of glass” on the rear bumper.

Investigators have testified that when they asked Read about damage to her taillight, she said, “I don’t know, it happened last night.”

12:30 p.m. — The next witness is Nicholas Bradford

Bradford is a DNA analyst for the Bode Technology lab in Virginia where samples from State Police investigators Michael Proctor and Yuri Bukhenik were sent.

Bradford detailed his professional training and the steps analysts take to examine DNA samples.

In January, he said he tested multiple items that Read investigators sent to the lab, including an apparent hair taken from the rear panel of the SUV, a piece of broken taillight, and DNA samples from Bukhenik and Proctor.

Bradford said authorities also provided O’Keefe’s DNA profile for comparison purposes. He said the lab determined “strong support” for O’Keefe’s DNA being on the taillight and strong support for the troopers’ DNA being excluded.

Bradford said the apparent hair was not a good source of DNA for testing purposes. Bradford stepped down without a cross-examination. Cannone called a lunch break shortly before 1 p.m.

12:25 p.m. — Needham police Sgt. Brian Gallerani takes the stand

Gallerani testified that he collected DNA samples in January 2024 from two State Police investigators, Michael Proctor and Yuri Bukhenik. The samples were sent to a Virginia lab. He stepped down from the witness stand without any cross-examination

Noon — State police investigator faces sharp questioning from defense

Read lawyer Alan Jackson said the maps created by State Police Det. Lt. Brian Tully show that at 5:18 a.m., Read’s phone would have traveled 0.15 miles over the course of 0.004 seconds, or 37.5 miles per second.

“I would push back, that’s probably not what the record is indicating,” Tully said.

What makes more sense is that a cell signal was moving at rapid speeds, rather than the device itself or the vehicle it was in, Jackson said.

Jackson also asked about a witness who he said placed a Ford Edge in front of the home where John O’Keefe’s body was found between 2:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 29.

“We determined the veracity of that statement,” Tully said. “The person has given the statement multiple times, and it appears to have changed multiple times.”

He said he did not “recall off the top of my head” if any members of the Albert family owned a Ford Edge.

“They did own a Ford Edge, didn’t they?” Jackson asked.

Judge Beverly Cannone sustained a government objection.

“An investigation into the reliability of that witness was conducted,” Tully said.

On redirect, prosecutor Adam Lally asked about the “several different” versions of the Ford Edge story.

Tully said the witness initially said they saw the Edge on Fairview, then that it was seen at a distance on a neighboring street, and then that it was seen at a different time.

Tully told Lally the video from the police garage where Read’s SUV was kept “jumped.”

“It appeared to be motion-activated,” Tully said, adding that the jumps appeared to be “triggered by motion.”

Tully also told Lally that he tried to corroborate cell tower records with other evidence such as video surveillance.

He said investigators received a “limited number of entries” from Verizon in regards to Read’s phone on the morning of the 29th.

Tully said cell signals can be disrupted which can cause a phone to connect to a tower farther away than a closer antenna.

“The times were not part of the depiction of the range,” Tully said to Jackson on recross. “We have corroborating evidence to say that that is accurate.”

Tully stepped down after a sidebar.

11:30 a.m. — State Police investigator testifies under questioning from defense

State Police Det. Lt. Brian Tully told Read lawyer Alan Jackson that “one method” to document the recovery of items at a crime scene is to note it in a police report.

He said he wrote a report about the evidence found at Fairview Road on Jan. 29. The report is dated Feb. 10, 2022, Tully said.

Looking at the report on the stand, Tully told Jackson the document indicates that “a piece” of clear plastic was found, rather than two.

The report indicates “a second piece of red plastic” was located as well, Tully read out.

He told Jackson that on Wednesday, he pulled out two pieces of clear plastic for the jury from an evidence bag, which was marked as containing the clear plastic found on Jan. 29.

Tully pulled out three pieces of red plastic from another evidence bag on Thursday. Those items were also marked as having been found Jan. 29.

Jackson noted there are five pieces of plastic in the two bags.

”As we sit here today, yes,” Tully said.

Jackson asked where additional pieces in the bags came from.

”Your report very clearly says there were three” pieces of plastic recovered Jan. 29, Jackson said.

”I’ll take the hit that my report doesn’t properly memorialize it,” Tully said, adding that one piece in the bags appears to be a smaller piece separated from a larger one.

Tully told Jackson he did not include data in his maps about which portions of the cell towers Read’s phone was pinging off on the morning of Jan. 29.

”The device could be anywhere on a 360-degree [radius] from that antennae,” Jackson said.

“Yes,” Tully said.

Jackson asked about Tully’s map showing Read’s phone was near Fairview Road between 5:20 a.m. and 5:37 a.m. on Jan. 29. Jackson suggested the maps demonstrate the phone could have been closer to Jennifer McCabe’s residence than Fairview Road during that time. The tower her phone was pinging at the time was about two miles from Fairview Road and about a mile from the McCabe residence, Jackson said.

Jennifer McCabe was one of the two women who were with Read when a frantic Read found O’Keefe’s body in the snow.

Jackson said Read’s phone was “bouncing back and forth” off two cell towers near 34 Fairview after she found O’Keefe’s body on the lawn shortly after 6 a.m.

“Yes,” Tully said.

”Both of those towers picked up Ms. Read’s signal ... correct?” Jackson asked.

Tully said that was accurate.

Between 5:20 a.m. and 5:37 a.m., neither of those two towers picked up Read’s phone.

“Correct,” Tully said.

Jackson said that would suggest it was “far more likely” Read was going to Jennifer McCabe’s house between 5:20 a.m. and 5:37 a.m., rather than at Fairview Road.

Judge Beverly Cannone sustained a government objection.

10:45 a.m — State Police investigator continues his testimony under cross-examination

State Police Det. Lt. Brian Tully told Read attorney Alan Jackson that no one sought a search warrant for the Fairview Road home and that investigators did not seek consent from the homeowners to conduct a search without one.

He told Jackson he was aware initially that O’Keefe had been invited to the after-party at the home and that a broken drinking glass had been found near his body.

Tully told Jackson that O’Keefe was found near the road without a coat on.

“He had no winter gear on whatsoever,” Jackson said.

“Correct,” Tully said.

Jackson asked Tully if he would expect someone who entered a house to leave their winter gear inside the residence.

“No, it’s not reasonable” to assume that, Tully said. “Given other information I had.”

He told Jackson investigators initially thought it was “possible” O’Keefe had been in a fight.

Tully said he was not aware Brian Higgins indicated he saw a tall man entering the Fairview home. Higgins, an ATF agent, was with the group at the Waterfall bar and testified to having a flirtatious text exchange with Read in the weeks before O’Keefe’s death.

“Nobody did seek to have a forensic team go inside the house,” Jackson said.

“Correct,” Tully said.

And no one sought consent to search the interior, Jackson said.

“Correct,” Tully said.

Turning to the video from the Canton police garage, Tully said he obtained the footage from the local police.

Jackson asked if he made any note about anything unusual in the footage, such as it being inverted.

“I did not,” Tully said.

Jackson asked if he gave the video to Trooper Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in the case who just concluded his testimony, and Tully said he gave it to State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik.

Tully said the case officer, in this case Proctor, would have access to the footage.

Tully said he received video from the garage a couple months ago and had received grainy footage from the garage earlier in the probe. Tully said he couldn’t recall when he received the grainy video. He told Jackson a red plastic taillight piece and a shoe and clear plastic pieces and another red piece were discovered on Jan. 29 at the crime scene. Two clear pieces were photographed, Tully said.

”But there was only a photograph of one,” Jackson said.

”No there wasn’t,” Tully said.

Judge Beverly Cannone called a morning recess shortly after 10:50 a.m.

10:15 a.m. — State Police Det. Lt. Brian Tully continues his testimony

Tully said Read arrived at Jennifer McCabe’s home in Canton at 5:35 a.m. on Jan. 29. He said that timestamp would have given Read time to first go to Fairview Road, where she dropped O’Keefe off a few hours earlier. McCabe is the sister-in-law of the Fairview Road homeowner and was among the people socializing with Read and O’Keefe at the Waterfall bar the night before.

McCabe earlier testified that she Googled “hos [sic] long to die in cold” shortly after 6 a.m. on Jan. 29 at Read’s request after Read found O’Keefe’s body on the lawn. The defense says phone records indicate that search was made shortly before 2:30 a.m.

Tully said investigators obtained records from Read’s cell phone. Cellphones “generally” connect to the closest cell tower, which creates a record of a device’s location at any given time.

Tully identified maps he created showing that Read’s phone was in the vicinity of 34 Fairview Road between 12:33 a.m. and 12:38 a.m. on Jan. 29.

Records showed Read’s phone was connecting to a cell tower located near 34 Fairview Road at 5:18 a.m., he said.

Witnesses have testified that Read said she saw O’Keefe’s snow-covered body on the lawn shortly after 6 a.m., but the two women who were with her initially couldn’t see what she was talking about.

9:15 a.m. — State Police Det. Lt. Brian Tully returns to the stand

Tully told prosecutor Adam Lally that officials never conducted a search of the Fairview Road home where John O’Keefe’s body was found on the front lawn near the road because they had “no reason” to believe evidence would be recovered inside.

Tully said officials didn’t have “anything putting him inside the residence,” referring to O’Keefe. He said he decided to send Read’s SUV to the Canton police garage because it was heated and large enough to hold the vehicle.

Tully said there are always “two people present” during interviews in homicide investigations, either two troopers or a trooper and a local detective.

Tully said authorities decided in the early stages of the investigation that Canton police wouldn’t be involved in interviews, since Kevin Albert, a Canton detective, is the brother of the Fairview homeowner, Brian Albert.

Tully said he’s been involved in hundreds of death investigations over the course of his career. About 10 to 20 percent of those cases involved abrasions to the victim, he said.

On Jan. 29, 2022, Tully said, investigators recovered items including a clear piece of plastic at Fairview with “dimples” on it.

“The injuries to Mr. O’Keefe, I noticed the abrasions had a certain pattern on them,” Tully said.

Judge Beverly Cannone sustained a defense objection when Tully began to elaborate on the pattern.

He said investigators also obtained video footage from the Canton Public Library on Washington Street, as well as from a local synagogue.

The timestamps from both video sources was accurate, Tully said.

Video was pulled from 12 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Jan. 29 as well as 5 a.m. to 6 a.m., as investigators believed Read’s vehicle was traveling in the area around those times, Tully said.

“We had learned through interviews that she was calling people as early as 4:45 in an effort to locate Mr. O’Keefe” and left his residence a short time later to look for him, Tully said.

From 12:33 a.m. to 6:03 a.m., Read made dozens of calls to O’Keefe’s phone, Tully testified.

Video from the Waterfall bar, where a group of people gathered on Jan. 28, showed O’Keefe leaving shortly after midnight, holding a clear glass.

Tully identified a “large black SUV” in security footage consistent with Read’s vehicle driving from the Waterfall on Washington Street at 12:15 a.m.

About two minutes later, it was seen on video continuing to travel north on Washington Street.

He identified more surveillance video from the library at 5 a.m. “The ground is now covered in snow,” Tully said.

At 5:11 a.m., a large black SUV is seen on Washington Street heading south toward the Waterfall bar. The SUV is consistent with Read’s Lexus, Tully said.

At 5:15 a.m., the video shows a large black SUV traveling north on Washington Street. Then at 5:18 a.m., the black SUV is seen heading toward the Fairview home, Tully said.

Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.