Attorneys for Read insist she’s being framed and maintain that O’Keefe entered the Fairview Road home, where he was fatally beaten in the basem*nt before his body was planted on the lawn.
On Thursday, State Police investigator Yuri Bukhenik testified about pieces of taillight that were collected from the area where O’Keefe’s body was found and that video from two bars showed that Read consumed nine drinks before driving O’Keefe to the Canton home.
The defense has asserted that Read’s taillight was damaged when she struck O’Keefe’s car as she pulled out of the driveway to look for him shortly after 5 a.m. on Jan. 29.
Here’s a quick primer on some of the key witnesses who’ve testified so far in the high-profile trial.
Here’s how the testimony unfolded.
3:30 p.m. — State Police investigator continues his testimony under withering cross-examination.
Read attorney Alan Jackson asked investigator Michael Proctor if he was “going through my client’s personal cell phone” as he texted the other troopers on Aug. 17, 2022.
”Correct, sir,” Proctor said.
Jackson said Proctor was “bragging” about going through the phone, and Proctor said he was not.
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Proctor conceded that he referred to Read as “retarded” in the thread at one point. The attorneys were then called back to a sidebar.
Jackson asked about the photo of Read lawyer David Yannetti that had entered the text thread. Proctor said he responded to the thread “I hate that man, I truly hate that man,” referring to Yannetti, and that he also wrote, “I’m going through his retarded client’s phone right now.”
”Poor language on my part,” Proctor said.
”Completely offensive is another way to put it,” Jackson said, prompting a government objection that Cannone sustained.
Jackson asked Proctor if he was “pissed off” that Read had obtained legal representation.
”Not at all,” Proctor said. “That’s her right.”
Proctor said he wrote “no nudes so far,” in the thread as well.
”I don’t look for nude photos in anyone’s phones,” Proctor said. “It was an inappropriate joke.”
Jackson asked if Proctor feels that his text messages were “reflective of an objective investigator.”
Proctor said the texts had “no bearing” on the integrity of the case.
”You weren’t so much as objectively investigating Karen Read as objectifying her, correct?” Jackson asked.
”Again, Mr. Jackson, it was a poor choice of words and a joke that I should not have texted out,” Proctor said.
”Your point in saying ‘no nudes so far’ was to suggest that you were looking for nudes and you would update them when you found them, correct?” Jackson asked.
Proctor said that was not the case.
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Jackson asked if Proctor’s supervisors on the thread repudiated him “for doing something so abhorrent” with Read’s phone.
”Not that I can recall,” Proctor said.
Jackson said Bukhenik replied to the photo of Yannetti in the thread.
”He did, sir,” Proctor said.
Jackson noted Bukhenik had “liked” the comment Proctor made about going through Yannetti’s “retarded client’s phone.”
Jackson asked if Proctor believed his conduct with Read’s phone was an abuse of power.
Proctor said no, since he had obtained a search warrant.
Jackson asked if the warrant mentioned anything about searching “for nudes,” and Proctor said it did not.
Jackson asked if Proctor would agree that investigators have to be free of conflict or bias, and Proctor voiced agreement.
Proctor said everyone in a probe should be treated equally.
”You don’t get to pick a suspect and then try to find evidence to support your choice,” Jackson said. “But in this case, that’s exactly what you did, isn’t it?”
”Absolutely not,” Proctor said.
Judge Beverly Cannone paused testimony for the day shortly before 4 p.m. Testimony resumes Wednesday morning.
3:10 p.m. — State Police investigator continues his testimony.
Michael Proctor said he was texting his friends some 16 to 18 hours after O’Keefe’s death, and that his injuries, Read’s damaged taillight, and her reported statements at the scene “led me to make those comments.”
Based on the probe at that time, Proctor said it was “clear” that Read had fatally struck O’Keefe with her SUV.
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Prosecutor Adam Lally asked about additional texts Proctor sent to a State Police colleague in March and April of 2022. On the morning of April 28, 2022, the men exchanged texts about Proctor’s interaction with the medical examiner’s office. He said a doctor had questions about what had transpired with O’Keefe and the other trooper joked in the text that it was a “rookie move” for Proctor not to attend a meeting with the medical examiner’s office.
“I interpreted that as a typical joke” from the other trooper, Proctor said.
Proctor wrote “of course it’s undetermined,” referring to the manner of death.
“WTF ... what the hell is inconclusive about the whole thing?” the other trooper replied.
Proctor identified another text thread among him and two other troopers. On May 24, 2022, one of the troopers sent a text of a photo of a “toy Santa Claus,” Proctor said.
On the night of June 9, 2022, Proctor said, he texted that authorities “like women who [expletive] themselves,” which he described on the stand as another “regrettable comment” about Read’s medical condition.
Another trooper described her as “smoke” on the thread and also said “[expletive] her, bitch” when Proctor indicated that Read had claimed O’Keefe was fatally beaten when she was arrested in June 2022.
On Aug. 17, 2022, Proctor said, one of the troopers texted a photo of Read lawyer David Yannetti from “quite some time ago.”
Proctor replied to the text, “no nudes so far” on Read’s phone, and “I hate that man. I truly hate him.”
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He said he should not have made the joke about the nudes.
Proctor testified that he was interested in location data, text messages, and Google searches from Read’s phone, and he stopped the search once he saw a text between Read and one of her attorneys.
2:45 p.m. — State Police investigator testifies about personal texts he sent on the day of John O’Keefe’s death
Michael Proctor texted a group of friends that there “will be some serious charges brought on the girl,” referring to Read, shortly after 11 p.m. on Jan. 29.
Another friend texted, “she hot at least?”
He replied that “she’s a babe” with a weird “Fall River accent” but had “no ass,” and he also used a crude term for women to describe her.
He initially spelled the word, which begins with a c, but Judge Beverly Cannone told him he had to say the word after the defense objected.
Proctor said the messages were “unprofessional” and that he wasn’t proud of them, adding that he should not have sent them.
He said he had also texted that Brian Albert, the Fairview Road homeowner, by all accounts had done nothing wrong.
Proctor said he also texted a number of additional crude texts about Read, making light of her medical condition. Read has multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s disease.
”Comments I shouldn’t have made, that I’m not proud of,” Proctor said. “These juvenile, unprofessional comments had zero impact on the facts, the evidence, and the integrity of the investigation.”
He said he also texted members of the Canton police department around the same time to set up a place to interview witnesses and see if the local officers could point him to any useful surveillance cameras in the area.
He identified additional texts he sent to his sister between 2021 and August of 2022.
On Jan. 29, 2022, he texted his sister, “What’s up,” and said he had just interviewed Jennifer McCabe, who “said she knows you,” referring to Proctor’s sister. His sister replied, “cut the [expletive],” Proctor said, before she added that McCabe’s sister is married to Brian Albert, who owned the home where O’Keefe was found outside in the snow.
”I was just kind of, letting her know I was out working,” Proctor said. “It was just kind of an overall innocent conversation.”
His sister later asked if the case was a homicide, and he replied “don’t say a word to anyone. At the very least, he said, the matter is “suspicious.”
He also texted that Julie Albert and Chris Albert were at the bar with O’Keefe and Read, adding “got to interview them.”
On Feb. 1, 2022, Proctor said, his sister texted that Julie Albert wanted to get him a gift, and he texted back that she should get his wife one. Neither he nor his wife ever received a gift or asked for one from Julie Albert, Proctor said.
He said there were additional texts captured between him and his wife beginning in May 2022. On June 9, 2022, he texted his wife “we’re going to lock this whack job up,” Proctor said, referring to Read’s grand jury indictment.
”Unprofessional messages I should not have sent,” Proctor said.
2 p.m. — State Police investigator resumes testimony
Michael Proctor testified after the lunch break that he was “loose acquaintances” with Julie and Chris Albert and knew them through his sister. Occasionally, Proctor said he and the Alberts were at the same social functions over the course of about a decade.
”I explained the connection with my sister to the Albert family” to Yuri Bukhenik, his supervisor, and other troopers, Proctor said.
“Basically that the Alberts are my sister’s friends,” and that he had been at functions with them in the past. Proctor said the social ties had no impact on the investigation.
Lawyers for Read have said that she was framed and focused on Proctor’s ties with the Albert family as part of an alleged conspiracy.
Proctor said iCloud data was retrieved from his personal cell phone and identified a text message thread from the witness stand between him and his friends.
In his opening statement, Read lawyer David Yannetti said that on the day of John O’Keefe’s death, Proctor texted friends that he hoped Read “would kill herself” and seized her phone, Yannetti said. Proctor also “told his high school buddies that he was searching for nude photos of Karen Read,” Yannetti told the jury.
On Monday, Proctor said that several numbers were on the text thread, from “close friends from junior high, first grade even.”
Some people in the thread live as far away as Tennessee, Proctor said. There were more than 38,000 messages in the thread dating back to 2021, he said.
Proctor said he returned home late on Jan. 29 and texted the group at 10:53 p.m. that John O’Keefe was the name of the Boston police officer who was killed and that he had taken custody “of his sister’s kids.” Another person on the thread wrote, “Oh man, that’s rough,” Proctor said. Another friend sent a Facebook link for O’Keefe’s profile, he said.
Proctor said he texted to the group “this one is a nightmare,” referring to the case.
Another friend wrote that the “owner of the house will receive some [expletive],” and Proctor texted, “Nope,” saying the owner was “a Boston cop too,” he testified.
Proctor said he texted that “she waffled him” and that O’Keefe was “banged up” at the hospital.
At another point, he wrote that “she hit him with her car,” adding that he was referring to “Ms. Read.”
Another friend wrote “that’s [expletive] up,” Proctor said. He said he texted that O’Keefe and Read had arrived at Fairview Road together and got into an argument.
”She was driving and left” the house, Proctor texted.
12:35 p.m. — State Police investigator continues his testimony
Michael Proctor identified a photo of John O’Keefe’s Chevy Traverse in his driveway, taken after the earlier video clip of Read pulling her SUV out and coming close to the Chevy. The Traverse had no apparent damage to the bumper area in the picture.
”I did not observe any damage” to it, Proctor said.
Prosecutor Adam Lally put up additional photos of the bumper of O’Keefe’s Traverse and the garage doors near it, and Proctor said he saw no damage in any of the pictures. Proctor said troopers went back to Fairview on Feb. 8, 11, and 18 as snow continued to melt. On those days, they found “more pieces of plastic, clear and red,” he said. The items were recovered on the front lawn near the road, he said.
Proctor then began displaying the items for jurors, donning black gloves to remove them from an evidence bag.
Proctor methodically removed various pieces of red and clear plastic and glass fragments from the evidence bags, holding up the shards for jurors. He testified that all the items were recovered from the front lawn of the Fairview Road home.
Proctor said authorities executed two search warrants for Ring video footage from O’Keefe’s home, spanning a number of days before and after his death. Investigators received no activity log to indicate who had accessed the system at any given time, Proctor said.
”The Ring camera on Mr. O’Keefe’s garage is pretty sensitive” to motion, he said. “It does not have Ms. Read arriving at Mr. O’Keefe’s house” after dropping him off on Fairview Road around 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 29. Judge Beverly Cannone sustained a defense objection when Proctor said Ring had indicated that “that video was deleted.”
Proctor said of all the witnesses he interviewed in the case, he only knew Julie Albert, her husband Chris, and their son Colin, before the investigation.
Julie Albert is the sister-in-law of Brian Albert, who owned the Fairview Road home where John O’Keefe’s body was found near the road.
Proctor said Julie Albert is friends with his sister and used to babysit his sister’s child. Proctor, a Canton native, said Julie and her husband Chris are both “at least 10 years” older than him, and that their son Colin is “at least 20″ years younger.
In early to mid-February, Proctor said, he and Bukhenik conducted interviews of Julie and Chris Albert.
”I’d classify it as acquaintances,” Proctor said when asked to describe his relationship with the Alberts.
Cannone then called a 1 p.m. lunch recess. Testimony resumes around 2 p.m.
12:25 p.m. — State Police investigator continues his testimony
Michael Proctor identified a photograph of Read’s damaged taillight taken in the police garage. Proctor said troopers also returned to 34 Fairview Road on Feb. 3 to dig out more evidence from the snow. He had never been to the address previously, Proctor testified.
He said he retrieved items from the scene on Feb. 3, Feb. 8, Feb. 11, and Feb. 18, always accompanied by other investigators. On Feb. 3, authorities “located a black drinking straw,” O’Keefe’s hat, and more pieces of plastic. The straw was “consistent with” the drinking glass O’Keefe was seen carrying as he left a local bar before Read drove him to Fairview Road early on Jan. 29, Proctor said.
Proctor said troopers returned to O’Keefe’s home on Feb. 3 to document that his vehicle had “no damage.” The defense had previously played a zoomed-in video of Read pulling her SUV out of O’Keefe’s driveway on the morning of Jan. 29 and coming very close to his vehicle, which appeared to shake slightly during the clip.
Read drove back to O’Keefe’s home after leaving Fairview Road that night, prosecutors said. She had consumed nine drinks, they said.
Prosecutor Adam Lally replayed the clip Monday from the overhead vantage point of the Ring camera positioned on O’Keefe’s garage. When Lally asked if he saw any snow come off O’Keefe’s vehicle when Read’s SUV came close to it, he said “I do not.”
He said there was no damage to O’Keefe’s vehicle or debris around it afterward. Proctor pointed out the “inconsistent lighting” on Read’s right taillight in the clip, suggesting it was damaged.
Noon — Lead State Police investigator continues his testimony
Michael Proctor said authorities sealed off the SUV with yellow police tape in the garage, and from there troopers had a “debrief meeting” to exchange information at Canton police headquarters.
Only troopers were involved in that meeting since Canton police had recused themselves from the probe at that time, Proctor said. The brother of Brian Albert, who owned the house where O’Keefe’s body was found in the front yard near the road, is a Canton police detective.
He said he filled the role of “case officer” in the Read case. The case officer is not “the sole decision-maker” but more like a facilitator and record keeper, he said.
”When it comes down to decision-making time, it’s a group effort,” Proctor said. During the meeting, he said, troopers discussed the taillight pieces found at Fairview Road, as well as interviews conducted during the day. The meeting lasted roughly a half hour to an hour, Proctor said. He said he and Bukhenik took O’Keefe’s clothing, his phone, and Read’s phone to their Canton office.
Proctor said he gave the two phones to another trooper, and clothes were placed on butcher paper to dry out while the pieces of the broken taillight were set aside in an evidence processing area.
”It’s the evidence officer’s responsibility to process that material when they see fit,” Proctor said.
On Feb. 1, 2022, Proctor said that authorities processed Read’s SUV “pursuant to a search warrant.”
He told prosecutor Adam Lally he was not in the police garage at any point between leaving it on Jan. 29 and the search on Feb. 1.
The taillight was “still broken” with “large pieces missing from it,” but it had no new broken areas, Proctor said.
He said a State Police chemist removed the taillight housing unit with the assistance of a Canton police officer. Proctor said he did not personally touch the taillight at any point on Feb. 1.
Lally then played video footage of the processing of the SUV in the garage on Feb. 1. The video clip shows law enforcement personnel photographing the SUV’s interior and exterior.
”The timestamp on the video tends to pause, indicating it’s motion-activated,” Proctor said. He then displayed the taillight housing unit for jurors from the witness stand.
11:40 a.m. — Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in the case, continues his testimony.
After the sidebar, Proctor testified that in previous pedestrian crashes he had investigated, “one if not both pieces of footwear remained at the point of impact.
”There was just one of O’Keefe’s sneakers in the hospital room,” Proctor said. Proctor said he and Bukhenik were told O’Keefe’s other shoe had been found at the Fairview Road scene. That shoe was found buried under snow flush against the curb, according to prior testimony. Proctor said Monday that O’Keefe’s clothing at the hospital was “pretty well saturated” with blood and some vomit on it. The right sleeve of his shirt had some tearing on it, Proctor said.
Proctor said O’Keefe’s clothing was secured in his unit’s evidence office. He said neither he nor Bukehnik had access to the area where the clothing was stored.
After the hospital, Proctor said he and Bukhenik went to Read’s parents’ home in Dighton to speak with her. Proctor said authorities knew that because of the snowstorm they would need a plow to access Read’s SUV in the driveway. The drive from the hospital to Dighton took almost an hour and was slow going due to the storm, Proctor said. He said he had never met Nicholas Barrows, the Dighton officer who was at Read’s parents’ home, before that day.
Proctor said he observed “a broken taillight on the right side” of Read’s SUV as he made his way up the driveway toward the front door. The taillight had “large pieces missing from it,” he testified.
He identified RMV documents indicating the vehicle was registered to Read, beginning in 2021.
Proctor said he and Bukhenik entered a side garage door at the invitation of Read’s father.
Proctor said he and Bukhenik spoke with Read inside the home for about 30 to 40 minutes. Her vehicle and phone were both seized, Proctor said.
Proctor said they told Read they would be seeking a warrant to search her phone. The device was put in airplane mode to prevent any deletion of the data from another device, Proctor said.
He said the SUV arrived in the Canton police garage just after 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 29, 2022.
”It was my understanding that it was a heated facility,” Proctor said, adding that the State Police barracks in Milton wasn’t big enough for an SUV of that size and was not heated. He said they needed a heated facility because Read’s SUV was “covered with snow and ice” when it was seized.
”Sgt. Bukhenik and I never touched any part of that vehicle” in the garage, Proctor said.
11 a.m. — Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in the case, takes the stand
Proctor described the training he has received in homicide and drug investigations with the detective unit of the Norfolk district attorney’s office. He said he was on call on Jan. 29, 2022. Yuri Bukhenik of the State Police called him around 6:48 a.m. indicating that a “male party was discovered in the snow,” but he wasn’t certain what occurred.
In March, State Police said Proctor was the subject of an internal probe “for a potential violation of department policy.” The agency declined to say whether the violation was related to a specific case.
Through his lawyer, Proctor defended his work on the investigation.
“To be clear, Trooper Proctor remains steadfast in the integrity of the work he performed,” his lawyer said in March.
In March, Read’s lawyer Alan Jackson said Proctor had recently testified before a federal grand jury about his connection to Julie Albert, Brian Albert’s sister-in-law.
At the time, Jackson said that text messages discovered by federal investigators reveal that 10 days before O’Keefe’s death, “Michael Proctor texted his own family members discussing the specifics of having Julie Albert babysit for his toddler child.”
“We should all let that sink in for a second. There’s a level of closeness that cannot be overstated,” Jackson said at the time. “Michael Proctor is so connected to the Alberts that he was entrusting, and willing to entrust, the Alberts to be caregivers for his toddler child.”
During his opening statement, Read attorney David Yannetti said that on the day of O’Keefe’s death, Proctor texted friends that he hoped Read “would kill herself” and seized her phone, Yannetti said. Proctor also “told his high school buddies that he was searching for nude photos of Karen Read,” Yannetti said.
In court on Monday, Proctor said he was initially told there was a possible “medical situation” at Fairview Road. Proctor said a Canton firefighter told him John O’Keefe had injuries to his right arm, eyes, and a cut to his nose area.
”He put a 10 percent chance of survival for Mr. O’Keefe,” Proctor said, adding that he advised Bukhenik that it sounded like “more than a medical situation.”
Proctor said he and Bukhenik arrived at the Canton police station around 10 a.m. At the station, they spoke with Canton police Sergeant Sean Goode, he said. Before that morning, he said he had never met O’Keefe, Read, or the two women with her when she found his body, Jennifer McCabe and Kerry Roberts.
Proctor said he remained with Bukhenik as they went from the Canton police station to the home of Matthew and Jennifer McCabe, the sister-in-law of Brian Albert, who owned the Fairview home. The three interviews were conducted separately, Proctor said.
Before the Jan. 29 interviews, Proctor said he had never met Albert, then a Boston police officer.
He and Bukhenik then went to Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton where O’Keefe’s body was and where Read had been taken after voicing thoughts of self-harm. Proctor said he and Bukhenik arrived at the hospital around 1 p.m.
O’Keefe had abrasions on his right arm, and “both eyes were swollen and black and blue” with cuts to his nose and left eye, he said.
”Those were the injuries that ... jumped out to me,” Proctor said. “I did observe blood” on the back of O’Keefe’s head as well, he said.
He and Bukenhik saw O’Keefe’s clothing on the floor of the hospital room. Proctor, a 10-year State Police veteran, said he had previously worked cases involving pedestrians being struck by vehicles. Judge Beverly Cannone then called the lawyers to sidebar
10:35 a.m. — Dighton police Sgt. Nicholas Barrows takes the stand.
Barrows was among the officers present when authorities seized Read’s SUV from her parents’ home in Dighton on the afternoon of Jan. 29, 2022.
Barrows said Read’s father called 911 on the morning of the 29th to request a ride to a Brockton hospital to meet “his daughter due to his daughter’s boyfriend passing away.”
Barrows said he spoke to Michael Proctor, a State Police investigator, later in the afternoon, telling him “a resident” had called to ask for a ride to the hospital.
Barrows said troopers asked him to meet them at the address of Read’s parents. He said he called a local towing company and asked them to go there as well. Barrows said the troopers flagged him down from a black pickup truck at the home and showed him their badges.
”We walked up to the residence” amid the heavy snowstorm, Barrows said.
“It was about a foot of snow in the driveway,” he said. “It was untouched.”
Barrows said he saw Read’s black Lexus SUV in the driveway. He said he called the highway superintendent to plow the driveway so the tow truck could access the vehicle.
”I was looking at the left side of the vehicle,” Barrows said. “I saw that there was some damage to the right rear taillight.”
He said a “piece was missing” and the taillight was cracked but “not completely damaged,” and there was also a dent near the taillight.
”I walked up to the vehicle,” Barrows said, coming five to 10 feet from it. He said there was snow on the SUV.
”I guess you could say caked on, correct,” Barrows said.
He said the troopers remained inside the house for “less than hour” but more than 30 minutes. Asked if he saw anyone on scene touching or manipulating the rear right taillight, Barrows said, “I did not.”
Barrows stepped down without any cross-examination, and Judge Beverly Cannone called a brief morning recess.
10:30 a.m. — Investigator Yuri Bukhenik continues testimony on redirect
Bukhenik told prosecutor Adam Lally he had told the medical examiner’s office on the morning of Jan. 29 that O’Keefe may have been the victim of a possible domestic assault. Bukhenik testified last week that he told the medical examiner’s office that John O’Keefe may have been hit in the face with a co*cktail glass.
”Based on the physical evidence, and the statements made by the defendant to the first responders at the scene, at that point in time I had communicated those facts to the medical examiner’s office,” Bukhenik said Monday.
When he went to the Brockton hospital where O’Keefe’s body was taken, Bukhenik said “I could tell that the glass [found at the scene] was most likely not the weapon which was used to cause the injury to the back of Mr. O’Keefe’s head.”
Jackson noted on recross that Bukhenik reported to the medical examiner’s office that O’Keefe may have been struck in the face, not the back of the head. Bukhenik told Jackson he received the police garage video in late April or early May.
”I just was asked to review it,” Bukhenik said, adding that he didn’t know who initially secured the footage.
Bukhenik stepped down and Lally called Dighton police officer Nicholas Barrows as the next witness.
10 a.m. — State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik continues his testimony under defense questioning
After brief break Read lawyer Alan Jackson played a portion of the garage video that was not inverted. The footage showed an officer walking toward the passenger taillight and then disappearing out of the frame. Jackson asked if the person appears to be carrying some sort of “black portfolio” and Bukhenik said “that’s correct.”
Bukhenik said the timestamp on the non-inverted footage “appears to be backwards.”
Jackson asked about another camera in the police garage that is “grainy” but could capture the right rear portion of the SUV. The time stamp was 5:50:46 on that camera, Jackson said.
”It appears that this video of about 15 seconds jumps 42 minutes to the 5:50 mark, correct?” Jackson asked.
”I don’t know how much it jumps,” Bukhenik said.
On redirect, Bukhenik told prosecutor Adam Lally that “there was no manipulation, alteration of the video” between the time it was turned over to State Police and when it was played for jurors.
Bukhenik told Lally the cameras were motion-activated and so were not on all the time.
Lally asked if the video skipped more than once and Bukhenik said it was “consistently happening when there’s a lack of motion.” Lally then asked Judge Beverly Cannone for permission to play the entire five minute and 51-second clip from the garage for the jury. She granted the request.
Bukhenik watched the footage from the witness stand of officers clearing out snow from around the SUV, as multiple people are seen milling around the rear of the vehicle.
At one point, the State Police investigators appear to shake hands with some Canton police officers, and authorities later place yellow tape around the SUV.
Lally asked if the police garage footage was after Read’s SUV was seen on video footage from O’Keefe’s home early in the morning on Jan. 29, when she returned to O’Keefe’s home with two other women, and when she returned with her relatives.
Bukhenik said the garage footage came after those earlier clips.
In those earlier clips, people appear to be looking at or motioning toward Read’s taillight. Cannone sustained a defense objection when Lally asked if the police garage footage came after the O’Keefe driveway footage, where Read’s “smashed taillight” was visible.
Lally asked if Bukhenik or fellow investigator Michael Proctor manipulated or touched Read’s taillight in the garage.
”We absolutely did not,” Bukhenik said.
9:30 a.m. — State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik testifies about video of Canton police garage, where Read’s SUV was stored
Read lawyer Alan Jackson said the beginning timestamp on the garage footage was 5:30:23, and the final time was 5:48:15, but less than 6 minutes was captured in the footage.
”It was never recorded,” Bukhenik said. “I can only speak to what was turned over and what we received ... The video that was produced was what we got.”
”You don’t know what may or may not have been recorded without your knowledge,” Jackson said.
“No,” Bukhenik said. He said the “video is triggered by motion to record.”
Asked if knew the inner workings of the video system, Bukhenik said, “I do not know all the inner workings of the system.”
Jackson played a portion of the video showing an officer moving behind the right taillight of Read’s SUV. In the footage another person suddenly seems to “appear out of nowhere,” Jackson said.
”That’s what the footage represents, yes,” Bukhenik said.
9:15 a.m. — State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik returns to stand
After oral arguments, Read attorney Alan Jackson continued his cross-examination of Bukhenik, one of the investigators on the case. Jackson asked Bukhenik about surveillance footage from the Canton police garage where Read’s SUV was taken on the evening of Jan. 29, 2022, after authorities seized it in Dighton, where Read’s parents lived.
He identified himself and Trooper Michael Proctor, lead investigator on the case, in the garage at the time.
”Does that appear to be Trooper Proctor in the back of the car?” Jackson said.
”From where the video’s frozen right now, I cannot tell,” Bukhenik said.
Prosecutors say Read’s taillight was damaged when she struck O’Keefe. Read’s attorneys allege her taillight was tampered with in the garage and that Proctor had social ties with key witnesses in the case. Witnesses have testified that Read pointed out her damaged taillight hours before law enforcement seized her car and acknowledged to investigators it was broken in an initial interview at her parents house before declining to answer further questions.
Jackson noted again that the garage surveillance video was inverted. That means what appears to be the passenger side of the SUV in the footage is in fact the driver’s side, so the right rear taillight, and the activity around it, is not visible.
”It’s an accurate depiction of what is taking place,” Bukhenik said of the footage.
”An inverted video is not accurate,” Jackson said.
”It’s an accurate depiction of the events taking place,” Bukhenik said.
8:45 a.m. — Oral arguments about potential testimony from experts
Proceedings began Monday with arguments about a prosecution motion about expert witnesses Read’s lawyers would like to testify. Prosecutors said information is lacking about the opinions experts would offer about crash reconstruction and dog bite analysis.
Read’s lawyers have said that experts hired by the federal government found that O’Keefe’s injuries weren’t consistent with being hit by a car. Prosecutors have disputed that claim, saying the experts essentially found O’Keefe wasn’t fatally struck in the head, something the government has never alleged.
The defense also wants to call an expert who will assert that cuts found on O’Keefe’s right arm were consistent with an animal attack, records show. Read’s lawyers have argued that a family dog may have bitten O’Keefe inside the Fairview home where his body was found outside near the curb.
Judge Beverly Cannone ordered Read’s attorneys to provide information about data relied on by one of the crash analysts to prosecutors by close of business Tuesday. She said the additional crash analysts will first have to testify without the jury present “well in advance of their testimony” to determine the parameters of what they’ll be able to say.
Cannone said she also wants a voir dire session with the expert testifying about dog bites Wednesday, followed by voir dire with the others “this week as well.”
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.
