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Physical Evidence
Taillight Fragments in O'Keefe's Clothing
Microscopic red and clear plastic from O'Keefe's clothing, found consistent with Read's taillight material. The fragments' size and possible role in his injuries were disputed.
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The prosecution presented these fragments as a key physical link between Read's vehicle and O'Keefe's body. Hanley's comparisons found the red and clear plastics consistent with sampled taillight materials, while allowing that each could have originated from another source with the same characteristics. The defense challenged their significance by arguing the fragments were too small to cause the abrasion patterns attributed to a vehicle strike, and cross-examined experts who had not considered this evidence before forming opinions.
Microscopic red and clear plastic fragments were recovered from John O'Keefe's clothing and found to be consistent with the material of Karen Read's vehicle taillight. The fragments were embedded in his shirts and were not part of some experts' original analyses. Their small size — Russell visually estimated the depicted pieces as perhaps one-sixteenth of an inch or less if using the same edge of the ruler — became a point of dispute regarding whether they could have caused observed injuries.