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Physical Evidence
Taillight Fragments Recovered at 34 Fairview Road
Plastic consistent with taillight material recovered near O'Keefe's body. None was found in the initial search; when and how the fragments reached the scene was questioned.
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These fragments were central physical evidence connecting Read's vehicle to the location where O'Keefe was found. On redirect, Rentschler said he did not know when, how, or by whom the plastic arrived at 34 Fairview Road, and said the proposed taillight-strike scenario was inconsistent with the fracture and movement of the debris given the uncertain positioning. The defense used those knowledge limits and the reported absence of the pieces from the initial search to question the fragments' provenance and placement, arguing that investigators could not account for their precise locations relative to the body.
Pieces of black, red, and clear plastic consistent with a vehicle taillight were recovered from the area around O'Keefe's body at 34 Fairview Road. Crime lab photographs documented the fragments. Questions arose about when, how, and by whom the plastic arrived at the scene, as none was found during the initial search when O'Keefe's body was discovered.