Commonwealth v. Read — Trial ArchiveChristina Hanley
Christina Hanley is a forensic scientist with 16 years at the MSP Crime Lab, specializing in trace evidence analysis using microscopy, GRIM refractive index measurement, FTIR spectroscopy, and microspectrophotometry. She was called by the prosecution in both trials to present her findings on glass and plastic debris recovered from the scene, the victim's clothing, and Read's vehicle. Her testimony centered on whether glass fragments from the scene matched the defendant's broken tail light or a drinking glass, and whether plastic debris on the victim's clothing could be linked to Read's vehicle.
Trial 1 vs Trial 2
In Trial 2, Hanley's testimony was expanded across two days (Days 19–20) compared to a single day in Trial 1, with more detailed walkthrough of photographs and instrumental data under Lally's direct. Jackson's cross in Trial 2 was more structured, deploying a visual comparison chart to systematically walk through which items matched which — a technique that made the gaps in the glass evidence chain more explicit. The recross in Trial 2, which did not occur in Trial 1, further underscored that the only bumper-to-scene glass connection ran through the piece recovered by Trooper Proctor, whose conduct was itself under scrutiny.