Person Elizabeth Little Trial 1Trial 2Elizabeth Little is a defense attorney who represented Karen Read in both trials and examined expert and lay witnesses. ← All People
🛡️ Defense · Defense team

Elizabeth Little

Trial 1Trial 2
1,029 lines 90 proceedings 2 trials
Courtroom still of Elizabeth Little.

About

Elizabeth Little represented Karen Read as a defense attorney in both trials. In Trial 1, she cross-examined medical and forensic witnesses and members of the Albert family, using reports, prior statements, and other records in her questions. She conducted the direct examination of defense forensic pathologist Dr. Frank Sheridan, who gave opinions concerning O'Keefe's injuries. In Trial 2, she cross-examined a hospital laboratory witness about accreditation, methodology, and potential interferences.

Key Points

  • During her Trial 1 Day 9 cross-examination of Nicole Albert, Little asked whether Albert had mentioned Colin Albert to Trooper Proctor; Albert said she had not. The court sustained an objection to Little's follow-up questions about Sergeant Lank and whether naming Colin would prompt an interview. Little also raised two Jennifer McCabe phone-call entries; Albert acknowledged the entries but denied answering the calls. The defense used the questioning to advance its theory that the family withheld information.
  • In a Trial 1 Day 18 recross, Little asked Dr. Nicholas Roberts whether Read had provided the 12:45 AM time used in his calculation. Roberts said Read had not. Little then asked whether the time came from a police report, but that question received no answer before the examination ended.
  • During her Trial 1 Day 18 cross-examination of emergency physician Dr. Justin Rice, Little showed him his ER note, which did not mention a vehicle, and asked about injuries and fractures he documented. Rice rejected the characterization that the documentation established the full scope of O'Keefe's injuries or broken bones, explaining that resuscitation priorities limited observations not pertinent to that effort.
  • In Trial 1 Day 29, Little cross-examined medical examiner Dr. Irini Scordi-Bello. Scordi-Bello said she was not a reconstruction or biomechanics expert and could not offer a vehicle-related opinion; she also said the cause of the arm scratches was unknown. She described as a possibility that facial injuries could result from a punch, agreed bruising on the backs of hands could be consistent with defensive wounds, and said it was possible for a punch to cause unconsciousness and a backward fall. The court sustained an objection to Little's broader question combining several injuries.
  • After the court sustained several foundation objections, Little elicited Dr. Frank Sheridan's opinions that O'Keefe's arm injuries did not look like a vehicle impact and, while he was not 100 percent certain, were consistent with animal marks. Sheridan also testified that the head injury would have rendered O'Keefe immediately unconscious.

Trial Record (90)

90 proceedings

Trial 1 First Criminal Trial Apr 29, 2024 – Jul 1, 2024 75 proceedings

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 8

Day 9

Cross Nicole Albert Elizabeth Little 4 highlights 280 lines spoken
Summary

Nicole Albert was questioned about the household timeline, omitted names in earlier accounts, Chloe, and disputed morning calls; a stipulated 34 Fairview graphic was admitted as Exhibit 66.

Highlights (4)
Key Moment

A Waterfall video was played. Nicole Albert identified herself in the footage and testified that the displayed time was 11:58 as she appeared to be leaving with a can.

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Key Moment

Albert acknowledged that she and her family discussed the case before law-enforcement interviews and agreed that she did not mention Colin Albert to Trooper Proctor or Sergeant Lank, explaining that she did not consider him part of the group after the Waterfall.

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Key Moment

After reviewing a Cellebrite-records page marked for identification, Albert maintained that although her sister may have placed two calls, she never answered or spoke to her by phone that morning.

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Recross Nicole Albert Elizabeth Little 2 highlights 6 lines spoken
Summary

Nicole Albert denied awareness of Jennifer McCabe voicemails and said she believed she had provided the Commonwealth information about Chloe's whereabouts after the court sustained related objections.

Highlights (2)
Key Moment

The judge sustained the Commonwealth's objection to a question about documentation concerning Chloe's whereabouts and instructed that the question was not evidence.

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Key Moment

After another objection was sustained, Nicole Albert testified that she believed she had provided the Commonwealth information about Chloe's whereabouts; counsel then requested an approach when asked when that occurred.

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Sidebar Cellebrite Call Report Use 4 lines spoken
Summary

The parties discussed using a Cellebrite report to refresh recollection about calls, and the judge limited the inquiry to unanswered calls and directed that the report be marked for identification.

Day 10

Cross Brian Albert Jr Elizabeth Little 2 highlights 116 lines spoken
Summary

The defense challenged Brian Albert Jr.'s recollection of the timeline, his observations outside, and discussions with family members.

Highlights (2)

Day 12

Day 14

Day 15

Day 16

Day 17

Day 18

Cross Justin Rice Elizabeth Little 2 highlights 50 lines spoken
Summary

Dr. Rice acknowledged limited recollection of Ms. Read's care and agreed Mr. O'Keefe's report did not mention a vehicle or report a fracture.

Highlights (2)
Key Moment

Dr. Rice said he did not recall treating Ms. Read, ordering her blood, or collecting it; he also did not know who collected, packaged, or submitted it to the lab.

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Cross Gary Faller Elizabeth Little 2 highlights 20 lines spoken
Summary

Faller discussed the limits of hospital serum alcohol testing, including its inability to show when alcohol was consumed.

Highlights (2)
Key Moment

Defense questioning distinguished hospital serum testing from forensic blood-alcohol analysis and elicited that the hospital does not perform a serum-to-whole-blood conversion.

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Cross Nicholas Roberts Elizabeth Little 3 highlights 50 lines spoken
Summary

Roberts acknowledged that his retrograde blood-alcohol calculation depended on timing assumptions, a hospital test, and variable conversion factors.

Highlights (3)

Day 19

Direct Ashley Vallier Adam Lally 5 lines spoken
Summary

Vallier described physical-match analysis, authenticated photographs of laboratory items, and testified that an assembled piece matched the taillight; defense preserved a foundation objection at sidebar.

Day 22

Day 23

Day 24

Day 28

Day 29

Direct Irini Scordi-Bello Adam Lally 1 highlights 5 lines spoken
Summary

Dr. Scordi-Bello explained why the manner of death remained undetermined and restated that blunt head injuries and hypothermia caused John O'Keefe's death.

Highlights (1)
Key Moment

The court sustained objections to questions about hypothermia and the form of a pedestrian-collision question, then overruled an objection to testimony about the force required for the skull fracture.

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Cross Irini Scordi-Bello Elizabeth Little 5 highlights 118 lines spoken
Summary

Dr. Scordi-Bello discussed possible injury mechanisms and the limits of her reconstruction expertise; she also identified rib-area discoloration as lividity, not an injury.

Highlights (5)
Key Moment

After sustaining objections to broad vehicle-impact hypotheticals, the judge required the questioning to be broken down. Dr. Scordi-Bello said she could not offer a reconstruction opinion because she was not a reconstruction or biomechanics expert and had not inspected the vehicle.

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Key Moment

The court admitted and permitted publication of Exhibit 65, an autopsy photograph. Dr. Scordi-Bello identified orbital bruising, a right-eyelid laceration, and nasal abrasions in the image.

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Key Moment

Dr. Scordi-Bello testified that punching was a possible explanation for the facial injuries and that a tongue laceration could also possibly result from a punch to the face or jaw.

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Key Moment

The witness said the skull fractures appeared to originate from a single point of impact but could result from either a single impact or multiple impacts; she also agreed that facial trauma followed by a backward fall was possible.

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Day 30

Direct Frank Sheridan Elizabeth Little 3 highlights 74 lines spoken
Summary

Forensic pathologist Frank Sheridan testified that O'Keefe's arm injuries did not resemble a direct vehicle impact, were consistent with an animal attack with qualifications, and that the fatal head injury was not consistent with a fall onto grass.

Highlights (3)
Key Moment

After two foundation objections were sustained, the judge allowed Sheridan to answer whether the arm injuries resembled a direct vehicle impact; he said they did not.

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Key Moment

Sheridan testified, with stated uncertainty, that the arm marks were consistent with an animal attack and described parallel marks as potentially caused by paws, claws, or teeth.

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Key Moment

The judge addressed a defense hypothetical about an SUV striking an outstretched arm, asked both sides to propose a limiting instruction, and allowed a narrowed version of the question after the jury returned.

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Redirect Frank Sheridan Elizabeth Little 2 highlights 9 lines spoken
Summary

Exhibit 657, a photograph of Mr. O'Keefe's knees, was admitted; Sheridan identified the pictured injury as an abrasion and agreed it was limited to that area.

Highlights (2)

Trial 2 Retrial Apr 22, 2025 – Jun 18, 2025 15 proceedings

Day 2

Procedural Procedural - Motions 4 lines spoken
Summary

Pre-testimony motions addressing prosecution's consolidated phone/text PowerPoint exhibits, Jennifer McCabe health watch data as potential rebuttal, and scheduling of ARCCA expert voir dire for Monday.

Day 4

Cross Gary Faller Elizabeth Little 1 highlights 45 lines spoken
Summary

Elizabeth Little cross-examines Dr. Gary Faller about Good Samaritan's lack of forensic accreditation and its serum alcohol method. Faller describes the rate-of-NADH-production method and says markedly elevated LDH or lactic acid can cause false positives, while stating that multiple-sclerosis-related elevations would not reach a level that interfered with alcohol results; the court sustained an anemia question and struck asserted article findings.

Highlights (1)

Day 8

Day 11

Day 12

Direct Yuri Bukhenik Hank Brennan 3 lines spoken
Summary

Sgt. Bukhenik described the initial investigation, the seizure and preservation of the Lexus and other evidence, and alleged statements by Read; the court gave a preliminary instruction on evaluating those statements.

Day 13

Sidebar Higgins Text Message Inquiry 1 lines spoken
Summary

Counsel debated questioning about Brian Higgins text messages and investigative follow-up; the court required review of the identified materials and allowed a Bowden inquiry subject to the witness's answers.

Day 30

Day 32

Procedural Procedural - Motions 5 lines spoken
Summary

Pre-closing charge conference covering the defense motion for required finding of not guilty, jury instruction disputes, Bowden/third-party culprit arguments, verdict form proposals, and a curative instruction request regarding Exhibit 88 (the hoodie).