Commonwealth v. Read — Trial ArchiveMaureen Hartnett
Also known as: Hartnett
Maureen Hartnett is a forensic scientist with the Massachusetts State Police criminalistics unit who examined Karen Read's black Lexus SUV at the Canton Police Department and conducted laboratory analysis of John O'Keefe's clothing items. Her testimony covers her inspection of the vehicle's rear passenger area — where she documented a dent, scratches, and a broken tail light — as well as blood screening, trace evidence collection, and damage classification on O'Keefe's sweatshirt, jeans, T-shirt, and sneakers. She testified in both trials, with cross-examination in the second trial expanding significantly to challenge evidence handling, chain of custody, and the absence of biological transfer evidence linking the vehicle to a pedestrian strike.
Trial 1 vs Trial 2
In Trial 1, cross-examination by Alan Jackson focused primarily on documentation gaps, the incorrect date entry, the absence of debris photography, and the six-week chain of custody void. In Trial 2, Robert Alessi pursued a broader challenge: he established that no biological testing was performed on tail light fragments, confronted Hartnett with before-and-after photographs of the hair on the quarter panel, and dwelt extensively on the co-mingling of clothing evidence from two shirts into a single submission without separation or individual documentation. The Trial 2 redirect by Hank Brennan also introduced a more explicit suggestion — not present in Trial 1 — that evidence could have been planted on the tail light.