Commonwealth v. Read — Trial ArchiveNicholas Bradford
Nicholas Bradford is a DNA analyst employed by BODE Technology, an accredited forensic laboratory. He was called by the prosecution in both trials to present the results of DNA testing performed on a tail light extract and a hair sample recovered from Karen Read's Lexus. His testimony centered on STR (short tandem repeat) mixture analysis establishing that John O'Keefe could not be excluded as a contributor to the tail light DNA mixture, while two Massachusetts State Police troopers — Bukhenik and Proctor — were statistically supported for exclusion.
Trial 1 vs Trial 2
In Trial 1, the defense waived cross-examination of Bradford entirely, leaving his statistical conclusions unchallenged. In Trial 2, Alan Jackson conducted a substantive cross focused on two points: pressing Bradford on the distinction between statistical exclusion and absolute exclusion for Proctor, and establishing that numerous individuals from the Albert household had never been compared to the tail light DNA sample. The cross did not undermine the O'Keefe inclusion statistic but framed the exclusion of other potential contributors as incomplete.