Commonwealth v. Read — Trial Archive
Trial 1 Trial Day
◀ Day 20 Trial 1 Day 22 ▶

Day 21 - June 6, 2024

Judge Beverly J. Cannone · Trial 1 · 2 proceedings · 969 lines

Day 21 of 35
Appearing:
🏛️ Adam Lally 🛡️ Alan Jackson 👮 Yuri Bukhenik

Sergeant Bukhenik completes direct and faces cross-examination about evidence handling, scene security, missing Ring footage, and a sallyport video shown in inverted form.

Full day summary

Day 21 concluded Sergeant Yuri Bukhenik's direct examination and continued with cross-examination by Alan Jackson. On direct, Bukhenik described surveillance evidence concerning Read's drinks, evidence-recovery dates at 34 Fairview Road, two Ring-video gaps, and a recorded statement from Read about her taillight damage. On cross, Jackson challenged the handling of the scene and evidence. Bukhenik acknowledged that 34 Fairview was not secured as a crime scene; he testified, to the best of his knowledge and if the label-maker date was correct, that O'Keefe's clothing had been drying on butcher paper for six days. Asked whether plastic evidence collected February 10th remained unbooked until March 14th, Bukhenik said he had not known and did not know whether a separate custody log existed. Jackson also established that the sallyport video displayed vehicle orientation in reverse. Bukhenik agreed it was inverted and that neither he nor Lally had identified that during the prior day's questioning.

Key Moments
  • Bukhenik testified that bar surveillance showed Karen Read consuming nine drinks across two venues on the night in question.
  • Bukhenik testified that two Ring doorbell videos were absent from the Ring return: one of Read arriving home after midnight and one of Read showing McCabe and Roberts the taillight damage; he said follow-up produced nothing for those videos or time frames.
  • Bukhenik acknowledged he did not secure 34 Fairview Road as a crime scene despite suspecting assault by 10:41 a.m. on January 29th.
  • Jackson questioned evidence handling after Bukhenik testified, to the best of his knowledge and if the label-maker date was correct, that O'Keefe's clothing had been drying on butcher paper for six days; Bukhenik said he had not known whether plastic evidence had been unbooked until March 14th or whether a separate custody log existed.
  • Jackson established that the sallyport video shown during direct examination was mirrored and inverted; Bukhenik said neither he nor Lally had identified the inversion during the prior day's questioning.
Notable Quotes
Alan Jackson
“And yesterday, during the entirety of your questioning by Mr. Lally, not once did you mention that this video is actually completely inverted?”
Jackson's question established that the sallyport video shown during direct examination was inverted and that the inversion had not been identified during the prior day's questioning.
Yuri Bukhenik
“First portion — we did not secure the home as a crime scene. And the second portion — yes, I do know how to do that.”
Bukhenik agreed he knew how to secure a crime scene and that 34 Fairview was not secured; Jackson used the answer to question investigators' treatment of the house.
Yuri Bukhenik
“The data returned had video that would have been captured from the defendant arriving home after midnight on the 29th, after she dropped Mr. O'Keefe off at 34 Fairview Road. That video was not present in the data that was returned from Ring.”
Bukhenik testified that two described videos were absent from the Ring return and that follow-up produced nothing for those videos or time frames; the parties disputed the significance of the omissions.
Video thumbnail for Day 21 — Bukhenik (cont) 3h 3m
Watch this day Day 21 — Bukhenik (cont) Watch with synced transcript →

Yuri Bukhenik — Direct (Part 2)

After the court reconvened, Bukhenik continued direct testimony about scene evidence recovered over several dates, missing Ring footage, the Higgins and Albert interviews, Read's recorded taillight statement, and later DNA swabs.

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Direct
Yuri Bukhenik Adam Lally
364 lines

Sergeant Bukhenik resumed his direct examination covering several investigative threads. He testified that bar surveillance showed Karen Read consuming nine drinks between C.F. McCarthy's and the Waterfall. He described the secondary search of 34 Fairview Road on February 3, 2022, where investigators dug through melting snow and recovered John O'Keefe's BPD baseball hat, a cocktail straw, and numerous pieces of colored plastic, glass shards, and taillight fragments on the lawn near the flagpole. Additional evidence was recovered on February 4, 8, 10, 11, and 18. Bukhenik testified that two Ring doorbell videos from 1 Meadows Avenue were missing — Read arriving home after midnight on January 29 and Read showing McCabe and Roberts the taillight damage; he said follow-up produced nothing for those videos or time frames. He described interviewing Brian Higgins on February 3, who voluntarily provided Cellebrite-extracted text messages, and interviewing Nicole Albert at 34 Fairview Road with Brian Albert present. The prosecution played a brief audio recording from June 9, 2022 in which Read made a statement about her taillight, after which Bukhenik advised her not to speak further. The examination concluded with Bukhenik confirming he and Proctor voluntarily submitted DNA via buccal swabs on January 16, 2024.

+1 procedural segment

Yuri Bukhenik — Cross (Part 1)

Jackson cross-examines Bukhenik on Ring materials, scene preservation, qualified evidence handling, Canton Police involvement, and an undisclosed inverted sallyport video; the court then schedules a motion argument.

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Cross
Yuri Bukhenik Alan Jackson
588 lines

Attorney Alan Jackson challenged Sergeant Bukhenik across multiple investigative fronts. Jackson established that Ring Corporation materials were provided; Bukhenik testified that the return document was the first time he had seen it and that nothing Ring provided proved or suggested Karen Read accessed the Ring account. He pressed Bukhenik on the failure to secure 34 Fairview Road as a crime scene, send forensic criminalists inside, or visit the location for days. Jackson highlighted evidence-handling questions: Bukhenik testified, to the best of his knowledge and if the label-maker date was correct, that O'Keefe's clothing was drying on butcher paper for six days before being logged. Jackson also questioned whether a bag of plastic had gone unbooked until March 14; Bukhenik said he had not been aware of that and did not know whether a separate log existed. He questioned Chief Berkowitz's evidence collection after Bukhenik described Canton Police's recusal as limited to interviews and rejected Jackson's broader conflict implication. The cross-examination concluded with Jackson demonstrating that a sallyport video shown during direct examination was mirrored/inverted without disclosure; Bukhenik agreed a person appeared behind the vehicle but said he could not determine how far away the person was from it.

+1 procedural segment
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