Trial 1 Trial Day
◀ Day 23 Trial 1 Day 25 ▶

Day 24 - June 13, 2024

Judge Beverly J. Cannone · Trial 1 · 8 proceedings · 1,955 lines

Day 24 of 35
Appearing:

Jackson questions Tully about the Fairview search, evidence records, and RTT interpretation; four later witnesses address DNA collection and testing involving the taillight, glass, clothing, and hair.

Full day summary

Day 24 opened with the conclusion of Lt. Brian Tully's direct examination concerning surveillance video and cell-tower records. On cross, Alan Jackson questioned why investigators sought neither consent nor a warrant to search 34 Fairview Road, contrasted Tully's report of three plastic pieces with five pieces presented to the jury, and offered a calculation that two sequential RTT positions 0.004 seconds apart would imply 135,000 miles per hour. Tully agreed with the conditional arithmetic but said the records did not necessarily show sequential movement. On recross, he said he did not have the Verizon records key in front of him and would need to consult the records to resolve the field interpretation. The afternoon shifted to testimony from DNA collector J. Ryan Gallerani and analysts Nicholas Bradford, Tess Chart, and Andre Porto. They described collection and testing involving the taillight, a broken drinking glass, clothing, and hair, including likelihood-ratio results supporting O'Keefe as a contributor or possible source on specified samples and limits on what DNA can establish. The defense asked no cross-examination questions of the four witnesses.

  • Jackson questioned Tully about investigators not seeking consent or a warrant to search 34 Fairview Road despite circumstances Jackson argued warranted further investigation.
  • Tully agreed that, if two RTT arcs represented sequential phone positions 0.004 seconds apart, the calculation would require a device traveling 135,000 miles per hour; he testified the records did not necessarily indicate that sequence.
  • On recross, Tully said he did not have the Verizon records key in front of him and would need to look back at the records to address the field interpretation.
  • Nicholas Bradford testified that the tail-light mixture was at least 740 nonillion times more likely under a comparison including O'Keefe than under the stated three-unknown-person alternative; he called that very strong support for inclusion.
  • The defense waived cross-examination of all four prosecution witnesses in the afternoon session.
Brian Tully
“135,000.”
Tully supplied the arithmetic result for Jackson's conditional RTT example, then said the record did not necessarily indicate sequential movement and denied offering that interpretation.
Brian Tully
“I don't have them in front of me.”
Tully said he did not have the Verizon records key in front of him and would need to consult the records to resolve the field interpretation raised on recross.
Nicholas Bradford
“That would be the number with 30 zeros.”
Bradford explained the scale of the likelihood ratio and characterized the result as very strong support for inclusion under the stated comparison.
Video thumbnail for Day 24 — Tully (cont), Gallerani, Bradford +2 more 6h 27m
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Brian Tully — Direct (Part 2)

After admonitions and swearing-in, Lt. Tully explained Fairview's warrant decision and reviewed surveillance, calls, CSLI, and ranging. He linked the phone's arc to a similar SUV in temple footage and discussed a 17-minute gap.

Direct
Brian Tully Adam Lally
460 lines

Continuing from the previous day, Lt. Brian Tully testified about the decision not to search the interior of 34 Fairview Road, explaining that without evidence placing John O'Keefe inside the home, there was no probable cause for a warrant under the Fourth Amendment. He then walked the jury through surveillance videos from the Canton Public Library and Temple Beth Abraham showing a large black SUV consistent with Read's vehicle traveling northbound on Washington Street at 12:27 a.m. and again at 5:18 a.m. Tully presented cell site location information (CSLI) maps he created from Read's Verizon call detail records, showing her phone connecting to antennas near 34 Fairview Road between 12:33 and 12:38 a.m., then near 1 Meadows Lane from 12:39 to 5:08 a.m., before moving through downtown Canton between 5:16 and 5:37 a.m. He also presented ranging data that narrowed the phone's location to specific arcs around cell towers, which he testified were consistent with the surveillance video and witness accounts of Read's movements.

+1 procedural segment

Brian Tully — Cross

Jackson cross-examines Tully on Fairview's unsearched interior, evidence-count/custody gaps, conditional RTT limits, tower proximity, and a Ford Edge inquiry whose result Tully did not know.

Cross
Brian Tully Alan Jackson
643 lines

Defense attorney Alan Jackson cross-examined Lt. Brian Tully across four main areas. First, Jackson established that investigators never sought a search warrant or even requested consent to search the interior of 34 Fairview Road, despite circumstantial indicators — O'Keefe's missing coat, missing shoe, a broken drinking glass, and reports of a possible physical altercation — that the house merited investigation. Second, Jackson confronted Tully with his own police report documenting three pieces of plastic recovered from the scene, while the evidence bags presented to the jury contained five pieces, with Tully unable to account for the discrepancy beyond speculation that a fragment broke off. Third, Jackson challenged the reliability of the RTT (ranging) data Tully used to create cell tower arc maps, presenting a calculation that would require a device to travel 135,000 miles per hour if the two arcs represented sequential phone positions 0.004 seconds apart. Tully agreed with the arithmetic and that such phone travel would be impossible, but testified that the record did not necessarily indicate sequential positions and that he was not suggesting the phone traveled at that speed. Jackson also showed that the cell tower pinging Read's phone between 5:20-5:37 a.m. was significantly closer to Jennifer McCabe's residence than to 34 Fairview. Finally, Jackson questioned Tully about a Ford Edge; Tully testified that investigators assessed the witness account and that he believed Proctor and Bukhenik had investigated vehicle registrations, though Tully personally had not searched the records and did not know the result or whether an Albert owned a Ford Edge.

Brian Tully — Redirect/Recross

Redirect: Lally addressed Ford Edge credibility, roadway evidence, RTT and cell-tower limitations, corroboration, camera gaps, and evidence handling. Recross: Jackson pressed the RTT fields and Tully's lack of the Verizon key.

Redirect
Brian Tully Adam Lally
81 lines

On redirect, ADA Lally methodically addressed the main points raised during cross-examination. Lt. Tully detailed why investigators discounted the Ford Edge witness — the person gave three inconsistent accounts, self-reported being color blind, was observing from a distance during a blizzard, and was subjected to a suggestive single-photo identification procedure. Tully clarified that the recovered evidence was found on the roadway or curb, closer to the street than to 34 Fairview Road. On the cell tower speed calculation Jackson had used to challenge the ranging data, Tully explained that the two data points need not represent simultaneous positions and that he corroborated cell records with video and witness statements. Tully also noted the Canton Police sally port video appeared to be motion-activated based on jumps in the recording, and that Verizon provided limited ranging records that prevented route-of-travel analysis.

Recross
Brian Tully Alan Jackson
52 lines

On recross, Alan Jackson returned to the RTT (ranging) data that had been a focal point of his cross-examination. Jackson methodically established that Tully used the procedure start time of 5:18 a.m. on his arc map, then pressed Tully on whether the start time and first distance were paired data points — which would revive the 135,000 miles-per-hour calculation from cross. Tully resisted, insisting the times were placed on the slide but not used to generate the arcs, and conceded it was 'probably unbelievable' that the values represented exact start and end times. Jackson then asked Tully to consult the actual Verizon records and their key, and Tully admitted he did not have the records key in front of him. The exchange ended abruptly after that concession.

J. Ryan Gallerani — Direct

Sgt. Gallerani describes collecting reference DNA samples from Bukhenik and Proctor, securing and shipping them to Bode Technology; the defense waives cross-examination.

Direct
J. Ryan Gallerani Adam Lally
44 lines

ADA Lally calls Sgt. J. Ryan Gallerani of the Needham Police Department, who testifies about his certification in DNA buccal swab collection through Mass. State Police training. On January 16, 2024, Gallerani collected buccal swab samples from Sgt. Bukhenik and Trooper Proctor at the Norfolk District Attorney's Office in Canton. He explains the physical collection process, confirms he secured the samples in evidence at his department, and states the samples were later shipped to Bode Technology in Lorton, Virginia following their protocols. Lally establishes that Gallerani had no prior involvement with the case and did not know any of the parties.

+1 procedural segment

Nicholas Bradford — Direct

Nicholas Bradford describes tail-light DNA testing showing very strong support for John O'Keefe's inclusion and support for excluding two troopers; a hair sample required mitochondrial testing, and the defense waived cross.

Direct
Nicholas Bradford Adam Lally
181 lines

Nicholas Bradford, a DNA analyst from Bode Technology in Lorton, Virginia, testified about DNA analysis performed on evidence from the passenger side rear of Karen Read's vehicle. Bradford explained that the tail light extract contained a three-person DNA mixture. Using STRmix software and likelihood ratio analysis, he found very strong support for inclusion of John O'Keefe's DNA (740 nonillion times more likely), and strong support for exclusion of both Trooper Yuri Bukhenik and Trooper Michael Proctor. Bradford also tested a hair shaft from the same panel area but found the autosomal DNA was below the limit of detection for STR testing. The hair was subsequently forwarded to analyst Tess Chart for mitochondrial DNA testing.

+1 procedural segment

Tess Chart — Direct

Tess Chart testifies that mitochondrial DNA from hair sample E01 is consistent with John O'Keefe and excludes at least 99.89% of the population; the defense waives cross-examination.

Direct
Tess Chart Adam Lally
137 lines

Prosecution calls Tess Chart, a forensic DNA analyst at Bode Technology in Virginia, to testify about mitochondrial DNA analysis performed on a hair sample (E01) submitted by the Norfolk District Attorney's office. Chart explains her qualifications, the difference between autosomal and mitochondrial DNA, and the testing methodology including PCR amplification, gel visualization, and DNA sequencing. She testifies that the mitochondrial DNA profile from the hair sample was consistent with John O'Keefe's reference profile, and that using the EMPOP international population database, at least 99.89% of the US population can be excluded as a source of the hair, with 95% statistical confidence.

+1 procedural segment

Andre Porto — Direct

DNA analyst Andre Porto describes testing evidence tied to O'Keefe, including the tail light, glass, clothing, and a hair root; he notes DNA cannot date or explain deposition. Cross-examination was waived.

Direct
Andre Porto Adam Lally
335 lines

Andre Porto, a forensic scientist in the DNA unit at the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab, testified about his educational background, lab accreditation, and the four-step DNA testing process (extraction, quantitation, amplification, detection). He analyzed numerous evidence items in the case, finding DNA profiles consistent with John O'Keefe on the passenger side tail light (510 nonillion times more likely), a broken drinking glass exterior (530 nonillion times more likely), multiple stains on O'Keefe's jeans (570–830 nonillion times), stains on an orange T-shirt and gray long sleeve shirt (up to 490 octillion times), and fingernail clippings. A hair root from the vehicle's rear panel yielded no detectable human DNA and was sent to Bode Technology for mitochondrial testing. Porto also explained that DNA analysis cannot determine when or how DNA was deposited.

+2 procedural segments
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