Day 25 - June 14, 2024

Jessica Hyde, a digital forensics examiner and owner of Hexordia, testifies as a prosecution expert about two Google searches on Jennifer McCabe's phone: "how long to die in cold" and "how long to die in ckd." After extensive qualification testimony covering her Marine Corps background, government intelligence work, and academic credentials, Hyde walks the jury through her analysis of Safari browser artifacts, SQLite databases, and write-ahead log (WAL) files. She concludes that the searches occurred at approximately 6:23-6:24 a.m. on January 29, 2022 — not at 2:27 a.m. as defense expert Richard Green's affidavit asserted — and that the 2:27 timestamp reflects tab movement activity, not search time. Hyde further concludes there was no evidence of user deletion, explaining that the WAL file's "recovered" marking is commonly misinterpreted by examiners as indicating deletion.

David Yannetti conducts a focused cross-examination of prosecution expert Jessica Hyde, challenging her conclusion that the 2:27 a.m. timestamp on Jennifer McCabe's phone reflects tab movement rather than a search. After briefly summarizing Hyde's complex direct testimony, Yannetti presses her on whether her analysis can definitively rule out that the Google search was performed at or before 2:27 a.m. Hyde concedes there is a 'very unlikely possibility' but maintains there is no evidence of a search at that time. Yannetti then establishes that Hyde's analysis was narrowly scoped by Detective Tully to examine only Safari search history from January 29, 2022, and that she was not instructed to examine call logs — which could have revealed deletion of calls that morning. The prosecution sustains an objection on this final point but declines redirect.

In this voir dire outside the jury's presence, ADA Lally elicits Trooper Paul's opinion that the low-speed contact between Karen Read's Lexus and John O'Keefe's Traverse, captured on Ring video, could not have caused the broken taillight on Read's vehicle. Paul testifies the taillight sits 42-50 inches off the ground, above the bumper line, and O'Keefe's vehicle shows no corresponding damage. Jackson cross-examines aggressively, establishing that Paul never physically tested the two vehicles together, never conducted force testing on the taillight, formed this opinion only two weeks before trial after a meeting with Lally, never memorialized it in any report, and first saw the video on Court TV rather than during his investigation. The judge reserves ruling, requesting copies of the video and photographs for weekend review.

Defense attorney Alan Jackson moves to exclude testimony from a crash reconstruction officer who offered a new opinion during direct examination about whether video evidence showed sufficient force to cause taillight damage on the defendant's vehicle. Jackson argues this constitutes a discovery violation, citing a pattern of Commonwealth witnesses presenting undisclosed opinions formed during recent prep sessions — referencing similar issues with Jennifer McCabe and Officer Saraf. Prosecutor Adam Lally responds that the testimony falls within the officer's expertise as a crash reconstructionist and that no improper disclosure occurred. Judge Cannone declines to rule immediately, requesting the enhanced video exhibit and related materials for review over the weekend.