Commonwealth v. Read — Trial Archive
Trial 2 Trial Day
◀ Day 12 Trial 2 Day 14 ▶

Day 13 - May 9, 2025

Judge Beverly J. Cannone · Trial 2 · 2 proceedings · 1,329 utterances

Day 13 of 36
Appearing:
🛡️ Alan Jackson 👮 Yuri Bukhenik

Alan Jackson's cross-examination of Sergeant Bukhenik exposes chain-of-custody failures, unverified phone evidence, and forces a key concession that Karen Read's SUV made contact with the Traverse parked at 34 Fairview.

Full day summary

Day 13 consisted entirely of Alan Jackson's cross-examination of Sergeant Yuri Bukhenik, split across two proceedings. Jackson systematically attacked the integrity of the physical evidence collection at 34 Fairview Road, establishing that 20 fragments gathered February 10th were photographed nowhere, plotted with no coordinates, and handed to an unidentified person — while large taillight pieces appeared on subsequent Proctor-only visits to an area Bukhenik had already searched. Jackson then introduced the full Higgins-Read text message chain, which Bukhenik conceded Higgins provided voluntarily without a forensic phone extraction, and which investigators never independently verified. In the afternoon, Jackson forced Bukhenik to concede that the SUV's right rear area made physical contact with the Chevy Traverse at 5:07 a.m. — walking back prior testimony that the vehicles merely came 'near' each other. Additional damage came from revelations that neither Higgins's nor Brian Albert's phones were ever sought by investigators, that eyewitnesses D'Antuono and Maxon went uninterviewed for eighteen months, and that the Albert family dog was rehomed through an intermediary with no transfer records and a new name.

Key Moments
  • Jackson establishes that evidence collected February 10th at 34 Fairview was not photographed, not plotted, and turned over to an unidentified person with a six-day gap before crime lab submission.
  • Bukhenik reads the complete Higgins-Read text exchange aloud, including Higgins calling Read 'hot' and 'witty' and their escalating plans to meet, ending with Read's message 'John died.'
  • Enhanced Ring doorbell video leads Bukhenik to concede the SUV's right rear made physical contact with the Traverse, contradicting his earlier testimony that the vehicles only came 'near' each other.
  • Jackson establishes investigators never sought forensic extraction of Brian Higgins's or Brian Albert's phones despite both men's proximity to the victim and the crime scene.
  • Bukhenik acknowledges eyewitnesses D'Antuono and Maxon were not interviewed until September 2023 — eighteen months after John O'Keefe's death.
Notable Quotes
Alan Jackson
“So, you had the evidence and turned it over to someone whom you don't know and can't identify. Is that what we understand?”
Encapsulates the day's central evidence-handling failure: a lead investigator in a homicide case cannot identify who received critical physical evidence.
Yuri Bukhenik
“Logically speaking, the two vehicles had to have come into contact for the tire to move.”
The day's pivotal factual concession — Bukhenik abandons 'near' and acknowledges contact, directly supporting the defense's account of right-rear taillight damage at 34 Fairview.
Yuri Bukhenik
“My opinion is that it's an angry girlfriend trying to set up a hookup — to her John. To her John.”
Bukhenik volunteers an interpretive characterization of Read's motive rather than describing the evidence neutrally, the clearest on-record signal of investigative bias.

Yuri Bukhenik - Cross (Part 2)

Defense attorney Jackson cross-examines Sergeant Bukhenik on evidence collection gaps, Higgins-Read communications, and investigative delays.

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Cross
Yuri Bukhenik Alan Jackson
677 utt.

Attorney Alan Jackson cross-examined Sergeant Bukhenik on two major fronts. First, Jackson methodically exposed gaps in evidence documentation at 34 Fairview Road: the February 10th collection of 20 plastic and glass fragments was not photographed, not plotted with coordinates, and the evidence bag was filled out by an unidentified person. Jackson demonstrated a chain-of-custody gap from February 10th to March 14th when items were finally submitted to the crime lab by Michael Proctor. Jackson then showed that large taillight pieces — one approximately 6 inches wide, others 7-8 inches — were allegedly found by Proctor on February 11th and 18th in the same area Bukhenik had searched the day prior with little snow on the ground. In the second half, Jackson introduced the full text message string between Brian Higgins and Karen Read that Higgins voluntarily provided to investigators without a forensic phone extraction. Bukhenik read the messages aloud, revealing weeks of escalating flirtation, discussions of mutual attraction, invitations to Higgins's home, and Read confiding about relationship problems with O'Keefe — culminating in Read's final message: 'John died.'

Cross
Yuri Bukhenik Alan Jackson
652 utt.

Attorney Alan Jackson continued cross-examining Sergeant Bukhenik across several investigative fronts. Jackson pressed Bukhenik on his characterization of the Higgins-Read text messages, with Bukhenik offering that Read was seeking 'emotional revenge' rather than acknowledging a mutual romantic interest — though he conceded Higgins called Read 'hot' and 'witty' and pursued plans to meet. Jackson established that investigators never secured Brian Higgins's or Brian Albert's phones for forensic extraction, relying instead on materials Higgins voluntarily provided, and that Bukhenik was unaware of a 2:22 a.m. call between Higgins and Albert on January 29th. Jackson played Waterfall bar surveillance showing Higgins and Albert 'squaring off' in fighting stances while O'Keefe stood apart at the bar, then showed enhanced Ring doorbell video that led Bukhenik to concede the SUV's right rear area made contact with the parked Chevy Traverse — contradicting his prior testimony that the vehicles merely came 'near' each other. Jackson then exposed that the Albert family dog Chloe was rehomed through an intermediary with no transfer records, renamed Cora, and that Bukhenik's report omitted the new owner's identity. The examination concluded with Jackson highlighting systemic report-writing delays (some exceeding 500 days) and that eyewitnesses D'Antuono and Maxon were not interviewed until September 2023 — a year and a half after the incident.

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