Day 14 - May 12, 2025

Judge Beverly J. Cannone · Trial 2 · 4 proceedings · 1,983 lines

Day 14 of 36

Appearing:

Jackson challenged Bukhenik over corrected sallyport video and a camera-feed time jump; redirect covered video inversion and fragment recoveries. On recross, Bukhenik said a Higgins-jealousy aspect was not pursued and had no information on logged phone steps.

Full day summary

Day 14 concluded Alan Jackson's cross-examination of Sergeant Yuri Bukhenik, followed by redirect and recross. Jackson challenged Bukhenik with corrected sallyport video; Bukhenik said it reflected his memory and that, if the person was Proctor, he appeared to walk to the SUV's right rear. A separate feed showed a timestamp jump, but the testimony did not establish its cause. Jackson also questioned Bukhenik about a performance review written after the 'no nudes so far' text chain; Bukhenik said the text did not show integrity or honor. On redirect, ADA Brennan elicited that the camera had recorded inverted before January 29 and introduced Proctor-recovered fragments not covered on direct. On recross, Bukhenik said a possible Higgins-jealousy aspect was not followed up and, after the court narrowed an objected-to phone-data question, said he had no information about logged steps on O'Keefe's phone.

Key Moments

Jackson showed corrected sallyport video; Bukhenik said it reflected his memory and that, if the person was Proctor, he appeared to walk to the SUV's right rear. An opposite feed showed a timestamp jump whose cause the testimony did not establish.
Jackson questioned Bukhenik about a performance review written after the 'no nudes so far' text chain. Bukhenik said he acknowledged the chain with a thumbs-up and later testified that the text did not show integrity or honor.
On redirect, Brennan introduced Proctor-recovered fragments not covered on direct after cross had raised the recoveries, and elicited testimony that the camera recorded inverted before January 29, 2022.
On recross, Bukhenik said a Higgins-jealousy aspect was a possibility but was not followed up. He also said he personally took no forensic action on the jeans stains, while testifying that the jeans had been processed and that he did not know the laboratory protocol.
Jackson ended recross with an objected-to premise about phone health data and 36 logged steps. After the court narrowed the question, Bukhenik said he had no information about logged steps on O'Keefe's phone.

Notable Quotes

Alan Jackson

“Motorcycles? Handbags? A pair of shoes? Or naked pictures of Miss Karen Read?”

Jackson pressed Bukhenik on what Proctor's 'no nudes so far' text meant after Bukhenik testified that he acknowledged the chain with a thumbs-up but had no memory of reading the additional text.

Yuri Bukhenik

“This footage, the way it is depicted right now, very accurately represents what I remember from being there.”

Bukhenik said the corrected video accurately reflected his memory and that, if the person was Proctor, he appeared to walk to the SUV's right rear. The testimony did not establish contact with the taillight or the reason for the mirrored presentation.

Yuri Bukhenik

“There's a possibility there, but I didn't see it.”

Bukhenik said a Higgins-jealousy aspect was a possibility but was not followed up based on the totality of the investigation; the exchange reflected the defense's challenge to that investigative decision.

Watch this day Day 14 — Bukhenik (Cross/Redirect/Recross) Watch with synced transcript →

Recross

Yuri Bukhenik Alan Jackson

167 lines

Attorney Alan Jackson conducted recross examination of Sergeant Bukhenik across several threads. Jackson first established that Brian Higgins requested his interview be conducted at his lawyer's office despite not being a suspect, then pressed Bukhenik on whether the Higgins-Read text messages showed a motive for jealousy — with Bukhenik eventually conceding 'there's a possibility there, but I didn't see it.' Jackson revisited Waterfall bar surveillance and questioned Bukhenik about an interaction between Brian Higgins and Chris Albert, challenged Bukhenik's grass-stain impression of staining on O'Keefe's jeans, and elicited that Bukhenik personally took no forensic follow-up action regarding the stains; Bukhenik said the jeans had been processed but he did not know the laboratory protocol. Jackson also challenged the lack of extraction of Higgins's phone. Jackson concluded by asserting that phone health data recorded 36 steps covering 84 feet at 12:32 a.m. on January 29 and theorizing that it placed O'Keefe inside 34 Fairview Road. After an objection, the judge narrowed the question to whether Bukhenik had information about logged steps; he said no.

Procedural

Procedural - Motions

10 lines

Before the jury enters, Judge Cannone addresses motions received that morning and directs the discussion to the Bowden issues. Commonwealth attorney Brennan argues his Bowden memorandum, contending that characterization evidence is inadmissible and that defense questions should have a basis and intended substantive follow-up. He says Bowden permits questions about investigators' state of mind and the scope of the investigation, but argues that questions going beyond those boundaries introduce inadmissible third-party evidence. Judge Cannone directs discussion of specific materials Sergeant Bukhenik has not examined to sidebar because of protective orders. The jury is then brought in and given standard morning instructions.

Cross

Yuri Bukhenik Alan Jackson

972 lines

Attorney Alan Jackson continued cross-examining Sergeant Bukhenik across several fronts. He established that the Albert family owned a Ford Edge seen by a snowplow driver at 34 Fairview around 3:30 a.m. on January 29, and that Ring Corporation data showed no evidence Karen Read accessed O'Keefe's Ring account — though MSP investigators themselves opened the Ring app on O'Keefe's phone. Jackson confronted Bukhenik with the August 2022 group text chain in which Proctor wrote 'No nudes so far' while searching Read's phone and used a redacted slur to describe her. Bukhenik acknowledged a thumbs-up response in the chain, but said he had no memory of reading the slur and later said he never saw it; Jackson also questioned him about taking no remedial action. Jackson then revealed that Bukhenik gave Proctor an 'outstanding' rating for investigative ability and praised his 'strict integrity' in an October 2022 performance review — after the text chain. Jackson introduced Canton PD exterior surveillance showing Brian Higgins arriving at the station in his Jeep Wrangler with plow at approximately 1:27 a.m. on January 29, entering the building for several minutes, using a phone at 1:34 a.m., accessing multiple vehicles, and departing around 1:45 a.m. Finally, Jackson showed that the native sallyport interior video was horizontally mirrored. Bukhenik said the corrected view accurately represented his memory and stated that, if the person was Proctor, he appeared to walk to the right rear of the SUV. The opposite camera feed jumped from approximately 5:07:10 or :12 to 5:50:47 p.m.; Bukhenik said activity referenced around 5:35 or 5:36 did not appear in that feed.

Redirect

Yuri Bukhenik Hank Brennan

834 lines

ADA Hank Brennan conducted an extensive redirect examination of Sergeant Yuri Bukhenik covering three main areas. First, Brennan addressed sallyport video issues raised on cross by introducing January 1, 2022 video, clarified front-wall video, and Bukhenik's testimony that the camera had recorded inverted before January 29. Bukhenik testified that he and Proctor were together, though not 'tied at the hip,' within eyesight and traveling together at Canton PD; he said he did not see an exchange of physical items. Second, Brennan walked through Bukhenik's investigative decision-making chronologically—from the initial call through witness interviews, hospital visit, the Dighton interview of Read, and later reports concerning statements attributed to Read; the court instructed that such reports were not admitted for their truth but to show information provided to police. Third, after cross raised items not covered on direct, Brennan introduced physical evidence bags containing fragments recovered by Proctor on three separate dates and elicited testimony about snow depth, grass staining on O'Keefe's jeans, and the hat frozen flat to the ground.

◀ Day 13 Trial 2 Day 15 ▶

Day 14 - May 12, 2025

Yuri Bukhenik — Recross

Yuri Bukhenik — Cross (Part 3)

Yuri Bukhenik — Redirect