Commonwealth v. Read — Trial Archive
Trial 2 Trial Day
◀ Day 1 Trial 2 Day 3 ▶

Day 2 - April 23, 2025

Roberts, O'Keefe, Guarino, Whitley

Judge Beverly J. Cannone
10Proceedings
8Pages
4Witnesses
2,801Lines
Day 2 of 36
Appearing:
Hank BrennanAlan JacksonDavid YannettiKerry RobertsNicholas GuarinoDaniel WhitleyMargaret O'Keefe

On cross and recross, Kerry Roberts says she did not hear Read ask McCabe to Google hypothermia and agrees that her grand jury answer was false; Margaret O'Keefe recounts Read telling her, 'I left him there.'

Full day summary

Day 2 centered on Kerry Roberts, whose testimony across direct, cross, redirect, and recross occupied most of the day. On direct, Roberts described finding O'Keefe's snow-covered body, performing CPR, and Read's repeated 'Did I hit him?' questions at the scene. On cross, Roberts said she had not personally heard Read ask Jennifer McCabe to Google hypothermia and said she had misunderstood the grand jury question after Jackson described her answer as false; she had participated with McCabe in creating a timeline. On recross, Roberts agreed that her answer was false while maintaining that it was unintentional and based on a misunderstanding. Jackson also questioned her about an interrupted 'how long' phrase, but Roberts said she did not recall it. Margaret O'Keefe then recounted Read's statement that she 'left him at the party' and described Read's behavior at the hospital. The day's closing witnesses were Trooper Guarino, who laid a digital-forensics foundation, and paramedic Daniel Whitley, who testified about Read's demeanor. Yannetti challenged Whitley's later 'snarky' characterization by noting its absence from his February police interview and the partner-authored patient-care report; Whitley said the term would not be medically appropriate report language.

Key Moments
  • Roberts says she did not hear Read ask McCabe to Google hypothermia and agrees that her grand jury answer was false; she says it was based on a timeline she and McCabe created.
  • On recross, Jackson questions Roberts about the grand jury answer and an interrupted 'how long' phrase; Roberts agrees that the answer was false while maintaining that she misunderstood the question.
  • Margaret O'Keefe testifies that Read told her by phone the morning of January 29: 'We went to a party. I left him there.'
  • Yannetti uses the absence of Whitley's 'snarky' characterization from his February police interview and the partner-authored patient-care record to challenge it; Whitley says 'snarky' would not be medically appropriate report language.
  • Judge Cannone reserves ruling on a video clip of Read claiming that Margaret O'Keefe told her John 'looked like he was hit by a car' — a statement Peggy O'Keefe denied on the stand.
Notable Quotes
Kerry Roberts
“I did not hear her ask that. I was told she was asked that.”
Roberts says she did not personally hear the Google hypothermia exchange and that her grand jury answer relied on McCabe's account rather than her own observation.
Kerry Roberts
“I did.”
After Jackson reviews the grand jury question, Roberts agrees that her answer was false and says she had misunderstood what was being asked.
Margaret O'Keefe
“She um — I asked her what happened and she said, 'We went to a party. I left him there.' I said, 'You just left him there?' She said, 'Yes, I just left him there.'”
Margaret O'Keefe recounts Read telling her on the morning John O'Keefe was found, 'We went to a party. I left him there.'
Video thumbnail for Day 2 — Roberts, O'Keefe, Guarino, Whitley 7h 24m
Watch →

1. Procedural — Motions

Motions on Guarino's consolidated exhibits and McCabe health-watch rebuttal preceded ARCCA voir dire scheduling; Judge Cannone separately raised 105+ deleted texts, while an unidentified speaker discussed a 30-day auto-delete policy.

→
Procedural
Procedural - Motions
50 lines

ADA Brennan informed the court he consolidated Trooper Guarino's text message and phone call exhibits into a chronological PowerPoint for easier presentation, noting the content is unchanged from Trial 1. He also disclosed a second PowerPoint containing Jennifer McCabe's health watch heart rate data from midnight onward, offered as potential rebuttal if the defense raises the 2:27 a.m. phone call, arguing the data is inconsistent with a criminal conspiracy. Judge Cannone granted the defense time to review the materials and deferred Guarino's testimony. Separately, the parties discussed scheduling a Monday afternoon voir dire for ARCCA defense experts from Pennsylvania, with Judge Cannone ordering that any contemplated testing be completed by then. The judge raised concern that 105 or more text messages were deleted and said the pending-case issue needed clarification. A neighboring, unresolved-orator discussion also addressed a 30-day auto-delete policy.

2. Kerry Roberts — Direct (Part 2)

Kerry Roberts describes the snow-covered body, CPR, injuries, grass beneath O'Keefe, Read's repeated questions, her later party statement, and phone handling.

→
Direct
Kerry Roberts Hank Brennan
550 lines

3. Kerry Roberts — Cross

Jackson cross-examines Kerry Roberts about DA-office contacts, coordination with Jennifer McCabe, and her lack of firsthand knowledge of the grand-jury Google-search testimony.

→
Cross
Kerry Roberts Alan Jackson
813 lines

4. Kerry Roberts — Redirect/Recross

Roberts's redirect and recross dispute her grand-jury Google-hypothermia testimony; recross includes her false-answer admission, while the page closes with tail-light video playback and the lunch recess.

→
Redirect
Kerry Roberts Hank Brennan
235 lines
Recross
Kerry Roberts Alan Jackson
61 lines
Procedural
Procedural - Motions
6 lines

5. Margaret O'Keefe — Direct

Margaret O'Keefe recounts learning of John's death, Read's statements and hospital conduct, and the later home visit; the defense waived cross-examination.

→
Direct
Margaret O'Keefe Hank Brennan
198 lines
Cross Waived
Margaret O'Keefe - Cross waived Alan Jackson
2 lines

6. Procedural — Motions

Sidebar dispute over two video clips of Karen Read's statements: Brennan argued consciousness of guilt, Jackson withdrew his objection to clip 4, and the judge reserved ruling on clip 5.

→
Procedural
Procedural - Motions
44 lines

ADA Brennan sought to introduce two video clips (labeled 4 and 5) of Karen Read's statements. Clip 4 showed Read describing feeling watched warily and uncomfortable at the O'Keefe home, and saying she wanted to leave because she believed John's mother thought she had done something to John. Brennan argued that removing the Lexus with the broken tail light from the scene was consciousness of guilt evidence. Jackson said he disagreed with that argument but withdrew his objection to clip 4, which was admitted. Clip 5 contained Read's statement that Peggy O'Keefe told her John looked like he was hit by a car — a claim Peggy O'Keefe denied on the stand. Jackson objected to clip 5 as improper impeachment of the prosecution's own witness and argued the video format was more prejudicial than probative. Brennan countered that the statement qualifies as a party admission, not impeachment. Judge Cannone admitted clip 4 but reserved ruling on clip 5 until the following morning.

Procedural
Video Playback
3 lines

7. Nicholas Guarino — Direct (Part 1)

Trooper Nicholas Guarino explains phone-extraction methods, hash-based data integrity, and the foundational forensic work involving phones tied to O'Keefe, Read, Roberts, and McCabe.

→
Direct
Nicholas Guarino Hank Brennan
356 lines

8. Daniel Whitley — Direct/Cross

Paramedic Daniel Whitley describes Read's statements, demeanor, and hospital transport; cross-examination challenges the later 'snarky' account and explores his Canton connections. The court then releases the jury.

→
Direct
Daniel Whitley Hank Brennan
161 lines
Cross
Daniel Whitley David Yannetti
303 lines
Procedural
Procedural - Motions
19 lines
◀ Day 1 Trial 2 Day 3 ▶