Day 22 - May 28, 2025

Judge Cannone delivers her ruling on Dr. Judson Welcher's expert testimony. She permits him to testify that the Lexus data and damage are consistent with a collision on January 29th at 12:32 a.m., and that O'Keefe's injuries are consistent with being struck by a physically identical Lexus. However, she bars Welcher from testifying that Read's specific Lexus collided with O'Keefe, finding that conclusion relies on inference beyond scientific methodology — an inference the jury is equally positioned to draw. Brennan and Alessi then resolve a dispute over exhibit slides 131 and 132, confirming that a previously struck slide can be revisited with a corrected heading. The jury enters and Judge Cannone conducts the standard morning inquiry.

Prosecutor Hank Brennan concludes direct examination of Dr. Judson Welcher. Welcher testifies that his three arm-to-tail-light contact tests left no paint transfer, and that tail light damage is consistent with a collision at speeds greater than approximately 8 mph. He offers his opinion that O'Keefe's arm lacerations and head injuries are consistent with being struck by a Lexus and falling onto a hard frozen surface on January 29, 2022. Welcher then provides extended testimony on sideswipe versus direct pedestrian impacts, explaining that glancing contacts involve incomplete momentum transfer and can produce severe upper body injuries without lower extremity fractures. He presents a prior case from Los Angeles — a 25-35 mph fatal pedestrian impact that produced arm lacerations, brain injury, and rib fractures but no leg fractures — as an analogue. Brennan moves Welcher's PowerPoint presentation into evidence.

Prosecutor Hank Brennan conducts a brief redirect examination of Dr. Judson Welcher, limited to two minutes by the judge. Brennan addresses two points raised during cross-examination. First, he establishes that while Welcher used a photograph from the CARS report, he did not rely on Trooper Paul's analysis, conclusions, or report — the photo was used solely as a demonstrative, and Welcher conducted his own independent analysis including downloading data and inspecting the vehicle separately. Second, Brennan clarifies Welcher's relationship to Dr. Scordi-Bello's autopsy findings: Welcher relied on the physical injury descriptions (skull fractures, trauma) from her report but did not adopt her conclusions regarding cause or manner of death, and never consulted with her about her expertise limitations.

In a brief two-question recross, defense attorney Robert Alessi pins down Dr. Welcher on his use of Dr. Scordi-Bello's autopsy report. During redirect, Brennan had established that Welcher relied only on physical injury descriptions, not Scordi-Bello's conclusions. Alessi closes the loop by getting Welcher to confirm that the highlighted portions of the final diagnosis on slide 130 of his presentation were included precisely because he considered them as part of his analysis. Welcher attempts to distinguish between the final diagnosis and the cause/manner of death determinations, but ultimately concedes the point.