Day 25 - June 2, 2025

Diamandis, Dever, Russell

12Proceedings

4Pages

3Witnesses

2,130Lines

Day 25 of 36

Appearing:

The defense completes authentication of Proctor's group texts. Canton Police officer Kelly Dever testifies that defense attorneys threatened her with perjury when she said her earlier Sallyport observation was mistaken. Dr. Marie Russell then testifies about her dog-bite opinion before Brennan begins cross-examination.

Full day summary

Day 25 opened with the conclusion of Jonathan Diamandis's testimony authenticating Michael Proctor's group text chain before the jury. Brennan read several messages aloud and asked Diamandis whether Proctor had ever suggested planting or tampering with evidence. Kelly Dever, a former Canton Police officer called by the defense about Higgins and Berkowitz in the Sallyport with Read's SUV, testified that she later concluded her original observation was a false memory. She said that during a pretrial phone call, members of the defense team raised their voices, threatened her with perjury, and pressed her to repeat testimony she no longer believed. Jackson challenged her account by noting that attorneys cannot bring criminal charges, that Dever had no FBI report documenting the alleged threat, that she watched trial clips during sequestration, and that she is friends with Sarah Levinson. The afternoon shifted to forensics as defense expert Dr. Marie Russell testified that O'Keefe's arm wounds were caused by dog bites and called the pattern pathognomonic. Brennan then began cross-examining her prior dog-bite experience and the development of her opinions.

Key Moments

Diamandis authenticated Proctor's group text chain before the jury. Brennan asked whether Proctor had ever suggested planting or tampering with evidence; Diamandis said he had not.
Dever testified that, during a pretrial phone call after she said her earlier Sallyport observation was mistaken, members of the defense team raised their voices and threatened her with perjury if she did not repeat it.
On cross-examination, Jackson asked whether defense attorneys can charge crimes, whether Dever had an FBI report documenting the alleged threat, and whether she had said that she expected criticism because she was changing her testimony.
Dever testified that she had known Sarah Levinson since middle school, had seen small clips of the trial, and was not aware of the sequestration order.
Dr. Marie Russell testified to a reasonable degree of medical certainty that O'Keefe's arm wounds were inflicted by a dog attack, characterizing the wound pattern as pathognomonic, before Brennan cross-examined her on having no prior forensic dog bite credentials and initiating her own involvement in the case.

Notable Quotes

Kelly Dever

“They became very aggressive, raised their voices, and the one word that I can very definitely remember is they said that they would charge me with perjury.”

Dever testifies that defense attorneys raised their voices and threatened her with perjury after she said that her earlier Sallyport observation was mistaken.

Kelly Dever

“My entire job revolves around what I say on the stand right now. If I were to lie, I lose my job. I lose everything. I'm here to tell the truth. I cannot lie while sitting on this stand.”

Dever says she understood truthful testimony to be a condition of keeping her job.

Marie Russell

“Those wounds were inflicted as the result of a dog attack.”

Russell's central opinion characterizing O'Keefe's right-arm wounds as highly specific for a dog attack, before Brennan began cross-examining her qualifications and opinion development.