Commonwealth v. Read — Trial Archive
Trial 2 Trial Day
◀ Day 32 Trial 2 Day 34 ▶

Day 33 - June 13, 2025

Judge Beverly J. Cannone · Trial 2 · 5 proceedings · 294 utterances

Day 33 of 36

Both sides deliver closing arguments before Judge Cannone instructs the jury, which retires to deliberate at the end of Day 33.

Full day summary

Day 33 centers on closing arguments from both the defense and prosecution. Alan Jackson opens for the defense, arguing across three pillars: no medical expert confirmed a vehicle collision, the investigation was corrupted by Michael Proctor's bias, and the Commonwealth's physical evidence — taillight fragments, hair, sweatshirt holes — is unreliable. ADA Hank Brennan answers for the prosecution, anchoring the Commonwealth's case in digital forensic data: the Lexus black box, O'Keefe's cell phone health data, and Waze tracking, while dismissing the defense's alternative theories and framing Proctor's misconduct as legally irrelevant to the physical evidence. Judge Cannone then delivers jury instructions covering the elements of all three charges, lesser includeds, and deliberation procedures. Six alternates are excused by random selection, a foreperson is seated from seat one, and the jury retires. At day's end the judge admonishes jurors against research or discussion over the weekend and dismisses them until Monday.

Key Moments
  • Alan Jackson delivers the defense closing, arguing no medical expert — including the Commonwealth's own Dr. Scordi-Bello — testified that John O'Keefe's injuries resulted from a vehicle collision.
  • Jackson invokes Michael Proctor's text messages and Kelly Dever's recantation as evidence of systematic investigative corruption favoring the Albert family.
  • ADA Hank Brennan presents the prosecution's closing, distilling the case to 'She was drunk. She hit him and she left him to die,' and argues the digital data establishes an unbroken timeline.
  • Judge Cannone instructs the jury on second-degree murder, manslaughter while OUI, motor vehicle homicide, OUI, and leaving the scene, including a specific instruction permitting the jury to weigh investigative omissions.
  • Six alternate jurors are excused by random selection, the foreperson is appointed from seat one, and the jury retires to begin deliberations.
Notable Quotes
Alan Jackson
“Not a single medical expert — think about this — not a single medical expert called by the defense or called by the Commonwealth has testified that John was hit by a car. Not one.”
Jackson's most concentrated summation of the defense case — that the complete absence of medical testimony supporting a collision is the trial's central fact.
Hank Brennan
“She was drunk. She hit him and she left him to die.”
Brennan's refrain, repeated throughout the prosecution closing, distills the Commonwealth's theory of the case to its starkest and most memorable form.
Beverly J. Cannone
“You have heard some evidence suggesting that the Commonwealth did not conduct certain scientific tests or otherwise follow standard procedure during the police investigation. This is a factor you may consider in evaluating the evidence presented in this case.”
Judge Cannone's instruction authorizing the jury to weigh investigative omissions directly validates the defense's central corruption narrative at the moment of deliberation.

Closing Argument - Defense

Defense attorney Alan Jackson delivers his closing argument, asserting there was no vehicle collision and that the investigation was corrupted by lead investigator Michael Proctor's bias and personal loyalties.

→
Closing
Closing Argument - Alan Jackson
90 utt.

Alan Jackson structured his closing around three pillars: the science shows no collision occurred, the investigation was fundamentally corrupted, and the Commonwealth's evidence cannot be trusted. He reviewed testimony from medical experts including Dr. Scordi-Bello, Dr. Laposata, Dr. Wolfe, and Dr. Rentschler, arguing none found evidence of a vehicle impact on John O'Keefe's body. He highlighted Brian Higgins's agitated behavior at the Waterfall Bar, the failure to investigate 34 Fairview Road, Jennifer McCabe's 2:27 a.m. Google search, and Michael Proctor's biased text messages. Jackson also attacked the Commonwealth's physical evidence — the taillight fragments, the hair on the bumper, and the sweatshirt holes — as unreliable or misleading, and characterized Officer Kelly Dever's recantation as police pressure to protect fellow officers.

+1 procedural segment

Closing Argument - Commonwealth

Prosecutor Hank Brennan delivers the Commonwealth's closing argument, presenting the timeline evidence, black box data, and Karen Read's own statements as proof she struck John O'Keefe with her Lexus and left him to die.

→
Closing
Closing Argument - Hank Brennan
96 utt.

ADA Hank Brennan presents the prosecution's closing argument across approximately 80 minutes, systematically walking the jury through the Commonwealth's case. He anchors the argument in digital data — the Lexus black box, John O'Keefe's cell phone health data, battery temperature readings, and Waze location tracking — to establish an unbroken timeline from the Waterfall Bar to 34 Fairview Road. Brennan plays recorded clips of Karen Read's own words acknowledging she may have hit O'Keefe, her alcohol consumption, and her knowledge of his location. He addresses the defense theories directly, arguing there is no evidence O'Keefe ever entered the Albert house, dismissing the dog bite theory by highlighting contradictions between defense experts Russell and Laposata, and contextualizing Trooper Proctor's misconduct as irrelevant to the physical evidence. Brennan closes by explaining the legal elements of all three charges — second-degree murder, OUI manslaughter, and leaving the scene — and asks the jury to follow the data to its conclusion.

+1 procedural segment

Jury Instructions

Judge Cannone delivers full jury instructions covering presumption of innocence, reasonable doubt, the three charged offenses and their lesser included offenses, and deliberation guidelines before the jury retires.

→
Jury Instruction
Jury Instructions
86 utt.

Judge Cannone instructs the jury in three parts: general principles (presumption of innocence, burden of proof, reasonable doubt, role of jury, evidence rules, credibility assessment, circumstantial evidence, defendant's right not to testify); the elements of each charge (second-degree murder, manslaughter while OUI with lesser includeds of involuntary manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide, and OUI, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death); and deliberation procedures. Six alternate jurors are excused by random selection, a foreperson is appointed from seat one, court officers are sworn, and the jury retires to deliberate.

Procedural - Exhibits

After the jury begins deliberations, counsel addresses final exhibit matters before the judge dismisses the jury at the end of the first day with standard admonitions.

→
Procedural
Procedural - Exhibits
9 utt.

After jury instructions and the start of deliberations, counsel reconvenes to handle remaining exhibit matters. ADA Lally raises Exhibit 155, which requires a single-line redaction that defense attorney Little had previously identified. The Commonwealth agrees to the redaction without objection, and Judge Cannone personally redacts the line with a Sharpie. The judge then asks both sides to review the verdict slips, noting they differ from what was provided the previous day. Attorney Yannetti indicates he anticipated the changes.

Procedural
Procedural - Jury Dismissed
2 utt.

Judge Cannone addresses the jury at the end of the first day of deliberations, acknowledging the long day and thanking them for their service. She delivers standard admonitions: no discussing the case with anyone including each other, no independent research or investigation, avoid media coverage and social media, and no deliberation discussions even upon arrival Monday morning before being called into court. The same instructions apply to the alternate jurors. The judge dismisses the jury until Monday morning. The remainder of the second utterance contains livestream commentary that bled into the transcript from the YouTube source.

◀ Day 32 Trial 2 Day 34 ▶