Day 9 - May 5, 2025

Continuing cross-examination from the previous Friday, defense attorney David Yannetti methodically attacks the foundation of Hannah Knowles's BAC calculations. He establishes that Good Samaritan Hospital's blood testing cannot be vouched for by the MSP Crime Lab, that no confirmatory testing was performed, and that the serum-to-whole-blood conversion factor is inherently imprecise — with studies showing conversion rates as high as 1.59 versus the 1.13–1.19 range Knowles used. Yannetti then targets the retrograde extrapolation, eliciting that the resulting range of 0.14% to 0.28% is so wide that 'point twenty-eight is double point fourteen.' He secures Knowles's admission that if Karen Read consumed any alcohol after 12:45 a.m. — the assumed last-drink time — 'the foundation of my calculations would be incorrect.' Yannetti closes by asking whether Knowles was ever asked to calculate the BAC of Brian Albert or anyone other than Karen Read.

On redirect, ADA Adam Lally walks Hannah Knowles back through the foundations challenged during cross-examination. Knowles confirms she has performed over a hundred serum conversions using the same approved protocols, that the conversion factors are derived from published studies designed to capture interpersonal variation, and that the updated 1.13–1.19 factors actually produce lower (more favorable to the defendant) results than the prior 1.12–1.18 range. She testifies that less than 5% of alcohol is eliminated through the bladder, minimizing that line of cross-examination questioning. Lally concludes by having Knowles restate that Karen Read's converted BAC at 9:08 a.m. was 0.078–0.082%, and her retrograde-calculated BAC at 12:45 a.m. was 0.14–0.28% — with every number in that range above 0.08.

Ryan Nagel, a 32-year-old Canton resident, testifies that after leaving C.F. McCarthy's around midnight on January 28-29, 2022, he rode with friend Ricky and ex-girlfriend Heather Maxon to 34 Fairview Road to pick up his sister Juliana from Brian Albert Jr.'s house. As they approached via Cedarcrest Road, a black SUV turned right onto Fairview just ahead of them and remained in front the entire time. After parking at the driveway for approximately five minutes, Nagel saw the SUV's brake lights activate once and the vehicle move forward about a car length. When leaving, he glimpsed a woman with her hands at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel, illuminated by the dome light, but could not identify her. Brennan methodically established that Nagel never saw anyone exit the SUV, walk across the yard, enter either door of the house, or stand outside the vehicles during the entire time at Fairview.

David Yannetti cross-examines Ryan Nagel, methodically establishing that the black SUV Nagel observed on Cedarcrest and Fairview Road was being driven safely — proper speed, staying in lane, using directionals, and responding appropriately to Ricky D'Antuono's flashed headlights. Yannetti uses a map exhibit (Exhibit 49) to orient the jury on the geography of the intersection and Nagel's positioning. Nagel confirms the snow had not yet accumulated on the pavement, and he saw no tire marks behind the SUV or anywhere in the street. When Ricky's truck passed the parked SUV, the dome light illuminated the front compartment, revealing a lone woman with long hair staring straight ahead with hands at 10 and 2 — no passenger visible, specifically no 6'1" man in the passenger seat. Nagel heard no arguing, yelling, or screaming from the vehicle.

Hank Brennan redirects Ryan Nagel to reinforce key prosecution observations from the night of January 28-29, 2022. Brennan establishes the timeline more precisely — Nagel arrived around 12:30 and left before 12:35, when snow was just starting to fall with grass still visible through a light coating and the ground likely frozen. Brennan then walks Nagel through what he did not see: no missing or white-glowing sections of the SUV's tail lights, no person lying on the ground near the flag pole, and no one else visible inside or on the far side of the SUV besides the lone woman in the driver's seat. Using Exhibit 16 (a photograph of a man), Brennan confirms Nagel never saw that individual walking across the yard, approaching a door, or entering the house at any point.

David Yannetti conducts a brief recross consisting of a single line of questioning. He asks Ryan Nagel to confirm his earlier cross-examination testimony that the passenger seat of the black SUV was empty. Nagel affirms he is not changing that testimony. The witness is then excused by Judge Cannone.

Prosecutor Hank Brennan calls Heather Maxon, who dated Ryan Nagel at the time of the incident. Maxon recounts that after drinking at C.F. McCarthy's and the Hillside, she rode in the back seat of friend Ricky's truck to pick up Ryan's sister Julie from a house on Fairview Road. At an intersection, they yielded to an SUV making a right turn onto the same street, and Maxon saw a female driver and male front-seat passenger inside. The truck parked behind the SUV on the street. During their brief stop, Maxon never saw anyone exit the SUV, walk across the yard, or pass by on the street — only Julie came outside. When they departed, Maxon saw the same female still in the driver's seat with an interior light on, but did not see the male passenger. She did not study the vehicle's interior and looked only in passing.

David Yannetti's cross-examination of Heather Maxon focuses on undermining her testimony that no one exited the SUV. He establishes that Maxon was tired, had been drinking, and was focused on picking up Julie rather than watching the SUV. Yannetti gets Maxon to concede she cannot say with certainty whether she was checking her cell phone during the wait, meaning she may not have been watching the SUV continuously. He confirms she had no reason to monitor the vehicle and did not know its occupants. The cross concludes with Maxon agreeing she never saw a 6-foot tall off-duty police officer in the SUV at any point on Fairview Road.

In a short redirect of seven questions, prosecutor Hank Brennan addresses the defense's cross-examination theme that Maxon may not have been watching the SUV. Brennan establishes that Maxon was not facing away from the house and SUV while in the truck, and that she was at least partially engaged in the conversation with Julie. He concludes by having Maxon confirm she never saw anyone other than Julie come in or out of the house. Yannetti objects to the final question but is overruled, and the witness is dismissed.

Sarah Levinson, a 26-year-old nurse, testifies on direct examination about the evening of January 28, 2022, at 34 Fairview Road. She arrived between 7-8 PM with Julie Nagel for Brian Albert Jr.'s birthday celebration. She describes the house layout in detail, including entrances, the kitchen/dining area, basement access, and sightlines to the front yard. The younger group (Courtney Alba, Kathryn Doody, Emily Fabiano, Mary Kent, and briefly Colin Albert) left before midnight, after which the adult group arrived around midnight: Brian Albert Sr., Brian Higgins, Nicole Albert, Caitlin Albert, and Jennifer and Matthew McCabe. Levinson testified the mood was consistently positive with no arguments. She left between 1:30-2:00 AM via the front door with Julie Nagel, riding home with the McCabes. She describes a dusting of snow with grass still visible, and recounts looking at her feet while walking arm-in-arm with Nagel due to poor shoe traction. She did not look at the front yard or flag pole area as they departed.

Alan Jackson establishes Sarah Levinson's long friendship with the Albert family and her 20+ visits to 34 Fairview Road, then highlights that she had never met the family dog Chloe despite those visits. He walks through her departure around 1:30 AM — the flat, lit yard with a clear sightline to the flag pole — eliciting that she saw nothing unusual, though she qualifies she was looking down at her shoes. Jackson traces Matt McCabe's movements retrieving a forgotten jacket, establishing he walked the front path twice. The cross concludes with the delay in law enforcement contact: no one from law enforcement reached out for nine months until Trooper Michael Proctor interviewed her in October 2022, and Levinson acknowledges she spoke with Julie Nagel about the subject matter of the interview beforehand.

ADA Brennan conducts a short redirect of Sarah Levinson using a photograph of 34 Fairview Road. He addresses the cross-examination implication that exterior lighting would have made objects on the lawn visible, eliciting that the light inside the house did not illuminate the ground near the flag pole and fire hydrant. Levinson confirms she was not looking at or studying the flag pole area, bushes, or fire hydrant when she left, and had no reason to do so.

On redirect, ADA Hank Brennan addresses two lines of attack from Jackson's cross-examination. First, Brennan establishes that McLaughlin did not merely identify Caitlin Albert as a high school acquaintance and leave it there — she described the relationship 'over 20 times' during prior testimony, characterizing Albert as an acquaintance rather than a close friend, with no one-on-one friendship. Second, Brennan rehabilitates McLaughlin's failure to document or follow up on Karen Read's 'I hit him' statement by eliciting that McLaughlin did not know this was a homicide investigation, that Read never specified what she hit O'Keefe with, and that McLaughlin's role as a paramedic was medical care, not investigation. The proceeding concludes with McLaughlin's emotional statement that she will never forget Read's words.

In a short recross of approximately 30 utterances, defense attorney Alan Jackson pursues two lines. First, he gets McLaughlin to agree the scene was disturbing and emotional, then pivots to suggest that such conditions cause details to be missed — setting up a contrast with her certainty that Read said 'I hit him' rather than 'Did I hit him?' or 'Could I hit him?' McLaughlin maintains she heard 'I hit him' repeatedly and never heard those alternative phrasings. Jackson then briefly touches on her expanded testimony about Caitlin Albert before returning to whether Trooper Proctor told McLaughlin that Officer Kevin Albert had coordinated her interview. McLaughlin denies any knowledge of this, and the witness is excused.