DEDHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - Two witnesses took the stand on Wednesday in the Karen Read murder retrial.
Digital forensics expert, Jessica Hyde, takes the stand
A Google search from the morning John O’Keefe’s body was found was the focus of some of Wednesday’s testimony in the Karen Read murder retrial.
The prosecution called Jessica Hyde, a digital forensics expert, to the stand.
She corroborated a prior witness who testified that Jennifer McCabe’s “hos long to die in cold” Google search happened not at 2:27 a.m. the night O’Keefe died, as the defense claims, but after 6 a.m., after McCabe and Read discovered O’Keefe’s body.
Read is accused of killing O’Keefe, her boyfriend, by hitting him with her car and leaving him to die in a snowbank after a night of drinking in 2022. Her lawyers argue she is being framed. Her first trial last summer ended in a mistrial.
Hyde also disputed McCabe tried to delete any searches from her phone, explaining that a regular phone user cannot just delete searches from the metadata. She testified that McCabe did not delete a 2:27 a.m. Google search
“My opinion, there is no deletion that occurred by the user because it is not something a user can delete,” Hyde said.
She and the defense talked over each other as Hyde defended her conclusions.
“Isn’t it correct that it isn’t my theory when the steps…” Robert Alessi began.
“It’s not,” Hyde said.
“Could you please let me finish?” Alessi asked.
“Oh absolutely,” Hyde said.
On cross-examination, the defense pointed out some components of Hyde’s testimony that contradicted with what the prosecution’s prior cell phone expert witness, Ian Whiffin, said. This included a roughly 10-minute difference in which the two experts said O’Keefe last interacted with his phone.
“What I can state to a scientific degree of certainty is that the search occurred at 6:24 a.m. and was the last search in the tab that had been opened at 2:27,” Hyde said.
Massachusetts State Police Trooper, Connor Keefe, takes the stand
Massachusetts State Police Trooper Connor Keefe, who collected evidence at the scene where Boston police officer O’Keefe was found dead, took the witness stand.
He held up pieces of evidence in the courtroom, including a sneaker and what appeared to be parts of a tail light.
The defense questioned him regarding O’Keefe’s autopsy, which he was present for. Keefe denied providing any theory to the Medical Examiner’s office about what happened to O’Keefe.
He said O’Keefe had two black eyes and a swollen right eye during his autopsy.
On Tuesday, jurors heard Read’s profanity-filled voicemails to O’Keefe after dropping him off at a home in Canton the night he died.
Her calls continued early that morning before O’Keefe’s body was found. State Police Trooper Nick Guarino testified that Read tried calling her boyfriend more than 50 times over nearly six hours.
The jury also heard from the State Police lieutenant who led the search at 34 Fairview Road in Canton and a local meteorologist.
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