Search team leader recalls finding taillight, John O'Keefe's shoe at crime scene in Karen Read trial
Karen Read pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the death of Boston police officer John O’Keefe and is facing a retrial after a jury was unable to reach a verdict last year.
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Massachusetts State Police Officer Nicholas Guarino returned to the witness stand on Tuesday with prosecutor Hank Brennan asking him to relay communications from Karen Read to John O’Keefe in the early morning hours of Jan. 29, 2022.
“John, I f—ing hate you,” Read can be heard screaming in a voicemail left on O’Keefe’s phone at 12:37 a.m.
Phone records show Read continued to call O’Keefe repeatedly, clocking 52 calls in under six hours.
“John, I’m here with your f—ing kids and nobody knows what the f— you want, you f—ing pervert,” Read said in a third voicemail.
Guarino testified Read repeatedly called O’Keefe without him answering while leaving multiple voicemails.
“Yeah it’s one in the morning, I’m with your f—ing niece and nephew you f—-ing pervert,” Read said in a fifth voicemail. “You’re a f—ing pervert.”
Brennan went on to play Read’s sixth voicemail.
“John, I’m going home. I cannot [unintelligible]," Read said. “I need to go home. You are f—ing using me right now, you’re f—ing another girl, [Your niece] is sleeping next to me. You’re a f—ing loser, f— yourself.
Read’s 52nd call to O’Keefe was made at 6:03 a.m., capturing the moment O’Keefe’s body was discovered outside 34 Fairview.
Read can be heard screaming and asking for Kerry Roberts, who was present outside 34 Fairview, in the background while a woman gives identifying information regarding O’Keefe on a separate phone call.
Grace Edwards, an Essex County-based criminal defense attorney who has been closely following the case, told Fox News Digital that the calls paint Read as someone who was unaware of O'Keefe's death at the time.
"They are of a hysterical girlfriend, frantic," she said. "She doesn't know what happened."
Karen Read smiles as she talks with her attorneys during her trial at Norfolk Superior Court, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Matt Stone/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool)
Following State Police Lt. Kevin O’Hara’s testimony, Judge Beverly Cannone dismissed the jurors in Karen Read’s trial for the day.
Prosecutor Hank Brennan directs the jury’s attention to a photo of a broken vehicle taillight during State Police Lt. Kevin O’Hara’s testimony in Karen Read’s trial. (Pool)
Prosecutor Hank Brennan called State Police Lt. Kevin O’Hara, the team commander for the State Police Special Emergency Response Team (SERT), to the witness stand on Tuesday afternoon. O’Hara led a search team at 34 Fairview the evening after John O’Keefe’s body was discovered in the front yard.
Upon arriving at the home, O’Hara’s team found a piece of a broken car taillight at approximately 5:45 p.m. Minutes later, the search team located O’Keefe’s missing sneaker up against a curb outside 34 Fairview.
O’Hara testified his team searched the area for about one hour and did not return following the end of their investigation.
Upon being cross-examined by defense attorney Alan Jackson, O’Hara testified five members of law enforcement - including Lt. Brian Tully - that he did not recognize arrived at the scene after his team began their search.
O’Hara also told Jackson he noticed an unknown man wearing a hooded sweatshirt exit the house and stand in the front porch area, but the individual did not interact with any of the investigators on scene.
Jackson went on to ask O’Hara about his knowledge of additional pieces of taillights being found at the crime scene after his search team left.
“When did you become aware that over the next days and several weeks, there would be 40 more pieces of taillight claimed to be recovered at the scene?” Jackson asked.
"No, I was aware other pieces were located, I did not know that was the number and I don't know exactly when I became aware of that,” O’Hara said.
“And you don’t know, as you sit here, whom it was that received those pieces, right?” Jackson said.
“No, I’ve never seen the evidence log, sir,” Jackson said.
Karen Read’s vehicle is seen in police dash cam footage parked in John O’Keefe’s driveway with a broken taillight in the hours after O’Keefe’s body was found. (Pool)
Following a lunch recess, prosecutor Hank Brennan called Canton Police Lieutenant Charles Rae to the witness stand. Rae conducted a wellness check for John O’Keefe’s young niece and nephew the morning after his body was discovered outside 34 Fairview.
Brennan played dash cam footage from Rae’s police cruiser showing Karen Read’s vehicle - with a broken taillight - parked in O’Keefe’s driveway at 8:23 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2022.
The prosecutor also showed footage of Brennan arriving at O’Keefe’s home to check on his young niece and nephew after he was taken to the hospital. Following a short line of direct examination and no cross-examination from the defense, Rae concluded his testimony.
Ex-Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell is charged in Sandra Birchmore's murder. (AP | IMAGN)
Prosecutors filed a motion Tuesday asking a judge to bar references to Sandra Birchmore’s murder investigation in Karen Read’s trial.
Birchmore was found dead in her Massachusetts home on Feb. 4, 2021, with the Canton Police Department initially ruling she died by suicide. However, investigators later determined Birchmore was strangled to death, leading to the arrest of Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell.
Following Read’s first trial, the Canton Police Department was audited by independent agency, 5Si.
"Our team has not discovered any information that would indicate that any actions by Canton PD officers or detectives were a part of a conspiracy to frame any individual for the murder of Mr. O’Keefe," 5Si found.
Auditors also referenced Birchmore’s case and ultimately recommended supervisors review all death cases for accuracy.
In a court filing obtained by Fox News Digital, prosecutors in Read’s trial asked a judge to prohibit testimony regarding “any investigations” conducted by law enforcement, citing “the circumstances surrounding the February 2021 death of Ms. Birchmore are not related or material to the death of John O'Keefe.”
Following meteorologist Robert Gilman’s direct examination, defense attorney Robert Alessi looked to nail down the weather conditions outside 34 Fairview as John O’Keefe was dying in the front yard on the morning of Jan. 29, 2022.
Gilman testified that, due to the snowstorm, the visibility in the area was approximately 1.2 miles at 1 a.m.
After Gilman’s testimony concluded, the prosecution called Massachusetts State Police Officer Nicholas Guarino to the witness stand for a second time.
Meteorologist Robert Gilman refers to a forecasting document showing the expected weather conditions on Jan. 29, 2022. (Pool)
Meteorologist Robert Gilman testified during direct examination by prosecutor Adam Lally regarding the weather at 34 Fairview the morning of John O’Keefe’s death on Jan. 29, 2022.
Gilman tracked steady snowfall throughout the morning, with approximately four inches accumulating between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m., and the winter storm increasing in intensity at around 5 a.m.
By 6 p.m. on Jan. 29, 2022, the storm had accumulated approximately two feet of snow, making it the biggest January snowstorm in the area’s history. Gilman went on to use a forecasting document from Jan. 29, 2022 to illustrate how the snow was falling throughout the entire day.
Gilman explained the temperature was unusually cold in late January 2022, with the temperature dropping to approximately 24 degrees at around 6 a.m. on the morning O’Keefe’s body was found.
“The ground was frozen, the soil was frozen,” Gilman said. “The surface of the ground was frozen and it would have made the ground impenetrable.”
Meteorologist Robert Gilman testifies on the witness stand in Karen Read’s trial on Tuesday. (Pool)
Following testimony from retired Canton Police Lt. Paul Gallagher, prosecutor Hank Brennan called meteorologist Robert Gilman to the witness stand.
Retired Lt. Paul Gallagher, of the Canton Police Department, takes the stand during the Karen Read trial at Norfolk Superior Court, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Matt Stone/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool)
During defense attorney Alan Jackson’s follow-up line of questioning to Canton Police Lt. Paul Gallagher ended in fireworks as Jackson grilled Gallagher on when he became aware that his friend, Brian Higgins, was at 34 Fairview the night before John O’Keefe’s death.
"Might have been a good idea, Mr. Gallagher, since you happened to be there," Jackson said. "No sweat off your brow, just sit [Brian] Albert down and say, 'By the way, I've got a pen and paper. Who was here?'"
While on the stand, Gallagher admitted that Sgt. Michael Lank knew Higgins was inside the house on the evening of Jan. 28, 2022. Gallagher testified he was not made aware until he read Lank’s report after the fact, despite returning with Lank to the address for a second time that morning to speak with witness Jennifer McCabe.
“When you were standing in the house, Sgt. Lank, who you just told these jurors, knew that Brian Higgins and everybody else was there,” Jackson said.
“He had obtained the names, he hadn’t written the report yet,” Gallagher said.
“And hadn’t told his boss?” Jackson pressed.
“I don’t recall,” Gallagher said.
“Even though you two went together to interview yet another witness,” Jackson said.
“That’s correct,” Gallagher replied.
Following the tense back-and-forth, Jackson continued to grill Gallagher about routine investigatory steps that were not taken on the morning of Jan. 29, 2022 - including searching the house and canvassing the neighborhood.
Defense attorney Alan Jackson questions Canton Fire Department paramedic/firefighter Katie McLaughlin during the Karen Read trial, Monday May 5, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
Defense attorney Alan Jackson grilled retired Canton Police Lt. Paul Gallagher on the department’s handling of evidence gathered from 34 Fairview after John O’Keefe’s death.
Jackson presented photos taken between Jan. 29 and Feb. 1, 2022 showing the red Solo cups of John O’Keefe’s blood gathered from the crime scene and the generic shopping bags used to transport evidence from 34 Fairview.
“We've agreed already that the blood was stored in non-sterile Solo cups, correct?” Jackson asked.
“Correct,” Gallagher said.
“We've agreed that those cups were not sealed, the cups themselves were not sealed,” Jackson continued. “There was no cap, there was no plastic Saran wrap - nothing put over the cups, correct?”
“That is correct,” Gallagher said.
Jackson pressed Gallagher on his decision to keep the unsealed bags in a temporary evidence room for three days before being taken to a lab.
“So you don't know where that bag had been?” Jackson said. ‘You don't know who had handled those cups before you pulled them out of that temporary evidence locker, correct?”
"I have no personal knowledge of anybody else, I have no personal knowledge,” Gallagher said. “I took them out of the refrigerator, that's all I can testify.”
Defense attorney Alan Jackson shows retired Canton Police Lt. Paul Gallagher a photo of an exterior Arlo home security camera facing on a house located across the street from 34 Fairview. (Pool)
Defense attorney Alan Jackson called retired Canton Police Lt. Paul Gallagher to the witness stand on Tuesday to resume cross-examination in Karen Read’s trial.
During Gallagher’s testimony, Jackson revealed a home directly across the street from 34 Fairview and owned by Canton Deputy Chief Thomas Keleher was equipped with an exterior Arlo home security camera. .
“Did you seek to secure any footage from that Arlo camera?” Jackson asked.
“I did not,” Gallagher said.
“Did you talk to Deputy Chief Keleher about that footage?” Jackson said.
“I don’t remember specifically,” Gallagher replied.
Gallagher went on to claim Keleher’s security camera only captures the front doorstep and a portion of the front lawn of the home, and therefore would not have footage of 34 Fairview.
“Do you believe that it would have been best practice to go ahead and secure that footage so we don't have to take anybody's word for it, we could actually look at the footage ourselves?” Jackson asked.
“I didn’t do that,” Gallagher said.
Judge Beverly Cannone looks on during the Karen Read trial at Norfolk Superior Court, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Matt Stone /The Boston Herald via AP, Pool)
Judge Beverly Cannone has called Court into session, with the 10th day of Karen Read’s trial starting with retired Canton Police Lt. Paul Gallagher returning to the stand to face off with defense attorney Alan Jackson.
Karen Read arrived at Norfolk Superior Court on Tuesday morning for the tenth day of her murder retrial, where retired Canton Police Lieutenant Paul Gallagher is expected to resume his testimony under cross-examination by defense attorney Alan Jackson.
Retired Lt. Paul Gallagher, of the Canton Police Department, takes the stand during the Karen Read trial, Monday, May 5, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
Special prosecutor Hank Brennan churned through witnesses Monday, calling a blood-alcohol expert, a young couple who saw Read's car outside before prosecutors believe O'Keefe was struck and killed, a paramedic and the former Canton cop who used a leaf blower and red Solo cups to collect evidence.
Former Canton Lt. Paul Gallagher, who was the supervisor on scene after O'Keefe had been transported to Good Samaritan Hospital, was the decision maker responsible for a number of unorthodox methods used to collect evidence on the morning of Jan. 29, 2022.
At one point, Gallagher denied having any knowledge that disgraced Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor was the lead investigator on the case, prompting a visible reaction from Read at the defense table, who mouthed words that did not reach the courthouse microphones.
Defense attorney Alan Jackson took issue with the lax standards of evidence collection during a grueling cross-examination, questioning Gallagher about his lack of a firsthand account in writing, potential contamination of the blood evidence, and an unclear chain of custody or evidence logs.
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Karen Read listens to testimony during her trial, Monday May 5, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
Karen Read’s trial resumes Tuesday with retired Canton Police Lt. Paul Gallagher expected to resume cross-examination on the department’s investigation into Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe’s death at 34 Fairview on Jan. 29, 2022.
Gallagher and defense attorney Alan Jackson on Monday sparred over the department’s decision to use red Solo cups and leaf blowers to preserve and collect evidence at the crime scene.
Read is in the third week of her retrial for the alleged murder of O’Keefe and faces a sentence of up to life in prison if convicted.
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