Tuesday marks day 6 of witness testimony at the Karen read murder trial as first responders who were called to the scene of Boston police officer John O’Keefe’s death in Canton continue to testify.
Good morning from the Superior of Norfolk for the sixth day of testimony in the trial of Karen Read.
We are expected to arrive by 1pm today.
One of the things I believe I heard Jen McCabe say on the 911 call yesterday is “we just flipped him over.”
Others heard the same.
This would… pic.twitter.com/X5oJXsj88H-Ted Daniel (@TedDanielnews) May 7, 2024
TUESDAY, MAY 7, 2024
9:30 AM
9:50 am
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Yannetti shows the court a photo from the police report of what he classified as a “berm.” Goode says, “I believe it’s a photo of a piece of tail light.”
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Judge Beverly Cannone interrupts, sends the jury out of the courtroom and tells the defense and prosecution not to “waste” the jurors’ time with “repetitive evidence.”
The judge sends the jury out and tells both sides not to “waste” the jury’s time with “repetitive evidence”
-Ted Daniel (@TedDanielnews) May 7, 2024
10:05
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Yannetti asks the sergeant. Goode, why did a broken taillight photo replace another photo on the title page of your report months in which the report was first written.
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Sergeant Goode told Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally that the narrative of his report has not changed and the cover page “is not the essence of the report.” Goode tells Lally that when a new photo is added, it will become the top photo on the cover page.
10:20 am
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Lally calls Canton police lieutenant Michael Lank as the next witness. Cannone says, “Not yet” and tells the jury to leave. The defense questioned Lank yesterday about his ties to the Albert family without the jury present. O’Keefe’s body was found in the snow outside Brian Albert’s Canton home.
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Cannone sets ground rules for Jackson’s interrogation of Lank. The defense says Lank intervened in a fight on Chris Albert’s behalf. Jackson wants to get as much as he can.
10:40 am
Sergeant Lank told ADA Lally that he spoke with Sergeant Goode and then Jennifer McCabe when he arrived at the scene. He says his conversation with McCabe lasted “8 to 9 minutes.” He says he then called the State Police “because they investigate all deaths.”
-Ted Daniel (@TedDanielnews) May 7, 2024
10:50 am
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Lank told ADA Lally that he knew Brian Albert, “the oldest of the Albert brothers,” and had a “civil” relationship with him.
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Lank says he spoke with Brian Albert and Nicole Albert, noting that Brian “looked disheveled when he had just woken up.”
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“Ultimately, we observed what appeared to be drops of blood on the snow and on a cup,” Lank told the court.
10:55 am
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Lank says he entered Albert’s house three times, noting that “everything seemed in order.”
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Lank says the red Solo cups used to collect blood were placed in an “evidence bag” and then into his police truck, where he transported them to CPD. Lank says the cups were secured as temporary evidence.
Sergeant Lank told ADA Lally that “everything seemed in order” when he entered 34 Fairview.
-Ted Daniel (@TedDanielnews) May 7, 2024
11:05
11:15 am
Sergeant Lank told ADA Lally that this is a photograph of the tail light piece that the former Canton police chief reported finding 6 days after O’Keefe was killed. pic.twitter.com/QnL0fpKJto
-Ted Daniel (@TedDanielnews) May 7, 2024
11:50 am
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Defense attorney Alan Jackson told the court that Lank called dispatch and said, “I don’t know if he got into a fight or something,” referring to O’Keefe’s condition.
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Jackson asks, “Did you look for broken furniture…as evidence of a fight?” Lank responds, “I’ve never been through the lobby…I wouldn’t have a probable cause to do so.”
Jackson says Sergeant. Lank called dispatch and said, “I don’t know if he got into a fight or something,” referring to the state of J.O.
-Ted Daniel (@TedDanielnews) May 7, 2024
12:15
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Lank talking about the bag in which the red Solo cups with blood evidence were photographed: “It looks like an evidence bag, but it doesn’t say Canton police, it says Stop & Shop.”
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Fellow Canton police officers testified about the same paper bag on Monday.
12:45
PREVIOUS STORY:
A Canton police lieutenant and sergeant took position on Monday in Norfolk Superior Court, describing the use of red cups, a leaf blower and a shopping bag, used to find and store evidence at the scene of O’Keefe’s death.
Canton Police Lt. Sean Gallager testified Monday that he used a leaf blower to remove snow from the area where Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe’s body was found and searched for evidence outside 34 Fairview Road in Canton. in January 2022.
Blood from the crime scene was collected in red cups and placed in a Stop and Shop brown paper bag.
More photos were shown in the courtroom of the crime scene, while Canton police Sgt. Sean Goode pointed out blood and a broken glass in the snow and a 9-1-1 call made by prosecution witness Jennifer McCabe was played.
Last week, jurors traveled to Guangzhou for a tour of the crime scene outside retired police officer Brian Albert’s former home, where O’Keefe’s body was found.
Additionally, a focus during last week’s testimony was Read’s behavior and the words she uttered at the crime scene. Testimony of two police officers and two firefighters described Read as distraught and screaming and that O’Keefe had no pulse and was not breathing.
Prosecutors say Read dropped O’Keefe off at a party at that address shortly after midnight on January 29, 2022. When Read made a three-point turn, she allegedly struck O’Keefe and drove away, leaving him to die. like a blizzard it spread.
The state is using Read’s broken right taillight as evidence that she backed into O’Keefe with her SUV after a night of drinking.
Read’s attorneys plan to argue during the trial that someone other than Read was responsible for O’Keefe’s death, but have only suggested the theory that he was beaten inside 34 Fairview Road and left to die outside.
The defense criticized investigators for not searching the house where the party was held to see if a fight had occurred and argued that his injuries were consistent with a beating.
Leia, 44, of Mansfield, faces several charges including second-degree murder. She has pleaded not guilty to these charges.
RELATED VIDEO:
Witness statement in the Karen Read murder trial of Monday 6 May 2024
RELATED LINKS:
A murderous romance or a setup? Important things you should know so far about the Karen Read trial
Buffer zone for Karen Read murder trial will remain in effect, SJC rules in Massachusetts
‘Is he dead?’: Karen Read murder trial jurors shown police cruiser video on first day of testimony
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