In explaining why he believed this video was so important to the case, Karen Read's attorney, Alan Jackson, said: "Somebody had to put that on the inverted, the manipulated, the altered video on purpose."
The Karen Read trial saw yet another twist on Thursday as her defense team continued to question members of the Massachusetts State Police about their handling of the investigation into the murder of John O'Keefe.
First to take the stand on Thursday was MSP Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik, who was the on-duty supervisor on the day of John O'Keefe's death. It was the second day of testimony for Bukhenik, and during cross-examination, the defense asked him about a police video of Read's SUV.
The vehicle is at the center of the case, as it is the physical evidence prosecutors are trying to use to connect Read to the crime scene. The defense's questions on Thursday were not about the SUV at the crime scene, but rather the SUV once it had been seized from Read by police as evidence in the case.
Read's attorney, Alan Jackson, pulled up a video of Read's car from inside the Canton Police Department's (CPD) parking garage while questioning Bukhenik and pointed out that the footage was mirrored, which the witness confirmed. When asked why the footage would have been mirrored, Bukhenik admitted he did not know. Jackson then said Bukhenik failed to acknowledge this fact when discussing the video in his testimony on Wednesday when he said no one touched the vehicle after it was seized as evidence.
Outside court on Thursday, Jackson explained why he believed this video was so important to the case.
"The video is inverted, it's completely inverted. It's a mirror image, which suggests that the driver side is the passenger side and vice versa but the timestamp across the bottom is not inverted, which means somebody had to put that on - the inverted, the manipulated, the altered video on purpose," Jackson told reporters.
Read's defense team initially claimed that they believed Read's taillight was broken after her vehicle was seized by the CPD and that the shards were then planted at the scene of the crime.
The CPD would eventually recuse themselves from the investigation since O'Keefe's body was discovered at the home of Brian Albert, and Albert's brother Kevin Albert is a member of the Canton police force.
The defense claims that O'Keefe died after an altercation in Brian Albert's home and that those involved made the decision to frame Read for his murder. Brian Albert and his brother Kevin have never been charged in connection to the death of O'Keefe, nor have they been charged with any wrongdoing in connection to the Read case.
The Alberts have not responded to requests for comment.
On Thursday, the defense attempted to bolster the claim that Read is being framed by pointing out what they perceived as flaws in the police investigation into the crime.
The defense tried that same tactic on Wednesday when multiple members of the MSP forensic team said on cross-examination that they did not know why it took six weeks for their lab to get important evidence in the case. Those witnesses also told Read's attorneys that they knew nothing about the chain of custody from the time that evidence was collected at the crime scene to when it was received in their lab.
The man believed by the defense to be responsible for that delay, MSP Trooper Matthew Proctor, will likely take the stand next week. It is unknown why Proctor waited so long to submit the evidence and he, like all of the witnesses for the prosecution, has never spoken publicly about the case. Read had been charged in connection to O'Keefe's death less than a week after he was found dead. Read's defense team in court has pointed out Proctor's close relationship with several members of law enforcement connected to the case, including Brian Albert.
Proctor is also the focus of an internal investigation by MSP over "a potential violation of Department policy," a police spokesperson tells Inside Edition Digital. The reason for the investigation is not being shared by the MSP at this time and the spokesperson said that the trooper "remains on full duty."
Proctor has not been charged with any crime or wrongdoing, and the MSP will not say if the internal investigation into the trooper is related to the Read case.
"Trooper Proctor has been fully cooperative in responding to the investigations conducted by the US Attorney’s Office and the Massachusetts State Police Internal Affairs Unit," Proctor's lawyer Michael R. DiStefano tells Inside Edition Digital. "To be clear, Trooper Proctor remains steadfast in the integrity of the work he performed investigating the death of Mr. John O’Keefe."
Read's fate will be decided after her murder trial in Norfolk County Superior Court, which is expected to last two months. Crowds of people have gathered each day outside the Karen Read trial to cheer on the defendant and at times antagonize O'Keefe's family members and friends, leading some to accuse Read's supporters of witness intimidation. O'Keefe's loved ones were seen in court fighting back tears on Tuesday as the 911 call made the morning that his body was discovered was played for the jury.
O'Keefe had been raising his niece and nephew for eight years at the time of his death, gaining custody of the two in 2014 after the children lost their mother, O'Keefe's sister, to a brain tumor, and their father to a heart attack over just months. O'Keefe's mother has now lost two of her three children.
Judge Beverly Cannone is presiding over the proceedings and has been quick to admonish both the prosecution and defense when she believes they have disobeyed her orders. Adam Lally, an assistant district attorney in Norfolk County, is the lead prosecutor.
Read's initial defense attorney, David Yannetti, is now her second attorney, while her lead attorney in the case is Jackson. He served as the assistant head deputy for the major crimes division at the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office and has previously represented high-profile defendants, including Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, and Phil Spector.
Jury selection lasted two weeks in the case, which comes almost two years after a grand jury indicted Read.
Read is charged with second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while driving under the influence, and leaving the scene of a collision causing injury or death. She has entered a plea of not guilty to all three counts.
She faces a possible life sentence if convicted of murder.
Related Stories
