Karen Read trial: Cops testify about 911 calls as jury questions weather's impact on blood samples
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
DEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS: The Karen Read trial entered its second week on Monday, May 6, in Massachusetts, where jurors listened to 911 calls.
The day 5 trial is being held at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, as per NBC Boston.
Read faces charges of killing Boston Police officer John O'Keefe, whose body was discovered outside Brain Albert’s Canton home during a snowstorm.
She has entered a plea of not guilty, with her attorneys asserting that she is being framed as part of an intricate cover-up orchestrated by law enforcement.
Lt Paul Gallagher describes crime scene struggles
The first person to take the stand on Monday was Canton Police Lt Paul Gallagher, who was responsible for preserving the crime scene where O'Keefe was found.
He said he got a 911 call around 6 am from Sgt. Sean Goode, the police department's shift supervisor, telling him that O'Keefe had been found unresponsive in the snow.
Gallagher went to the scene on Fairview Road, but O'Keefe was no longer there by the time he arrived.
After getting updates from two sergeants at the scene, they decided to process it. Gallagher said there was about 4 inches of snow on the ground when he went to where O'Keefe's body was found. He said it was a "unique scene" because of the weather.
He noticed some light pink spots in the snow, which might have been blood. They used a leaf blower to remove the snow in a "controlled fashion."
Prosecutors showed photos of the scene, including a broken glass and pink spots, which Gallagher said were blood.
They also showed a video of Gallagher using the leaf blower. After removing some snow, they found the broken glass and pinkish-reddish spots, which Gallagher said were blood.
He explained, “We were concerned with the weather destroying biological evidence at that time. We were trying to take the snow that had fallen over the blood. We were trying to remove it to expose the blood.”
Since the blood samples were frozen, they collected them in plastic cups and gave them to state police. Gallagher also talked about examining Karen Read's SUV, which prosecutors say she used to hit O'Keefe.
Defense attorney Alan Jackson cross-examines Paul Gallagher
Under cross examination, Defense attorney Alan Jackson asked Gallagher if he wrote a report about his role, but he said he did not.
Jackson said accuracy was important and asked if Gallagher made a diagram showing where the glass or blood evidence were found, but he said he did not.
Gallagher also confirmed that they had never processed a crime scene in the snow before and had never used a leaf blower.
He said they improvised and used red Solo cups provided by a member of the Canton Police Department who lived nearby to collect blood evidence.
Jackson asked if he found a shoe or broken tail light pieces at the scene, but Gallagher said he did not.
Jackson also showed pictures of Read's SUV, focusing on a dirty rag and a Stop & Shop grocery bag, questioning if they were evidence bags.
He also showed a paper bag with blood samples from the scene, asking if having it close to the SUV was a recipe for cross-contamination.
Gallagher said it could be. He later explained that the evidence was being transferred to state police investigators at that time, overseen by a criminologist.
