Watch the full coverage of the live stream on The Emily D Baker YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/live/bmNghhaIVik

Day 20 of the Karen Read Retrial happened on May 21, 2025. Involving court delays, individual jurors questioned at sidebar, and a shift in witness order. Judge Cannone addressed the jury when they came back from the inquiry and asked them if they refrained from doing research or independent investigations. She noted that she had already asked them about discussing the case with anyone or seeing, hearing or reading information about the case. Their seats were rearranged and the court day moved forward.

Dr. Aizik Wolf, a neuro brain surgeon, testified about the injuries to John O'Keefe's head, stating they were consistent with a fall backward. The doctor also clarified that other facial lacerations would not have been caused by this type of fall.

Scientific evidence from Christina Hanley, a Trace Analyst, a state crime lab, analyzed the glass and plastic fragments. She linked clear and red plastic pieces from John O'Keefe's clothing to the tail light housing. Defense Attorney, Alan Jackson, presented a demonstrative exhibit showing which evidence items matched and which didn't. The ones that didn't match were collected by Trooper Michael Proctor.

RESOURCES

Retrial Day 17 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_Lo2vXvHyM

What You Need to Know About the Retrial - https://youtu.be/89Jpa8vz1RQ

Karen Read Retrial Playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsbUyvZas7gKOJlfL__9F027hlETVU-vo

Karen Read Trial - 2024 - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsbUyvZas7gKUeCUzApgsEuQRXu5IXeTS

Watch the full coverage of the live stream on The Emily D Baker YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/live/IJgD247smlQ

Day 19 of the Karen Read Retrial happened on May 20, 2025. Defense Attorney, Robert Alessi, continued cross examining Shanon Burgess. Questions arose regarding the accuracy of dates and timeline in the expert's analysis, with errors of 24 hours. Burgess kept saying that the event happened the night of January 29-30th when in reality is it was January 28-29th.

Shanon's analysis of call logs, text streams, and vehicle data was scrutinized. There were concerns about the use of approximate times and potential confirmation bias. The expert did not have the raw data for the techstream information, he instead got it from Welcher's report.

During redirect examination, Special Prosecutor, Hank Brennan, attempted to clarify Burgess' credentials and data interpretation. Pointing out that he didn't need that degree to perform his job and that work life balance made it a challenge to complete his degree.

On Re-Cross Examination, Alessi pointed out that in a federal court filing in Texas, Burgess' resume stated he was anticipating a BGS - Bachelor of General Science in 2024. There is no Bachelor of General Science degree in Alabama and he has been pursuing this degree since 2008.

The use of the Commonwealths presenting video and audio clips, especially the voicemail, appears to be related to establishing a timeline of Karen Read's movements and actions around the time of John O'Keefe's death. The defense may use it to show her actions were consistent, while the prosecution may use it to point out inconsistencies. The 12:25/12:30 timeframe she gives for John's passing may be challenged given her audio from the voicemail at 12:41AM.

Later in the day, Christina Hanley, a trace analyst expert witness from the lab testified about a mechanical match on glass. The court adjourned early after sidebar discussions. We'll get back to her on Day 20.

RESOURCES

Retrial Day 10 - Voicemails - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2vEF0vxG2w

What You Need to Know About the Retrial - https://youtu.be/89Jpa8vz1RQ

Karen Read Retrial Playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsbUyvZas7gKOJlfL__9F027hlETVU-vo

Karen Read Trial - 2024 - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsbUyvZas7gKUeCUzApgsEuQRXu5IXeTS

Watch the full coverage of the live stream on The Emily D Baker YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/live/Hi_HNpRVySA

Day 18 of the Karen Read Retrial happened on May 19, 2025. Shanon Burgess, a Digital Forensic Examiner from Aperture, is witness number 35. His testimony revolves around correlating the timing of events from Karen Read's Lexus vehicle data and John O'Keefe's phone location data.

Burgess provided detailed explanations of Lexus infotainment system data (Lexus clock and techstream data), key cycles, triggering events (like a three-point turn), and how this data was correlated with the data from John O'Keefe's iPhone. Time variances between the Lexus clock and the iPhone clock and the significance of these variances in relation to when O'Keefe's phone was locked.

Defense Attorney, Robert Alessi, strongly challenged Burgess's credibility during cross examination by highlighting discrepancies and potential misrepresentations in his CV (resume), Aperture website information, and LinkedIn profile concerning his educational background and degrees.

Questions were also raised about a report Burgess submitted on May 8th, at the request of the prosecution. Burgess stated he did it on his own initiative due to the report from the Defense's expert. It was thought that he did it at the request of the prosecutor but attributed the "per your request" statement to a copy-paste error.

Alessi further challenged Burgess's understanding of data storage (megabits vs. megabytes) and the completeness of data extractions from the vehicle's chips. This could significantly impact the jury's perception of Shanon's testimony and the prosecution's case. The errors and inconsistencies in his statements, reports, and qualifications raise serious questions about the reliability of his expert opinions. There's more cross examination to come on Day 19.

RESOURCES

What You Need to Know About the Retrial - https://youtu.be/89Jpa8vz1RQ

Karen Read Retrial Playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsbUyvZas7gKOJlfL__9F027hlETVU-vo

Karen Read Trial - 2024 - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsbUyvZas7gKUeCUzApgsEuQRXu5IXeTS