DEDHAM, MASS. (WHDH) – Jurors heard from a state police homicide detective and a pair of forensic scientists from the state police crime lab as the Karen Read murder trial marked its 20th day of testimony Wednesday.
Taking the stand near 12:30 p.m., Trooper Sgt. Yuriy Bukhenik followed testimony from state police crime lab workers Ashley Vallier and Christina Hanley.
While on the stand, Bukhenik showed jurors the clothing Boston police officer John O’Keefe was wearing the night he died, prompting tears from some in the courtroom.
Read is facing charges including second degree murder after prosecutors said she hit O’Keefe with her SUV and left him to die after dropping him off outside the Canton home of Brian and Nicole Albert.
O’Keefe was dating Read when he died.
Read’s defense has said she is being framed, saying O’Keefe was actually beaten to death during a party inside the Albert home.
State police forensic scientist continues testimony
Vallier first testified on Monday as the third in a series of witnesses who work for the Massachusetts State Police.
During testimony, jurors saw photos of damage to Read’s SUV and pictures of broken tail light plastic found at the crime scene in Canton.
Back on the witness stand Wednesday, Vallier viewed more pictures of broken tail light plastic and explained her process for examining such evidence.
Vallier said she is able to look at broken edges of objects to see if they fit together, “kind of like a jigsaw puzzle.”
The prosecution showed pictures of a reassembled tail light cover from Read’s SUV and Vallier said she concluded the pieces were “at one time together as a larger unit.”
On cross examination, defense attorney David Yannetti asked Vallier which state trooper delivered the evidence in this case to the state police crime lab where she worked.
After initially saying she did not know what happened to the evidence before it came to the lab, Vallier checked her records and said it was…