Karen Read trial: Crime lab expert testifies blood evidence was never tested

A forensic scientist from the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab revealed during Karen Read's murder trial that evidence collected in red Solo cups was never tested in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe Testimony Wednesday came from O'Keefe's niece whom he was caring for after her parents died within months of one another as well as forensic experts involved in the search for Read's Lexus SUV and crime lab testing Maureen Hartnett of the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab testified she revealed broken glass scratches and at least one dent on the back of Read's automobile as well as blood and debris recovered from O'Keefe's clothes She also swabbed the evidence that Canton Police collected in red Solo cups although she testified that it had never been tested As a product she couldn't even identify it as blood KAREN READ'S DEFENSE OPENS DOOR FOR SPECIAL PROSECUTOR TO BRING IN NEW EVIDENCE COURT DOCSShe collected samples for additional testing but testified that she did not perform testing herself That was someone else's responsibility She also testified she could not rule out that any of the damage to Read's SUV happened before Jan the morning O'Keefe died KAREN READ DEFENSE FLOATS THEORY THAT JEALOUS BRIAN HIGGINS FOUGHT JOHN O'KEEFE BEFORE DEATHThe red substance described as red-brown by the time she saw it was collected by Canton Police from the front lawn at Fairview Road under a dusting of snow at the spot where investigators considered O'Keefe had been located I think you test it anyway even if there is no chain of custody just to contextualize the episode disclosed Paul Mauro a retired NYPD investigator who is following the situation If there was a fight inside the house presumably O'Keefe would've fought back If the blood in the snow came back to one of the Alberts or Higgins if you're the defense you're doing backflips If the swabs still exist however the defense could ask for them to be tested in contemporary times he declared KAREN READ'S GOOGLE TIMELINE DERAILED AGAIN AS ND EXPERT DISPUTES DEFENSE CLAIMSBut police could also have done a better job collecting and documenting evidence especially after a series of instances when officers had to defend making uncommon decisions including having someone else fill out the level of an evidence bag using a grocery bag instead of an evidence bag and sending someone home to grab a leaf blower without sending anyone to the police station to get proper evidence-gathering containers Other awkward moments included an evidence bag with the wrong number of broken taillight shards and a brief delay after a state police sergeant was questioned to open a mislabeled evidence bag with one of the victim's sneakers inside You don't have to be doing homicide investigations daily to know that if you gathered a bunch of stuff from a crime scene preserve it and make sure it's logged into evidence so you can retrieve it later since you don't know where this is going Mauro noted If they knew enough and cared enough to take samples from the scene however imperfect they did it and they put each cup in a separate Stop and Shop bag initialed it closed it as good as they could in a blizzard It is unorthodox Not perfect but defensible GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUBDefense attorney Robert Alessi also demanded Hartnett about two photos purported to show the same lone hair sample recovered from the back of the SUV You could argue that the snow sealed it in there Mauro reported Read faces charges of second-degree murder drunk driving manslaughter and fleeing a deadly accident in O'Keefe's death Prosecutors allege she reversed her Lexus SUV into O'Keefe and left him to die on the ground during a blizzard She has pleaded not guilty to all charges and her lawyers say she never hit O'Keefe FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME COMPANY ON XSIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTERWhile prosecutors have shown photos of her broken taillight and investigators have testified that it played a role in their assertions against Read her lawyers played a close-up video of her appearing to back into O'Keefe's parked car before she and two other women determined O'Keefe on the ground outside the Fairview Road house A group of people had been there the night before for an after-party following a night out drinking Read speaking with reporters outside the courthouse claimed she saw O'Keefe leave the party before she left Other viewers testifying under oath communicated jurors that he did not go inside