Pretrial Review: Updated Timeline of Events on Jan 29, 2022: Date of John O'Keefe's Death
This one is lengthy:
During the first trial, witness testimonies were often scheduled in non-consecutive order and with numerous staggered trial dates. 74 witnesses and over 500 exhibits meant that it was difficult
to offer jurors a consistent linear timeline of events that occurred on Jan 29.
Details are significant: from the moment Karen allegedly strikes John with her vehicle and leaves the scene to the recovery of John's body, there were many multi-agency dynamics happening simultaneously thus making it difficult to follow all the evidence via a flowing timeline narrative.
We have since learned that the federal investigation is complete and there have been no indictments with regard to the defense's third party culprit theory. No findings that could definitively alter the murder charges brought against the sole suspect, Karen Read.
Additionally, Karen Read has helped enlighten the CW with her personal revelations in media interviews and we've only seen a sampling of that information.
I've included Karen's June 20, 2023 admission to Gretchen Voss of picking out taillight pieces from her Lexus in John's driveway after she realizes there is damage.
According to Hank Brennan, Karen states:
"I...when my car was seized, there was a few small pieces of taillight missing that I had picked out at John's at quarter of 6 before we drove over to Fairview. I'm showing Jen and Kerry: "Look at what I just did to my light and I'm worried that it's gonna... there's gonna be some kind of electric short circuit...there's like the bulb is showing and some of the red plastic is missing so I picked pieces out of the light housing that kind of collapsed within the light and dropped them in John's driveway."
This timeline will focus on the main events from the time John is struck to the culmination of the crime scene search. Some of the times not verified by cell data are approximate. (within minutes). Note that the 1:30 am phone call to her parents unanswered is speculative but has been mentioned by the CW and may be addressed in the second trial.
On January 29, 2022: Data from John's phone reveals Karen's Lexus moves right on Cedarcrest Road but went past Fairview Road. Her Lexus made a three-point turn and traveled back toward Fairview, turning onto the street and coming to a stop in front of 34 Fairview at 12:24 am. Between 12:25 am and 6:15 am, John O'Keefe's cell phone did not register any movement.
12:24 am: Lexus stops in front of 34 Fairview
12:27 am: Jennifer McCabe texts John: "Here?!"
12:29 am: John answers a call from Jen McCabe (8 seconds)
12:31 am: Jen texts John: "Pull behind me"
12:32 am: Lexus 2nd trigger event: vehicle in reverse at 24 mph
12:36 am: Karen's phone connects to WIFI at 1 Meadows -John's home
12:37 am: Karen leaves voicemail for John: "John I f*cking hate you!"
12:40 am: Jen texts John: "Hello"
12:41 am: (2 unanswered calls on John's phone from Jen)
12:42 am: Jen texts John: "Where are u"
12:42 am: Karen leaves voicemail (only sound of footsteps)
12:43 am: (1 unanswered call on John's phone from Jen)
12:45 am: Jen texts John: "Hello"
12:46-12:50 am: 3 unanswered calls on John's phone from Jen
12:55 am: Karen texts John: "I'm going home"
12:55 am: Karen texts John: "See u later"
12:59 am: Karen leaves voicemail for John: "John, I'm here with your f*cking kids and nobody knows where the f*ck you are...you f*cking pervert
1:02 am: Karen leaves voicemail: (1 second: no content)
1:02 am: Karen texts John: "your kids are f*cking ALONE"
1:09 am: Karen texts John: "I'm back in Mansfield. The kids are home alone
1:11 am: Karen leaves voicemail: "Yeah, it's 1:00 in the morning...I'm with your f*cking niece and nephew you f*cking pervert...YOU'RE A F*CKING PERVERT!
1:18 am: Karen leaves voicemail for John: "John, I'm going home. I cannot babysit your niece...you're f*cking using me right now...you're f*cking another girl... you're a fucking loser. F*ck yourself
1:30 am: Karen calls her parents (no answer)
1:43 am: Julie Nagel sees large black object near flagpole while leaving 34 Fairview but doesn't realize it's a body. Julie described the size of the object as 5 or 6 feet long. Witness and friend of Julie, Sara Levinson testifies on direct that she heard Julie state something to her as they drove past the area but defense objected to her statement and Judge Cannone sustained it.
Karen involves John's niece Kayley when she wakens her at 4:30 am. She begins to contact witnesses to accompany her in the search for John.
4:49 am: Karen calls Katie Camerano screaming, "Where's Mike?" (Katie's husband)
4:53 am: Karen has Kayley call Jen McCabe: KR says, "John didn't come home, we got in a fight and I left him at the Waterfall"
5:00 am: Karen calls Kerry Roberts saying, "John's dead! Kerry Kerry Kerry" and hangs up.
5:01 am: Karen calls Kerry Roberts again. She says, “I’m afraid John might be dead. He might have gotten hit by a plow,” “Kerry said, ‘OK, where are you now?’ And she said, ‘I’m driving. Can I come to your house? Will you drive my car? I don’t remember anything from last night. We drank so much, I don’t remember anything,"
5:07 am: Karen leaves 1 Meadows Ave
5:10 am: Karen calls Kerry Roberts. Kerry starts calling hospitals and calls Canton PD 911.
5:11 am: Black SUV seen on Canton Library Camera heading towards the Waterfall
5:18 am: Black SUV seen at Washington and Chapman on Temple Beth Abraham video
5:23 am: Karen leaves John a voice mail: "John was that you?!" (sounds anguished)
5:35 am: Karen arrives at Jen McCabe's house (instead of Kerry Roberts home) Jen testified that Karen came running up the path screaming, "we have to go back to Fairview!!" Kerry Roberts arrives, both see Karen's broken taillight.
5:46 am: Karen, Jen and Kerry return to 1 Meadows Ave to search for John
Karen's new admission can be inserted here: this is where she's pulling out pieces of her damaged taillight in John's driveway.
6:03 am: Karen spots John's body immediately, in the dark, buried in the snow. (Officer Saraf needs spotlight to find them)
6:07 am: Jen McCabe calls 911
6:08 am: Karen leaves voicemail on John's phone (at scene of crime-audible background events)
6:32 am: Karen speaks to her father on the phone
Karen's parents alert Canton PD that Karen is threatening suicide and they order a Section 12. Karen is brought by ambulance to hospital. Karen's mother phones Kerry and tells her to keep Karen's purse as there's medication she doesn't want Karen to take
(In a TV interview, William Read states that while they were at the hospital, Karen made a statement to him: She said she felt she struck something. Karen said, "I remember backing up and hitting something")
Numerous paramedics and officers at the scene testified that Karen Read repeatedly stated that she hit John O'Keefe as they were trying to perform life-saving intervention while gathering more information as to what had happened.
7:59 am John O'Keefe is pronounced dead at Good Samaritan Hospital.
9:03 am: Ethanol results show Karen Read's blood test reading of 93 mg/dl. (Nicholas Roberts, a forensic toxicologist with the MSP Crime Lab performed both a serum conversion and retrograde extrapolation, opining that Read's BAC was .07-.08%. From his retrograde extrapolation analysis, he opined that at the time period of 12:45 am, Read's BAC would have been 13-29%)
10:30 am: Troopers Bukhenik and Proctor arrive at Good Samaritan Hospital to interview first responders, observe John O'Keefe's body and collect his clothing as evidence. Clothing is wet therefore double-bagged. Bukhenik notes the missing sneaker and tells Proctor to contact paramedics to see if the sneaker can be located in ambulance.
Lt. Mello from CSSS (Crime Scene Services Section) also arrived to document the victim and the clothing. Items were dated/signed and logged into the evidence storage facility at the office.
12:00 pm: Karen and her father arrived at John O'Keefe's home. Paul O'Keefe stated that Karen told him she wanted to see the kids yet when she arrived she didn't interact with them at all. She and her father went upstairs to collect her belongings and remove her vehicle. Paul stated that Karen and her father were there for half hour.
1:00 pm: Erin O'Keefe phoned Karen asking "what the hell happened last night? Karen tells Erin that she dropped John off at a party, didn't feel like going and she returned to Canton. She woke Kayley at 4:30 am and started phoning people to look for John. Karen told Erin that "she had to remember the bad times" Karen then stated, "I don't think I'm ever going to see you guys again." Erin told Karen, "of course you will, we're friends." Erin never spoke to Karen again.
1:19 pm: Trooper Proctor calls Read from his personal cell phone. (This information was not shared with the jury).
1:27 pm: Karen Read Google searches DUI attorneys shortly before her interview in Dighton with Troopers Bukhenik and Proctor.
(Approx 3 pm) Sgt Bukhenik and Trooper Proctor arrive in Dighton to Interview Karen Read with her parents present. Sgt Nicholas Barros from Dighton PD also arrives at the home.
Bukhenik testified he and Trooper Proctor saw damage to Read's right rear taillight before they had her Lexus towed to Canton PD headquarters. Sgt Barros testified he saw some damage to the right rear taillight. He noted it was cracked with a piece missing and he observed a dent on the rear quarter in conjunction with the taillight. Barros said there was snow caked on that area.
Karen's Interview with Bukhenik: they tell Karen they want information as to the events that took place in the last 24 hours: Karen states that she doesn't want to go into too much detail about what transpired.
Karen stated that she and John argued that morning over what she served the kids for breakfast
.Karen stated she was drinking vodka sodas. The guys were drinking beer. She denied leaving CF McCarthy's with her cocktail in hand. Video surveillance and witnesses observed she did.
Karen stated there were no physical altercations that she observed to explain the injuries John sustained.
Karen stated that upon leaving the Waterfall, they were invited to 34 Fairview.
Karen stated that she had dropped the victim at the house on Fairview and went home since she was having stomach issues at the previous bar.
Karen stated that she dropped the victim off, made a three point turn in the street and left.
Karen stated that she did not see the victim enter the residence. Karen indicated that she first observed the broken taillight in the morning and did not know how she had broken it the previous evening.
Referring to the damaged taillight Karen said, "I don't know. It happened last night."
The interview is terminated when Bukhenik tells her that he wants her to give him step-by-step details of the 3 point turn that she made after dropping John off. He asked her to describe how she manipulated the vehicle and left the scene, When Karen refused to answer, Bukhenik advised her that they would seize her phone and vehicle.
4:12 pm: Lexus is loaded onto the tow truck. Bukhenik and Proctor follow truck back to Canton PD Sallyport.
SERT Search is Conducted
4:56 pm: Lt Kevin O'Hara (SERT) arrives at crime scene to begin search. Trooper Beausoleil is already on scene when he arrives.
5:00 pm: Lt Brian Tully arrives on scene.
5:21-5:41 pm: 7 SERT members arrive on scene. There are also 5 other officers present.
Kevin O'Hara testified that they found multiple pieces of red and clear plastic (3 large) for a total of 6 or 7 pieces between the flagpole and fire hydrant. John O'Keefe's sneaker is found flush against curb upside down. Brian Tully is documenting search with photos. All items are found at ground level.
5:36 pm: Tow truck arrives at Canton PD Sallyport with Lexus.
6:15 pm: SERT team wraps up search. O'Hara informs Tully that there's a "good chance" the team hasn't found all the evidence at the scene.