Testimony in the murder trial of Karen Read, who is charged in the death of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, continued on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. The trial, which has garnered significant public interest, is taking place in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, before Judge Beverly Cannone.
Read, 45, is facing charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of an accident causing death. Prosecutors allege that Read backed her Lexus SUV into O’Keefe, who was found dead outside a Canton home on January 29, 2022, after a night of drinking. This trial marks a retrial, as her first trial ended in a mistrial last year due to a hung jury.
On Monday, a digital forensic specialist, Ian Whiffin, took the stand to provide crucial evidence regarding O’Keefe’s phone data. Whiffin, who works for Cellebrite, a company known for digital forensics analysis, testified that O’Keefe’s phone stopped moving shortly after he was dropped off at the Canton home where his body was later found. He indicated that the phone’s battery temperature dropped significantly, suggesting it had been outside for an extended period.
During his testimony, Whiffin explained the experiments he conducted to analyze how temperature affects phone battery performance. He conducted two tests: the first involved placing a phone in a freezer, where the battery temperature dropped by about 50 degrees in 15 minutes, and the second involved leaving a phone outside in 33-degree weather, resulting in a 31-degree drop in battery temperature in less than 15 minutes. This data was used to contextualize the battery temperature drop observed on O’Keefe’s phone, which fell 11 degrees over a 15-minute period starting at 12:37 a.m. on the morning of his death.
Read’s defense attorney, Robert Alessi, pressed Whiffin on the implications of the battery temperature data and the accuracy of the phone’s location readings. Whiffin confirmed that the phone showed O’Keefe took 36 steps between 12:31 a.m. and 12:32 a.m. and that it appeared to have been moving towards the house at that time. However, he also noted that there could be multiple reasons for the low accuracy of the location data, including the possibility that the phone entered a building or covered area.
“Based on the location data, yes,” Whiffin responded when asked if it was possible that O’Keefe’s phone was moving toward the house at 12:31 a.m. Alessi highlighted that Whiffin’s report indicated the phone’s location data had low accuracy, which could include the possibility of being inside the house.
Whiffin’s testimony also included details about witness Jennifer McCabe, who was with Read when O’Keefe’s body was found. Alessi noted that McCabe had conducted a Google search for “how long to die in the cold,” which was timestamped at 2:27 a.m. on the morning of January 29, 2022. The timing of this search is a point of contention, with the prosecution arguing it was made at the request of Read, while the defense claims it occurred much later.
Whiffin testified that the search was actually performed at around 6:23 a.m., contradicting the defense’s timeline. He explained that the timestamp at 2:27 a.m. simply indicated when the browser tab was brought into focus, not when the search was made. This clarification could significantly impact the jury’s perception of the defense’s argument that McCabe and others were plotting a cover-up hours before O’Keefe’s body was discovered.
As the trial progressed, the Supreme Court declined to review an appeal from Read’s defense team, which sought to overturn two charges against her. This decision came as the trial entered its second week, adding further complexity to the proceedings. The defense has maintained that Read is a victim of a police conspiracy, alleging that O’Keefe was fatally beaten by another law enforcement officer at the party where he was last seen alive.
The prosecution's case relies heavily on the digital evidence presented by Whiffin, aiming to establish that O’Keefe never entered the house and was left to die in the snow. Whiffin's analysis of the phone data, including its location and health metrics, suggests that the phone remained near a flagpole in the front yard of 34 Fairview Road from around 12:30 a.m. until shortly before 6 a.m., when Read found O’Keefe’s body.
In contrast, the defense argues that the evidence is circumstantial and that O’Keefe could have been inside the house during the critical time period. They have also raised questions about the integrity of the investigation and the reliability of the data presented by the prosecution.
As the trial continues, both sides are expected to call additional witnesses and present further evidence. The case has captivated the public, leading to widespread media coverage and discussions regarding the implications of digital forensics in modern criminal trials.
With key testimonies still to come, including that of McCabe, the trial is anticipated to last several more weeks as both the prosecution and defense work to solidify their narratives surrounding the tragic events of January 29, 2022.
