A crash reconstruction expert whose testimony is central to the defense in Karen Read’s second murder trial acknowledged Monday that he violated a court sequestration order during the first trial by receiving and sharing information related to other witnesses’ testimony. Dr. Daniel Wolfe, one of two forensic scientists from ARCCA who analyzed vehicle damage and other physical evidence, made the admission during a voir dire hearing held outside the presence of the jury.
Dr. Wolfe previously testified during the first trial that the physical damage to Read’s SUV was inconsistent with it having struck Boston police officer John O’Keefe, whose body was discovered in the early morning hours of January 29, 2022, outside a colleague’s home in Canton, Massachusetts. Wolfe was called again Monday as part of an evidentiary hearing involving expert witnesses, as the judge evaluates whether ARCCA’s updated findings may be presented in the ongoing trial. The first trial ended with a hung jury.
During questioning by special prosecutor Hank Brennan, Wolfe admitted that he communicated with the defense team via the encrypted app Signal and received verbal updates about key points of witness testimony prior to taking the stand during the first trial. This exchange, according to Brennan, ran contrary to a standing sequestration order intended to prevent witnesses from being influenced by other testimony. Wolfe testified that he was not aware of the order at the time.
The defense has argued that recent delays in their expert witness reports are the result of prosecution delays in disclosing materials, which were turned over in late March. Jury selection in the second trial began on April 1. Wolfe stated that his updated analysis will not be complete until May 7, more than a month after the trial began.
Presiding Judge Beverly Cannone released the jury early Monday to accommodate a scheduled hearing regarding expert testimony from ARCCA. Cannone is considering whether their revised findings, which remain incomplete, may be admitted. Dr. Andrew Rentschler, also of ARCCA, testified that he could complete the required work by May 7 if ordered by the court.
Wolfe and Rentschler previously testified that the condition of Read’s vehicle and O’Keefe’s injuries were not consistent with a vehicular collision between the two. At the time of the first trial, ARCCA was contracted by the federal government and considered independent from either legal team.
Also testifying Monday, outside the jury’s presence, was Ian Whiffin, a digital forensics expert with the firm Cellebrite. Whiffin provided analysis of electronic data from the phones of O’Keefe and Jennifer McCabe, a witness at the scene. His findings addressed two key theories advanced by the defense during the first trial.
First, he examined a Google search made on McCabe’s phone for the phrase “hos long to die in cold,” which the defense previously argued had occurred at 2:27 a.m., before O’Keefe was discovered in the snow. Prosecutors contend the search was made after O’Keefe was found, and Whiffin’s testimony supported that timeline. He stated that the 2:27 a.m. timestamp reflected only the time a new browser tab was opened, not when the search itself was conducted. According to his analysis, the search occurred later, within that same tab.
Whiffin also reviewed digital data from O’Keefe’s phone, including location pings, Apple Health activity, and temperature data, to reconstruct his movements. He testified that O’Keefe’s phone became inactive around 12:30 a.m. near the flagpole outside 34 Fairview Road—the location where his body was later found—and showed no movement until paramedics arrived at 6:04 a.m. Changes in the phone’s battery temperature were also noted, dropping when it was no longer insulated by his body and rising again when it was moved.
Prosecutors presented this evidence to challenge the defense’s claim that O’Keefe may have been injured elsewhere before being placed outside. The defense maintains that Read’s vehicle did not strike O’Keefe and that she is not responsible for his death. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecution alleges that Read, after spending the evening drinking with O’Keefe and others, struck him with her SUV during a confrontation outside the residence and left the scene, where he later died of hypothermia and head trauma.
Whiffin is scheduled to return to the stand Tuesday for cross-examination.
