DEDHAM, MASS. (WHDH) – Retired Canton police lieutenant Paul Gallagher returned to the stand Tuesday in the Karen Read murder retrial.
Gallagher used a leaf blower to remove layers of snow from the ground where Boston police officer John O’Keefe’s body was found. On Monday, he showed the jury the broken cocktail glass he says he found in the snow near O’Keefe’s body.
He also defended his unorthodox methods for processing the crime scene.
“I started with a low speed and began whisking away the snow. And then I saw how it was uncovering those pink spots, becoming brighter red, so I verified it was frozen or coagulated blood,” Gallagher said.
The defense has been highly critical of how Gallagher collected DNA evidence in Solo cups and Stop and Shop bags. But, he testified he was forced to make quick decisions in blizzard conditions.
Read is accused of killing O’Keefe, her boyfriend, by hitting him with her car and leaving him to die in a snowbank after a night of drinking. Her lawyers argue she is being framed. Her first trial last summer ended in a mistrial.
One of the Canton paramedics who tried to save O’Keefe’s life also testified Monday. Katie McLaughlin told the jury she heard Read confess to hitting her boyfriend.
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