Editor’s note: This page summarizes testimony in the Karen Read trial for Tuesday, May 20. For the latest updates on the Karen Read retrial, visit USA TODAY’s coverage for Wednesday, May 21.
Questions about a key expert’s reputation and credibility took center stage at Karen Read’s second murder trial, as the Massachusetts’ woman’s defense team continued to cast doubt on the integrity of the case.
Prosecutors say Read, 45, struck John O’Keefe, her Boston police officer boyfriend, with her Lexus SUV after a night of heavy drinking and left him to die during a massive snowstorm in January 2022. Her lawyers say she was framed for the death in an elaborate conspiracy contrived by Massachusetts cops. 
Testimony from Shanon Burgess, a digital forensics expert, is believed to be critical to prosecutors case. He took the stand on May 20 for a second day to discuss how he reconciled discrepancies between data found in Read’s SUV and O’Keefe’s iPhone.
Using clock records from both sources, Burgess created a timeline for the night O’Keefe died that potentially ties Read to the crime. In audio clips from interviews selected by prosecutors, Read appeared to back up that timeline.
But it was Burgess’ educational history, more than his analysis in the case, that took much of the spotlight on Day 19 of the trial. Read’s defense team grilled Burgess’ about his academic background and accused him of misrepresenting his college degree achievements. Through a litany of questions, they also attempted to sow concerns about the accuracy and reliability of his report in Read’s case.
Burgess’ testimony comes five weeks into Read’s trial, in which her defense lawyers have sought to portray the investigation into O’Keefe’s death as riddled with bias, incompetence and deceit. 
Read’s first trial ended in a hung jury in 2024. The whodunnit legal saga has for years fixated true-crime fans across the country, spurring an array of podcasts, movies and television shows.   
Here’s what you missed from Day 19 of the trial.  
Christina Hanley, a forensic scientist at the Massachusetts State Crime Lab, testified briefly about the pieces of evidence she analyzed from the crime scene, including a clear glass cup, pieces of glass found on Read’s SUV and glass and plastic found outside the home at 34 Fairview Rd., where O’Keefe’s body was discovered.  
Hanley explained her process for labeling and analyzing the pieces. Judge Beverly Cannone called the defense and prosecution for a sidebar and proceedings ended for the day.  
Prosecutors played three clips for the jury from interviews with Read in which she discussed the timeframe when they say she killed O’Keefe.  
In the first clip, Read mentioned making a three-point-turn after missing the turn onto Fairview Road a little after 12:20 a.m. In the second, she said you can “clearly” hear her pulling into O’Keefe’s garage at 1 Meadows Ave. on a voicemail she left him at 12:41 a.m.  Read said in the third clip O’Keefe is believed to have died around 12:25 or 12:30 a.m. in the “early, early morning of Jan. 29.”  
O’Keefe is believed to have died on Jan. 30. Read’s defense team earlier in the day sought to discredit a witness who also mistakenly said O’Keefe died on Jan. 29.  
Read’s defense doubled down on suggestions that Burgess lied in the past about his academic background. They sought to directly refute Burgess’ testimony that he never misrepresented his credentials in past court cases by presenting a CV he filed to the United States District Court Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, in 2023.  
A document Read’s lawyer presented to the court read: “Bachelor of General Science in Mathematics and Business Administration, University of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama, 2024.” 
Read’s lawyer, Robert Alessi, said to Burgess, “You know how to write ‘currently pursuing’ on your CV, correct?” referencing the CV he submitted to the Massachusetts court.  
He reiterated that a bachelor of science degree in mathematics and business administration does not exist at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. 
When asked by prosecutor Hank Brennan why he hadn’t finished his degree, Burgess said “work, family and life” have gotten in the way. He said he changed his CV to “currently pursuing” after not finishing his degree in 2024 as he expected.
Burgess’ testimony ended after he was asked by prosecution whether he personally submitted the false CV to the federal court. He said he did not submit it, nor did he see it before it was submitted.  
Upon redirect, Brennan sought to re-establish Burgess’ credibility, starting with his academic record. He asked Burgess if he had helped develop the information listed on his biography page on the Aperture website, which incorrectly said he had a bachelor’s degree. Burgess said he didn’t assist with putting the page together and didn’t know who in the company would have done so.  
Brennan presented to the jury the CV Burgess provided to the court in October 2024, which indicated he was “currently pursuing” a bachelor’s degree. Burgess said he had never misrepresented his academic history in any of the numerous trials he has testified in.  
The prosecutor also gave Burgess time to explain in-depth the methodology behind the timeline he created. He asked Burgess whether an event in a Lexus SUV, such as a back-up maneuver, could take longer than the 10-second window recorded by the vehicle. Burgess said it could.  
In other words, Read could have still been backing up after the car finished its 10-second recording of the move at 12:32:12 a.m. on January 30, according to Burgess’ analysis. This gives prosecutors potentially more room in their timeline to suggest that Read’s SUV struck O’Keefe. His iPhone locked for the last time during that timeframe at 12:32:09 a.m. 
Alessi, continued to grill Burgess about what he contends are inconsistencies and inaccuracies with Burgess’ digital forensic analysis of Read’s Lexus before O’Keefe’s death.  
Alessi pointed out Burgess used the wrong date in his testimony about the location of Read’s vehicle in the early morning hours before O’Keefe’s body was found. Read’s car was turned on and off a few minutes after midnight on Jan. 30, 2022. Burgess described those actions as occurring Jan. 29, 2022.  
Burgess called the discrepancy “parlance” and said the analysis was still accurate down to the second.  
Alessi then grilled Burgess about what he said were discrepancies between his January 2025 report and May 2025 report. Burgess said he did not depart from his original analysis in the new report and instead offered clarifications. 
Alessi asked whether Burgess kept his original report purposefully vague by only noting a clock variance between Read’s SUV and O’Keefe’s iPhone without analyzing the difference. Burgess denied that claim.  
Later, Alessi appeared to question whether Burgess had a confirmation bias when creating his report. The defense attorney interrogated Burgess about why he used the word “collision” to refer to an event that occurred in the early morning of Jan. 30, 2022. Burgess said the word came from a Massachusetts State Police crash report.  
Alessi further probed whether the event recorded by the SUV could have been triggered by something other than a collision. Burgess responded that many things could have triggered the recorded event.  
In a blunt May 19 exchange, Read’s defense attorney pointed to multiple instances where Burgess allegedly lied about having a bachelor’s degree he never earned.  
Burgess said he was “currently pursuing” a degree, but multiple documents, including his LinkedIn page and profile on his company website state he has a degree in mathematics and business administration from the University of Alabama Birmingham. 
Burgess said his LinkedIn hadn’t been updated in “quite some time.” 
CourtTV has been covering the case against Read and the criminal investigation since early 2022, when O’Keefe’s body was found outside a Canton, Massachusetts home.  
You can watch CourtTV’s live feed of the Read trial proceedings from Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. Proceedings begin at 9 a.m. ET.  

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Dow slides more than 800 points as spiking Treasury yields and deficit fears spur a sell-off: Live updates  CNBC
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Canada said Wednesday it is summoning Israel’s ambassador after the Israeli Defence Forces fired shots in the vicinity of a diplomatic delegation in the West Bank that included four Canadians.
The IDF says no one was injured in the incident.
“Relieved to know our team is safe,” Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said in a post on X.
“I have asked my officials to summon Israel’s Ambassador to convey Canada’s serious concerns. We expect a full investigation and accountability.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney said the incident was “totally unacceptable.”
“It’s some of many things that are totally unacceptable that’s going on in the region,” he told reporters in Chelsea, Que. after a cabinet planning forum.
In a statement, an IDF spokesperson said the diplomatic group touring the city of Jenin “deviated” from its approved route and soldiers fired warning shots to get it to move away from an area they were not permitted to visit.
The IDF said it launched an inquiry into what happened and will speak with the affected diplomats to update them on its findings.
Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s foreign minister, said in a social media post the situation is unacceptable and Israel’s ambassador to France has been summoned to explain it.
Italian Foreign Affairs Minister Antonio Tajani said he is also calling on the Israeli ambassador in Italy to explain the incident.
In a joint statement issued earlier this week, Prime Minister Mark Carney, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron threatened to impose “targeted sanctions” on Israel in response to its renewed military offensive in Gaza and the “wholly inadequate” amount of food aid allowed into the enclave.
The letter also stated the leaders’ opposition to “any attempt” to expand Israeli settlement in the West Bank.
Carney on Wednesday would not say what “concrete action” Canada would take if Israel ignores the leaders’ request, but suggested any measures would be part of a joint response with France and Britain.
“The intention of the clear language — not just of ourselves, but France, the United Kingdom and many other countries — is that Israel ensures that adequate humanitarian aid gets to the population there, many of whom are on the brink of starvation,” he said.
Carney added he informed U.S. Vice-President JD Vance during their meeting in Rome last weekend that the joint statement was coming, but said it was a “one-way conversation.”
The Trump administration has directed U.S. policy to staunchly support Israel in its military aims against Hamas, while also pushing for a ceasefire and the return of all hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that ignited the current conflict.
In a social media post late Monday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Carney, Starmer and Macron of “offering a huge prize” to Hamas with their joint statement.
Hamas, which is listed as a terrorist entity in Canada, welcomed the letter in an online statement Tuesday, calling it “a significant step in the right direction.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said on X this week that Hamas’ statement shows Canada must take the opposite of its current approach to the conflict.
“Threatening Israel with sanctions and ‘further concrete actions’ while a terrorist group on their borders holds their citizens hostage and refuses to stop attacking Israel is wrong,” he said.
On Tuesday, the U.K. issued sanctions against what it called three individuals, two “illegal settler outposts” and two organizations “supporting violence against Palestinian communities” in the West Bank.
Canada has sanctioned people and individuals for extremist settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank in the past. The most recent round of sanctions was announced in September of last year.
—With files from the Canadian Press
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