Ian Whiffin played a crucial role as the Karen Read retrial entered its second week of witness testimony. Karen Read is accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, in January 2022. Judge Beverly Cannone announced the week would begin with only half a day of testimony, while the rest of the day would address issues involving two expert witnesses.
Ian Whiffin, a digital intelligence expert from Cellebrite, was called by prosecutors to examine critical location data from O’Keefe’s phone. Whiffin told jurors that the most accurate data started around 12:20 a.m., when O’Keefe opened the Waze navigation app. According to Whiffin, the data showed O’Keefe’s phone never stopped near the driveway of 34 Fairview Road, where he was found. Instead, he said the phone remained near a flagpole on the opposite side of the lawn. Whiffin noted that after 12:25 a.m., the phone’s location accuracy declined once Waze was closed.
In addition to location data, Ian Whiffin analyzed O’Keefe’s phone battery temperature and Apple Health activity from the night he died. The battery temperature dropped from about 80 degrees to 37 degrees, suggesting that the phone, and possibly O’Keefe, remained outside for hours. Health data indicated that O’Keefe’s phone recorded climbing three flights of stairs, which Whiffin explained could result from a car traveling uphill.
Whiffin also reviewed search history from the phone of Jennifer McCabe, a key witness from the first trial. He testified that a search for “How long ti die in cikd” was attempted at around 6:23 a.m. McCabe claimed she made the search at Read’s request after finding O’Keefe, while the defense argued it occurred earlier.
Separately, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Read’s legal team, which argued that retrying her on two charges violated the Fifth Amendment’s double jeopardy clause. During the first week of the retrial, six witnesses testified, including O’Keefe’s mother, two friends, a firefighter, a physician pathologist, and a restaurant manager. Much of the testimony has centered around Read’s actions and her communication with O’Keefe before his death.
How to watch Karen Read trial
CourtTV continues to broadcast live coverage of the trial from Norfolk Superior Court in Massachusetts, with proceedings beginning daily at 9 a.m. ET.