Cross Of Accident Reconstruction Expert Dr. Welcher Begins | Case Brief

The Emily Show

Baker Media, LLC.

True Crime, Entertainment News, News

4.9 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 29 May 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Watch the full coverage of the live stream on The Emily D Baker YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/live/IduAs7XWVEU

Day 22 of the Karen Read Retrial happened on May 28, 2025. After a brief Direct Examination by Special Prosecutor, Hank Brennan, of their Accident Reconstructionist, Dr. Welcher, Cross Examination took up the whole day and will continue on Day 23.

Defense Attorney, Robert Alessi, ross-examination was rigorous and focused on challenging the credibility, methodology, and conclusions of the Commonwealth's expert witness. Dr. Welcher was repeatedly admonished by the court for looking at his computer and searching for information during the cross-examination, rather than answering directly from memory.

Alessi questioned Dr. Welchre about the significant amount his firm, Aperture, was being paid by the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office ($325,000), and the details surrounding the purchase and sale of a Lexus exemplar for testing. The defense sought to highlight potential bias due to financial incentives.

Alessi challenged inconsistencies in Dr. Welchre's testimony, such as the distance the Lexus traveled in reverse during a test (initially said to be 53 feet, then 87 feet), and the explanation of the 8 mph threshold for tail light breakage.

Alessi delved into Dr. Welcher's use of data and images from Trooper Paul's report, questioning the extent to which Dr. Welcher relied on that information in his analysis. There was a dispute about a drone image and other diagrams, leading to a "Voir dire" (examination outside the presence of the jury) to clarify the sources of these materials.

The voir dire aimed to clarify the sources of Dr. Welcher's materials and to determine the extent to which he relied on Trooper Paul's report or other evidence. It highlighted the defense's effort to question the independence of Dr. Welcher's analysis and the Commonwealth's attempt to defend it. The voir dire concluded with plans to continue the cross-examination the following day, with the understanding that time was limited due to a juror's scheduling issue.

RESOURCES

What You Need to Know About the Retrial - https://youtu.be/89Jpa8vz1RQ

Karen Read Retrial Playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsbUyvZas7gKOJlfL__9F027hlETVU-vo

Karen Read Trial - 2024 - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsbUyvZas7gKUeCUzApgsEuQRXu5IXeTS

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Spotify Ad Analytics - https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/ad-analytics-privacy-policy/
Podscribe - https://podscribe.com/privacy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome back. It's time for a case brief, keeping you in the loop with the cases you care about most.
0:04.0	Just more briefly. If you want the full coverage, it's linked in the description below.
0:07.7	But for now, let's get into it.
0:10.5	Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Or should I say, hear ye. It's day 22 of the Karen Reed retrial.
0:20.1	And I think this is the Commonwealth's last witness,
0:23.0	because we are with accident reconstructionist and biomedical engineer.
0:28.3	Dr. Welcher, I think it's also witness number 38.
0:31.6	We have lots that have happened.
0:34.2	Dr. Welcher gave his opinion that Karen Reed's car was not damaged by hitting
0:41.0	John O'Keefe's car. He gave the opinion that the injuries on John O'Keefe's arm matched
0:47.0	geometrically to Karen Reed's vehicle and he gave the opinion that was then stricken that Karen Reed struck
0:59.0	John O'Keefe with her vehicle. We will get back into that today because that was at the end and
1:05.5	that was stricken. And I was very put off by a number of things by this expert, including that he said,
1:14.6	that is what happened.
1:16.6	John O'Keefe was struck by Karen Reed, Lexus. That is what happened.
1:22.6	That is an expert testifying to an ultimate fact for the jury.
1:26.6	He can have an opinion that John O'Keefe was struck by a car and that the damage to the car and the damage to John O'Keefe are consistent.
1:32.7	I don't know how he'll get there, but if he can explain it.
1:37.3	But he can't say, yeah, Karen Reid hit John O'Keefe with the car.
1:40.4	That's what happened.
1:42.6	And that's what he was trying to do yesterday. And this is an expert
1:44.7	who has testified numerous times. He should know better. I'm not, I don't even know. I don't even
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Baker Media, LLC., and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Baker Media, LLC. and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.