DEDHAM, Mass. —Ahead of Karen Read’s second murder trial, which is scheduled to begin on April 1, NewsCenter 5 is looking back on the tense three months of her first trial for clues about what we can expect.
Read, 45, of Mansfield, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and other charges. The prosecution says she hit her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, with her vehicle outside of a home in Canton during a snowstorm on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking. Her defense argued that someone else was responsible for killing O’Keefe.
The defense centered on allegations of a cover-up involving members of several law enforcement agencies. They claim O’Keefe was beaten inside the home, bitten by a dog, and then left outside.
Testimony in Read’s trial began on April 29, following opening statements. It ended on July 1, when jurors reported being hopelessly deadlocked, and a mistrial was declared.
Read’s team vowed to keep fighting and her defense has waged a considerable battle across multiple courts, attempting to get charges dropped or have the case thrown out entirely. Meanwhile, a federal investigation into the case concluded without any charges being filed against police.
Some final pretrial hearings remain before the case can move to jury selection, starting on April 1. Those are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Review key moments from the first trial:
April 29, 2024
“The defendant, Karen Read, is guilty of murder in the second degree. Striking of the victim, Mr. O’Keefe, with a car, knocking him back on to the ground, striking his head on the ground, causing the bleeding in his brain, swelling and then leaving him there,” said prosecutor Adam Lally.
“Karen Read was framed. Her car never struck John O’Keefe. She did not cause his death. And that means that somebody else did it,” said defense attorney David Yannetti.
Read’s defense attorney did not name who they say killed O’Keefe, but said the homeowner is being protected because, like O’Keefe, he is a Boston police officer.
The first witness to take the stand was John O’Keefe’s brother, Paul, who described seeing Read at the hospital.
April 30, 2024
Canton police officers, firefighters and EMTs who responded to the scene testified and faced cross-examination that sought to undermine their credibility.
Prosecutors called two witnesses who said they heard Read confess at the scene after O’Keefe was found in a snowbank. Defense attorney Alan Jackson questioned Saraf about an admission allegedly made by Read on the scene in January 2022 that is not in his police report, but Officer Steven Saraf attributed the statement to Read months later.
Another police officer testified he does not remember Read confessing, and none of the first responders remembered seeing any pieces of Read’s taillight, which prosecutors say shattered when she backed into him with her SUV.
May 2, 2024
Canton Fire Dept. Acting Lt. Anthony Flematti told the jury about the care he and his team provided O’Keefe, as well as a conversation he had with Read at the scene.
He confirmed prior testimony from other prosecution witnesses about a confession Read allegedly made but defense attorney Alan Jackson had Flematti confirm that his report about the incident did not include the confession.
Paramedic Katie McLaughlin testified that Read was “very upset” and “visibly distraught” while she asked for his identifying information, medical history and any information about what happened. She also testified that Read said, “I hit him.”
One who testified Thursday, Matthew Kelly, said he heard one woman screaming, “he’s dead,” but said he couldn’t hear what was said after that.
Also, that morning, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts upheld Judge Beverly Cannone’s decision to institute a “buffer zone” around the courthouse after a group of petitioners said it infringed on their constitutional rights.
May 3, 2024
Jurors were taken to visit the Canton neighborhood where John O’Keefe died on Jan. 29, 2022.
Route 128 was temporarily closed by Massachusetts State Police between Dedham and Westwood as the jury was brought to Canton for the tour. Jurors arrived to the Fairview Road neighborhood at approximately 11:35 a.m.
Read’s Lexus 570 SUV, the one that allegedly hit O’Keefe, was also brought to the neighborhood for the jury to view on Friday. One tail light was missing and a small dent was visible on the rear hatch.
Reporters were kept about 300 feet away during the jury’s visit and could not hear anything being said. They saw jurors taking turns looking inside the vehicle and at least one who crouched down to look underneath.
May 6, 2024
Lt. Paul Gallagher from Canton Police Department said it was “a unique scene because of the weather” and described the decision to dig in the snow. Gallagher described a photo showing blood-stained snow where O’Keefe was found along with a broken cocktail glass.
Officers described how they borrowed red plastic cups from a neighbor to collect samples of blood in the snow and then took them back to the Canton police station in a Stop & Shop paper bag.
Investigators said they didn’t have anything else to collect the evidence in and so they had to improvise.
Gallagher confirms it is not standard practice to collect evidence that way.
May 7. 2024
The half-day of testimony on Tuesday featured a series of law enforcement witnesses. Most of the time was dedicated to Sgt. Michael Lank, who testified about finding a broken cocktail glass and a piece of red plastic in the snow.
Prosecutors appears to be developing an argument that O’Keefe was holding the glass when he was hit by Read’s SUV. So far, no one has suggested when or how Read’s tail light was broken but a video shown on Tuesday may begin to address that question for the jury.
Lank was cross-examined about his relationship with Brian Albert, who owns the property where O’Keefe was found in the snow. He described their relationship as “civil” but also confirmed that he intervened in a 2002 fight on behalf of Brian’s brother, with whom he was previously friendly.
Lank said one of the possibilities he considered was whether O’Keefe had been in an altercation, but that he had “no indication” O’Keefe had gone inside the house.
May 8, 2024
Some of the footage introduced into evidence showed O’Keefe and friends at CF McCarthy’s pub. Read was also seen in the video when she arrived, greeting O’Keefe with a hug and a kiss.
Other footage from the Waterfall Bar & Grille shows O’Keefe, Read and other members of the group after they moved across the street. Footage showed that Read left with two other women before O’Keefe exited a short time later, meeting Read at the door and walking together towards her car.
O’Keefe appeared to be holding something in his hand on the way out. Earlier in the case, evidence of a shattered drinking glass was shown to the jury.
Those who testified on Wednesday included a bartender and several friends who joined the group at the pubs. Witness after witness testified that they saw no trouble between Read and O’Keefe — but prosecutors have said the couple fought that night.
May 9, 2024
Chris and Julie Albert, O’Keefe’s neighbors, are also relatives of the family that owns the home outside which O’Keefe was found dead. Chris Albert owns a pizza restaurant in Canton that O’Keefe frequented and he is a Canton selectman.
Chris Albert said he was at the bar with Read and O’Keefe on the night in question but not at the afterparty at his brother’s home.
Chris Albert’s son Colin was at the party and the defense questioned Chris Albert extensively about when Colin returned home. The defense appears to be suggesting there was tension between the Alberts and O’Keefe.
Julie Albert testified that she waited for Colin to return home and saw no injuries on him.
During cross-examination, defense attorney David Yannetti asked about her contact with the sister of Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, who led the investigation. Specifically, Yannetti asked whether Proctor’s wife was being used as an intermediary for communication between the Alberts and the trooper.
May 10, 2024
Nicole and Brian Albert owned the home at 34 Fairview Road and were part of the group that was out drinking with O’Keefe and Read. Several people were invited back to the Alberts’ home after leaving the bars, but they testified that neither O’Keefe nor Read ever showed up.
The defense also asked about the decision to re-house their dog, which Nicole Albert said was made after an incident in 2022.
Testimony on Friday was briefly interrupted when the prosecution asked Judge Beverly Cannone to remove controversial blogger Aidan Timothy Kearney, known as “Turtleboy,” from the courtroom. He faces witness intimidation charges in connection with the Read case.
After hearing arguments, Cannone determined that he would be “excused” from the courtroom during the testimony of certain witnesses.
May 13, 2024
Several people were invited back to the Alberts’ home after leaving Canton bars, but the Alberts testified that neither O’Keefe nor Read ever showed up. Brian Albert said that O’Keefe and Read would have been welcomed “with open arms” if they ever did come inside.
Brian Albert Jr., who was celebrating his 23rd birthday on the night in question, testified that he saw a black SUV outside the home. At first, it was near the mailbox, and later, he saw it near the flagpole.
On cross-examination, Caitlin Albert faced questions about her relationship with Katie McLaughlin, one of the EMTs who arrived at the scene after O’Keefe was found. She said they went to school together and have mutual friends but never spent time one-on-one.
After the jury was excused on Monday afternoon, defense attorney David Yannetti told the judge he plans to show McLaughlin in biased through pictures of her with Caitlin Albert and others. Caitlin Albert will return to the stand to resume her testimony on Tuesday.
May 14, 2024
Julie Nagel, a friend of Brian Albert Jr., whose parents owned the Canton home, was at the residence with several friends “drinking and dancing” at a party to celebrate her friend’s birthday.
Nagel and her friend Sarah Levinson left the party with Matthew and Jennifer McCabe. She said as they were leaving the Alberts’ home, she saw a “black object” that was about 5 or 6 feet in length on the lawn.
Defense attorney David Yannetti asked why it was the first time that she discussed the size of the object.
May 15, 2024
A key witness began to testify late Wednesday during an emotional day in the murder trial of Karen Read.
Colin Albert, one of the three people the defense has tried to implicate in O’Keefe’s death, began his testimony during the final hour of court on Wednesday. He was in high school at the time but testified that he was drinking beer at a friend’s house before going to 34 Fairview Rd. to celebrate his cousin’s birthday.Albert said he spent about 90 minutes there before texting Allie McCabe for a ride and leaving around 12:10 p.m. Albert said he never saw O’Keefe on the night in question and testified that they had no animosity or arguments.
Also during the afternoon session, Allie McCabe became emotional during her testimony about the harassment that witnesses have faced because of this high-profile case.
May 16, 2024
Colin Albert, one of the people that Read’s defense has tried to implicate, started his testimony on Wednesday. He returned for cross-examination and faced confrontational questioning about photos, videos and whether he had been in a fight.The defense entered into evidence a photo of Albert taken less than a month after O’Keefe’s death. In the image, the knuckles on his right hand are bruised.
The defense is trying to convince the Jury that John O’Keefe was beaten and argues that Colin Albert had been in a fight. Albert said the injury came when he fell in a driveway and that he never saw O’Keefe on the night in question.
May 17, 2024
Jennifer McCabe and her husband, Matt McCabe, both testified that they had seen Read’s black SUV outside 34 Fairview Road. During Jennifer McCabe’s testimony, the prosecution showed a message she sent to O’Keefe asking, “Here!?”
The Albert family previously testified that neither O’Keefe nor Read ever came inside.
The McCabes said Read was hysterical the next morning. Jennifer McCabe said Read told her O’Keefe hadn’t come home, that they’d gotten into a fight and that she’d left him at the bar.
Jennifer McCabe eventually drove Read to Fairview Road in Read’s SUV.
She said that Read spotted O’Keefe in the snow before anyone else and repeatedly made incriminating statements. Jennifer McCabe said Read asked several times that morning, “Did I hit him? Could I have hit him?”
She also said that when Read spoke to the paramedic, the question became a statement, “I hit him.”
May 21, 2024
Jennifer McCabe, a prosecution witness who was at the house party in Canton where O’Keefe was eventually found, returned to the witness stand Tuesday.
She clashed with defense attorney Alan Jackson, who questioned her aggressively about her account of what happened on the night of Jan. 28., 2022, and the following morning.
Jennifer McCabe testified again Tuesday that Read confessed at the scene.
“I can tell you today with 100 percent clarity, she said, ‘I hit him, I hit him, I hit him.'” McCabe said.
May 22, 2024
The fiery cross-examination of Jennifer McCabe, who was at the bars, the house party and with Read when O’Keefe was found, concluded Wednesday. She clashed several times with defense attorney Alan Jackson, who questioned her aggressively about her account of what happened on the night of Jan. 28., 2022, and the following morning.
They sparred over McCabe’s phone records and the timing of an internet search for “Hos (sic) long to die in cold,” which the defense implies would show that McCabe knew O’Keefe was outside hours before he was found.
McCabe says Read asked her to do that search after John O’Keefe’s body was found but Jackson alleged that McCabe did the search hours earlier and deleted it from her phone.
“Did you delete that search because you knew that you would be implicated in John O’Keefe’s death if that search was found on your phone?” Jackson asked.
“I did not delete that search,” McCabe said. ” I never made that search at 2:23. I never would have let John O’Keefe out in the cold to die because he was a friend that I loved.”
May 24, 2024
ATF Agent Brian Higgins testified Friday about his relationships with John O’Keefe and Karen Read. He said that Read kissed him and testified at length about the flirty text messages that they exchanged.
“You’re, hot,” Read wrote to Higgins in one of the messages.
“Are you serious or messing with me?” Higgins replied.
Defense attorney Alan Jackson started his cross-examination by questioning Higgins about his “romantic interest” in Read.
“I was physically attracted to her, yes,” Higgins said.
During the afternoon session, Higgins was cross-examined by defense attorney Jackson about his phone records and movements within the Canton Police Department. Jackson sought to imply that Higgins had conversations with Brian Albert hours before O’Keefe’s body was found and suggest that Higgins had access to Read’s SUV and other evidence.
May 28, 2024
O’Keefe took custody of his now-13-year-old nephew and 16-year-old niece after their parents died. The children testified for the prosecution and described yelling and arguments between O’Keefe and Read, which they said became more frequent in the weeks leading up to O’Keefe’s death.
Both children described an incident in which O’Keefe asked Read to leave the house and she refused. “She said no. She was swearing. She got very loud,” the niece said.
The night O’Keefe died, the niece was home alone and remembered being awakened by Read at 4:30 a.m. She said Read shook her, left and came back and told her to call O’Keefe.
“She was just pacing down the hallway, asking what could’ve happened,” the niece testified. “She said, ‘Maybe I did something.’ Later, she said, ‘Maybe a snowplow hit him.’”
Testimony of the children’s testimony was not live-streamed, under the court’s order.
June 3, 2024
Testimony indicated the taillight of Read’s SUV was broken and that pieces of red and clear plastic were found in the snow.
The defense suggests that corrupt investigators planted the evidence.
A state crime lab analyst testified about the damage to Read’s SUV. The damage included a smashed taillight, scratches and a single strand of human hair.
Maureen Hartnett, the crime lab analyst, also examined O’Keefe’s sweatshirt, which he wore the night before while drinking with Read. She said she found red-brown stains and 13 rips and tears, particularly on the right sleeve.
Prosecutors argue that the sweatshirt was torn and O’Keefe’s arm injured when he was allegedly hit and knocked to the ground by Read’s SUV.
The defense maintains that O’Keefe was killed during a fight and subsequent dog attack.
June 5, 2024
Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenick testified about numerous pieces of physical and digital evidence. He removed articles of clothing that O’Keefe was wearing from evidence packages and displayed them to the jury.
Bukhenick also answered questions about a series of surveillance videos showing Read’s SUV. He observed the taillight was damaged as the vehicle left O’Keefe’s driveway during the storm.
Christina Hanley, a forensic scientist at the State Police crime lab, testified that she examined a broken cocktail glass found near O’Keefe’s body and five pieces of glass found on the rear bumper of Read’s SUV.
Defense attorney Alan Jackson questioned if a piece of glass submitted as evidence matched pieces of the broken cup.
“There was no physical match,” Hanley said.
Ashley Vallier, who also works for the State Police crime lab, testified that she examined pieces of a damaged taillight housing from Read’s SUV that were found in the snow, and Vallier explained how the pieces fit together.
Defense attorney David Yannetti questioned how the items were delivered to the lab for testing. The defense has suggested that the evidence was planted by corrupt investigators and maintains that O’Keefe was killed during a fight and subsequent dog attack.
June 6, 2024
Defense attorney Alan Jackson questioned Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenick about a video that shows Read’s SUV inside the garage of the Canton Police Department.
Jackson pointed out writing on another vehicle in the garage and on a garage door. Bukhenick said the video was “mirrored,” however he could not explain why.
“So the video is inverted. Completely inverted. It’s a mirror image, which suggests that the driver side is the passenger side and vice versa but the timestamp across the bottom is not inverted, which means somebody had to put that on the inverted, the manipulated, the altered video on purpose,” defense attorney Alan Jackson told reporters outside the courthouse.
Also, jurors heard Read’s voice for the first time.
Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally played the audio of an interview that Bukhenick said he conducted with Read on June 9, 2022.
“You’re aware he was beaten up by Brian and Colin Albert? I mean, we’re all in on the same joke, right? My tail light was cracked, and John was pulverized,” Read said.
Bukhenik said he advised Read at that point to stop talking.
June 10, 2024
Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, a lead investigator in the case, was made to read a series of disparaging text messages that he sent about Karen Read.
After reading one of the messages, in which he called Read a “whack job” and an expletive, he apologized to the jury for his “unprofessional” comments.
In one message sent to co-workers and supervisors while searching Read’s phone, Proctor wrote, “no nudes so far.” Jackson asked if Proctor had ever looked for naked pictures of male suspects. Proctor said “jokes” don’t have any bearing on the facts and integrity of the case.
At times, Proctor’s voice was barely audible as he read messages that he described as “juvenile” and “unprofessional.” He testified, however, that the messages did not influence his investigation.
Earlier in the day, Proctor’s testimony focused on O’Keefe’s body and physical evidence from the case. He testified about seeing O’Keefe’s body in the emergency room and noticed abrasions on his right arm, swollen eyes and blood on the back of his head. He and Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenick then traveled to Read’s parents’ home in Dighton, where he saw Read’s vehicle.
June 12, 2024
Proctor, who first took the stand on Monday, faced more tough questions about the “very regrettable” text messages about Read that he sent to friends and other colleagues. Proctor was the lead investigator in the case.
Her defense team argues that she has been framed and has questioned law enforcement’s handling of the investigation. They hope the text exchanges could raise doubts with the jury about Proctor’s credibility and the physical evidence presented in the case.
When asked by the defense, Proctor agreed that his messages “dehumanized” Read.
“The texts are appalling and wildly unprofessional, to put it mildly, and it’s hard to imagine they won’t hurt the prosecution’s case in the eyes of the jury,” Daniel Medwed, a law professor at Northeastern University who is not involved in the case, told The Associated Press.
June 14, 2024
Trooper Joe Paul, a crash deconstructionist, testified during the afternoon about how he tested Read’s SUV for speed and breaking in the parking lot outside the Canton Police Department. He also tested what she would have seen behind the vehicle while in reverse.
Paul testified that the SUV’s data collection system showed it was put into reverse, the driver pushed the accelerator three-quarters down and sped up to 24.2 mph. Hitting a person at that speed, Paul said, would cause the kind of injuries he saw on John O’Keefe.
“The lacerations to the arm from the taillight, the dent with the scratches where his hand could be, those are something that would be consistent — in this particular case — with striking the Lexus,” Paul said.
June 17, 2024
Jurors heard from digital forensics expert Ian Whiffin who testified about when Jen McCabe’s search for “hos (sic) long to die in cold” was conducted. He explained the search was conducted in a tab created at 2:27 a.m. but that the search itself was conducted at 6:24 a.m., which conflicts with the defense’s assertion that she conducted the search before O’Keefe’s body was found.
Trooper Nicholas Guarino testified about his analysis of O’Keefe and Read’s phones. Guarino said the defense’s cell phone expert reached several incorrect conclusions, including that phone calls were deleted.
Through this testimony, prosecutors also introduced more evidence that Read and O’Keefe had been fighting.
June 20, 2024
Massachusetts State Police Trooper Nicholas Guarino returned to the stand and faced questioning about his analysis of O’Keefe and Read’s phone logs. Guarino said Read made 53 phone calls to O’Keefe in the hours after 12:35 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2022. He said she left eight messages on O’Keefe’s voicemail, which were played for the jury.”John I am here with your (expletive) kids. Nobody knows where the (expletive) you are. You (expletive) pervert,” Read said in one of the messages that O’Keefe received at 12:59 a.m.”It’s 1 a.m. I am with your (expletive) niece and nephew. You (expletive) pervert. You’re a (expletive) pervert,” Read said in a message at 1:11 a.m.
“John I am going home. I cannot believe (inaudible). I need to go home. You are (expletive) using me right now. You are (expletive) another girl. (Name redacted) is sleeping next to me. You are a (expletive) loser. (Expletive) yourself,” Read said in a message at 1:18 a.m.
June 21, 2024
Prosecutors rested their case Friday morning after concluding their questioning of a member of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and the defense countered by starting their testimony with a medical expert of their own. Dr. Marie Russell, a retired emergency room doctor and medical director for a prison in California, reviewed hospital records and pictures of O’Keefe’s injuries that were taken when he was in the hospital.
“I believe that these injuries were sustained by an animal, possibly a large dog, because of the pattern of the injuries,” she said.
Before jurors were sent home for the weekend, Judge Beverly Cannone said she expects deliberations will begin next week.
June 24, 2024
Defense attorneys called three final witnesses on Monday in an effort to cast doubt on prosecutors’ version of events.
Dr. Frank Sheridan, a retired forensic pathologist who worked previously as chief medical examiner for San Bernardino County in California, testified he would have expected more bruising if O’Keefe had been hit by a heavy vehicle. He also suggested that scratch marks on O’Keefe’s arm could have come from a dog and that other injuries were consistent with an altercation.
Two witnesses from an independent consulting firm that conducts forensic engineering also said the damage to the broken taillight was not consistent with injuries suffered by O’Keefe on his head and arm. One of the witnesses also suggested his injuries should have been more severe if Read backed into him at more than 20 mph (32 kph) as the prosecution contends and questioned how O’Keefe’s body ended up where it did.
June 25, 2024
When the closing arguments finally began, defense attorney Alan Jackson told the jury, “You have been lied to.” He argued that evidence, including an inverted video of Read’s SVU in the Canton Police Department’s garage, was intentionally manipulated by an investigation that sought to protect other members of the law enforcement community.“Ladies and gentlemen, there was a cover-up in this case, plain and simple,” Jackson said.Prosecutor Adam Lally offered jurors a timeline, paired with evidence numbers, documenting their theory of the case. He also opened his presentation by quoting numerous first responders who testified that they heard Read say, “I hit him.”
“Those were the words that came from the defendant’s mouth,” Lally said.
Watch the complete closing arguments
July 1, 2024
A mistrial was declared Monday after a jury of six women and six men informed the judge they were hopelessly deadlocked.
“We continue to find ourselves at an impasse,” the jurors wrote in their final note. “Our perspectives on the evidence are starkly divided. Some members of the jury firmly believe the evidence surprises the burden of proof establishing the elements of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. Conversely, others find the evidence fails to meet this standard and does not sufficiently establish the necessary elements of the charges.”
After reading their note aloud, Judge Beverly Cannone declared the mistrial.
Read’s team vowed to continue fighting.
They failed. They failed miserably and they’ll continue to fail,” defense attorney Alan Jackson said outside the courthouse. “No matter how long it takes, no matter how long they keep trying, we will not stop fighting. We have no quit.”
