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DEDHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - The nephew of the owners of the home where Boston police officer John O’Keefe was found unresponsive in a snowbank returned to the witness stand Thursday, one day after he began testimony in the ongoing Karen Read murder trial.
Colin Albert started testifying near the end of a busy day in court Wednesday. Come Thursday, he faced intense cross examination from Read’s defense.
Matthew McCabe, whose daughter testified on Wednesday, and whose wife found O’Keefe’s body with Read on the morning of Jan. 29, 2022, began his testimony after Albert finished.
Prosecutors claim Read, who was dating O’Keefe, killed her boyfriend by running him over with her SUV as she dropped him off at a party in Canton after a night of drinking.
Read has pleaded not guilty and her defense has said she is being framed, saying O’Keefe actually died after a fight inside the house on Fairview Road where the party took place.
Read’s defense team is hoping the jury will see a different side of Albert, who is on their list of people they believe could have beaten O’Keefe during a drunken brawl.
“You don’t get to walk into court and sanitize the real person,” said defense attorney Alan Jackson after court proceedings ended for the day Thursday. “Doing this Eddie Haskell thing. You don’t get to do that.”
“The truth is ultimately going to come out,” he continued. “That’s the role of the court and that’s what happened today.”
But while the defense has made its case, many different witnesses have testified O’Keefe never came inside the house where he was found dead in the yard. Witnesses have also told the jury Albert was not at the house when Read and O’Keefe pulled up in Read’s SUV.
Read shares reaction after initial Colin Albert testimony, emotional testimony from Allie McCabe
Albert, now a 20-year-old college student, was celebrating his cousin, Brian Jr.’s birthday at the house on Fairview Road, which was owned by Albert’s aunt and uncle, Brian and Nicole Albert.
During earlier testimony from Colin’s friend, Allie McCabe, jurors saw text messages between Colin and Allie which seemed to confirm a plan for Allie to pick Colin up from the home shortly after midnight.
Colin told the jury he left the party at the home on Fairview Road just as his aunt and uncle were getting home from their own celebration with friends at the Waterfall Bar & Grille in Canton. He said he got in Allie’s car and left. He said never saw O’Keefe enter the home.
Allie confirmed the account and said she brought Colin back to his house.
Allie’s mother, Jennifer, was with Read and another woman when they found O’Keefe’s body in the snow. Read’s attorneys have claimed Jennifer played a role in the ensuing cover-up, which Jennifer has denied.
While on the stand, Allie was at times emotional as she recounted harassment her family has received from Read supporters. People have shown up at her house, she said. And people have emailed her school.
On cross examination, the defense presented Allie with data from a tracking app her family used which showed she went back to the area of Canton High School after bringing Colin home, rather than immediately going to sleep, as she testified.
“I feel good,” Read said outside the courthouse Wednesday. “This needs to come out. It’s the only way it’s going to happen.”
Judge denies motion to strike testimony
Read greeted her father outside the courthouse and attorneys gathered inside near 9 a.m. Thursday.
Before Colin returned to the stand, defense attorney David Yannetti said McCabe’s tearful testimony on Wednesday should be stricken from the record. He said the testimony was prejudicial to the defense and prejudicial to Read.
Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally argued the defense opened the door to the testimony, which would not normally be allowed.
Judge Beverly Cannone said Yannetti crossed a line in his questioning and denied his motion to strike the testimony from the record.
“I disagree with you in the strongest way possible,” she said.
The jury, as a result, was not instructed to ignore the teary testimony they heard Wednesday.
Colin Albert faces cross examination
Colin Albert faced cross examination beginning near 9:15 a.m. Thursday. He said he spoke to Lally to prepare for his testimony. He said he also spoke to his lawyer but did not speak with his parents.
Colin repeatedly said he could not remember things about his preparation for the trial. Jackson, who was questioning him for the defense, asked if Colin was told to say “I don’t remember” every time he is nervous or does not want to answer a question.
Colin responded — “No.”
After a sidebar, Jackson asked questions about Colin’s relationship with the family of Michael Proctor, who served as the lead state police investigator in the Read case. Jackson showed Colin a photo of him acting as the ring bearer in Proctor’s sister’s wedding.
Colin said Michael Proctor interviewed him as part of his investigation.
Later, on redirect questioning, Lally asked Colin how many times he saw Proctor in his life. Colin responded, saying he potentially saw Procter either five or six times. Colin said he believes he was either eight or nine-years-old when he served as a ring bearer at Proctor’s sister’s wedding, saying his family is mostly close with Proctor’s sister, Courtney, not Michael Procter himself.
As testimony continued, the defense showed the jury a photo of Colin and a group of friends taken on Feb. 26, 2022 at Fenway Johnnies, a bar in Boston. The photo showed bruises on Colin’s right knuckles less than a month after O’Keefe died.
Colin said he got the bruises when he slipped on an icy driveway and injured his hand sliding down the driveway.
Colin testified he has never been in a fight, except with his brothers. He initially said he has never boxed. But, when pressed, he agreed he has worked out with a punching bag at the gym.
Jackson soon sought to admit a pair of videos as evidence. The videos were taken when Colin was 16-years-old while Colin and a group of friends were in an argument with another group over a girl.
“I will beat your [expletive],” he said in one video. “I will [expletive] you up.”
In another video, he said “K-O! Bang, bang!”
Jackson noted Colin’s testimony saying he had never been in a fight. That testimony, Jackson said, made the videos relevant. Jackson argued jurors, to date, had seen a sanitized version of Colin. He said he believed the jury should see a different version.
Lally said the videos were juvenile and had no relevance to the case, taking place at least one year before O’Keefe’s death.
After a recess, Cannone opted to allow the videos to be shown to the jury.
With jurors back in the courtroom, Colin again insisted he has never been in a fight.
As the second video played, Colin said “K-O” references knocking someone out. Though Colin said his comments in the videos were threats of physical violence, he said he never threatened John O’Keefe.
Colin stepped down near 11:30 a.m.
Matthew McCabe, Allie’s father, begins testimony
Allie McCabe’s father, Matthew, took the stand after Colin.
As he began testimony, he said he knew John O’Keefe pretty well once O’Keefe moved into their neighborhood to care for his niece and nephew.
Matthew said he met Karen Read during the COVID-19 pandemic when O’Keefe brought his niece and nephew to the McCabes’ house to swim in their pool. Matthew said O’Keefe brought Read with him.
Matthew recalled a light conversation with Read the night O’Keefe died while at the Waterfall Bar and Grill with Brian and Nicole Albert.
As the party moved back to Brian’s house, Matthew said, he and his wife were giving directions over the phone to O’Keefe to help him find the home. Matthew said he could not hear Read speaking, at all.
Matthew said he saw a dark colored SUV arrive at the house, at one point. He said the SUV remained outside for a few minutes, adding “We thought it was weird they hadn’t come into the house.” When he looked again, he said the SUV had moved up the road.
Matthew said he looked out the window and saw the SUV either three or four times. He said he believes at least 10 minutes passed between the first time he saw the vehicle and the time when he looked outside again and noticed it was gone. He said he saw the SUV proceed up the road, a little further away each time he looked out the window, eventually ending up at the property line.
Matthew said he did not see anything in the yard as he eventually left the Albert house on Fairview Road with his wife.
He said he went to bed at 2 a.m.
Hours later, he said, “I woke up to screams in my bedroom.”
Matthew McCabe is expected to return to the stand to continue testimony on Friday.
This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.
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