DEDHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - A new day in the Karen Read murder trial brought with it more cross examination of Jennifer McCabe, testimony from another one of the people who found John O’Keefe’s body, and additional testimony from two people who went on a friends and family trip with O’Keefe and Read weeks before O’Keefe died.
After first testifying on Friday, McCabe stepped down late Wednesday morning and was followed on the witness stand by Kerry Roberts, who, along with McCabe and Read, found O’Keefe unresponsive in a snowbank outside the Canton home of Brian and Nicole Albert on Jan. 29, 2022.
After Roberts, the jury heard from Laura and Marietta Sullivan, who described their memories of an at times tense vacation to Aruba around New Year’s Day in 2022.
Jennifer McCabe faces more cross examination
McCabe and her husband, Matthew, were at a party at the Alberts’ home the night O’Keefe, a Boston police officer, died.
Prosecutors claim Read, who was dating O’Keefe, ran him over with her SUV and left him for dead as she dropped him off at the party after a night of drinking.
Read’s defense has said she is being framed, saying O’Keefe actually died after a fight inside the Alberts’ house. In its theory, the defense has claimed the McCabes were involved in a cover-up after O’Keefe’s death, which the McCabes have denied.
Jackson on Tuesday told reporters he felt the day’s court proceedings went “Phenomenally well.”
Back in court in Dedham Wednesday morning, Jackson asked Jennifer why she visited the home of state police Trooper Michael Proctor in September, 2023. Proctor was the lead investigator in the Karen Read case and has been the subject of questions from the defense.
Jennifer said she just wanted to meet with Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth. She then spoke about a “social media witch hunt” which she said terrorized her, Elizabeth and others in the years since O’Keefe died.
The defense later showed records of purported cell phone searches from Jennifer in the early morning hours of Jan. 29. “Hos long to die in cold” read one search. “How long ti die in cikd” read a second search, with typos included.
Jennifer said she made the searches at 6:23 a.m. and 6:24 a.m. after she, Read and Roberts found O’Keefe’s body. Jennifer said she did the searches for Read.
Jackson suggested the results from the two queries would be exactly the same and wondered why Jennifer made the second search.
“I cannot answer that,” Jennifer said. “My hands were frozen. She was shaking and screaming at me.”
Jackson also insisted the first search was done hours before 6:23 a.m., at one point highlighting a phone extraction report that showed a search being made at 2:27 a.m.
“You were covering your tracks,” Jackson said. “You searched again to overwrite your original search at 2:27 a.m.”
“I disagree with your narrative,” Jennifer said.
Jennifer has insisted she did not delete calls or Google searches from her phone. But the phone extraction report showed the 2:27 a.m. search was eventually deleted.
Jackson finished his initial cross examination and Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally began a series of redirect questions. Among responses, Jennifer made statements about being harassed by Read supporters who said she should kill herself and who called her a terrible mother.
Jackson asked more questions after Lally’s redirect before Jennifer left the stand.
Kerry Roberts testifies
Kerry Roberts began testimony as the prosecution’s 40th witness near 12 p.m.
Answering questions from Lally, she said she first got a call from Read near 5 a.m. on Jan. 29 saying O’Keefe was dead. Roberts said Read was screaming and then hung up.
In a second call, Roberts said, Read was concerned O’Keefe may have been hit by a snow plow and could be by the side of the road.
Roberts said she eventually met up with Read and Jennifer and followed the pair to O’Keefe’s house as Jennifer drove Read’s Lexus SUV. Roberts said she noticed a broken tail light on Read’s car.
Roberts said Read also noted the tail light and asked “Do you think I hit him?” Roberts said she assured Read such a thing could not be true.
Roberts cried as she viewed police dash cam video from Jan. 29 and remained teary as she described trying to wipe snow off O’Keefe’s body once she, Jennifer and Read found him.
“All of a sudden, Karen said ‘There he is. There he is. Let me the F out of this car,'” Roberts said. “And she started kicking the door.”
“He was covered,” Roberts said, referencing the snow on O’Keefe’s body.
Roberts described O’Keefe’s injuries and said Read at one point lifted his shirt and laid on him, apparently trying to transfer body heat.
After a lunch break, Roberts said she drove Read from the Alberts’ house to O’Keefe’s home. On the way, she said, Read told her “If anything happens to John, I’m going to kill myself.” Roberts said she told Read O’Keefe was not going to die.
The defense had no questions for Roberts after she finished her direct examination.
Laura Sullivan testifies
After days of testimony from people at the Albert house on the night O’Keefe died, the jury heard next from Laura Sullivan, who was on the vacation to Aruba with O’Keefe, Read and others.
Back in 2013, Sullivan said, she was dating O’Keefe’s best friend, Pat Rogers. Sullivan had a child with Rodgers, who later took his own life.
Speaking on the witness stand, Sullivan said O’Keefe got involved in her son’s life, saying “He was a constant.”
In Aruba on New Year’s Eve, Sullivan said, O’Keefe’s phone was at at one point lighting up. Sullivan said she asked O’Keefe if he needed to take the call.
Later, Sullivan said, O’Keefe told her “Apparently I made out with your sister last night — according to Karen.”
The next day, Sullivan said, there were efforts to move on and have a good day. But O’Keefe seemed distant. When Sullivan asked him if he was OK, Sullivan said he wouldn’t answer, saying “It is what it is.”
When she tried to get O’Keefe to book rooms for a New Year’s trip the following year, Sullivan said, O’Keefe deferred saying “Let me get over this trip first.”
Marietta Sullivan begins testimony
After minimal cross examination, Sullivan’s sister, Marietta, was the next person to face questions in court Wednesday.
Marietta said more than 30 people went on the week-long trip to Aruba, including Read and O’Keefe.
Marietta was the woman who Read thought she saw kissing O’Keefe. But Laura Sullivan said Read said she was mistaken and offered to pay for some of Marietta’s hotel stay.
As Marietta prepared to begin her testimony, Judge Beverly Cannone instructed to jury to consider her testimony only as far as state of mind and possible motive, not signs of bad character.
While at the Aruba hotel, Marietta said she saw O’Keefe as he stepped out of an elevator. He stumbled and she said she asked if he was OK. Marietta said she gave him a hug and noticed he was glassy-eyed.
Marietta said she then heard a scream and a woman yelling “Who the [expletive] is that?” after seeing the hug. Marietta said Read told her to “go [expletive] herself” when she came up to introduce herself.
“This was my first interaction with her,” Marietta said.
Marietta said O’Keefe was like family, so she would never have any romantic interest. After a very short cross examination, testimony ended for the day.
Brian Higgins expected as next trial witness
There will be no court proceedings in the Karen Read trial on Thursday.
Come Friday, the prosecution is expected to call Brian Higgins as its next witness.
Higgins was at a local bar with Read and O’Keefe and later made his way to the Albert house to continue celebrations on the morning of Jan. 29, hours before O’Keefe died.
Higgins, an ATF agent, is on the list of people the defense believes could have beaten O’Keefe inside the Albert house.
Cannone said she is hopeful Higgins can be done with testimony in one day Friday, to which Jackson said he will “do my best.”
“I think we can,” Jackson said.
This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.
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