DEDHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - Proceedings continued Tuesday in the trial of Karen Read, with four witnesses all telling jurors their memories of a party at the Canton home where Boston police officer John O’Keefe was later found unresponsive in a snowbank.
For the first time in the trial, which began last month, one witness said she may have seen O’Keefe’s body before he was found later in the morning.
“I did notice something out of the ordinary like a black blob on the ground by the flagpole.” said Juliana Nagel.
Prosecutors claim Read, who was dating O’Keefe, killed her boyfriend by running him over with her SUV as she dropped him off at the party in Canton.
Read has pleaded not guilty and her defense has said she is being framed, saying O’Keefe actually died inside the house after a fight.
Nagel testified she was drinking beer at the home of Brian and Nicole Albert on Fairview Road on the night of Jan. 28, 2022 to celebrate her friend’s birthday.
Her friend, Brian’s son, already testified on Monday.
On Tuesday, Nagel said she saw the “blob” near 1:45 a.m. on Jan. 29 as she was being driven home.
“I did say out loud, ‘I think I might have saw something, I’m not kind of sure what it was,’” she said.
Before she saw the blob, Nagel told the jury she saw an unfamiliar SUV near the Fairview Road home just after midnight while she waited for her brother and friends to come by.
Nagel said she did not see the SUV hit anything or move quickly in reverse.
Read drives a black Lexus SUV and jurors previously saw her SUV during a visit to the crime scene in Canton.
After questioning from Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally, Nagel faced cross examination from defense attorney David Yannetti.
“You did not see a body on that lawn, correct?” he asked before an objection from Lally.
Later speaking outside the courthouse, Yannetti said “these witnesses are very shaky.”
Asked if he thought it was damaging that Nagel saw a blob, he responded — “I don’t think she saw a blob. I think that’s made up.”
Nagel admitted she did not call the police when she put two and two together and realized the blob she saw must have been O’Keefe.
Defense questions Caitlin Albert’s friendship with Katie McLaughlin
Hours before Nagel took the stand Tuesday, Yannetti began cross examining witness Caitlin Albert about her friendship with Katie McLaughlin, who already testified about her observations as a Canton firefighter responding to the Albert family’s home after O’Keefe died.
Caitlin is the oldest child of Brian and Nicole Albert and started her testimony on Monday.
Despite photos showing Caitlin and McLaughlin together, Caitlin insisted she and McLaughlin are not close friends.
“I said that I went to high school with her and she’s my same age,” Caitlin said. “We graduated the same year.”
“So, you referenced high school, correct?” Yannetti asked.
Caitlin responded — “Yes.”
“You would agree with me that you have seen her several times since high school, correct?” Yannetti again asked.
“Yes,” Caitlin said.
“You have hung out in the same group with her several times since high school, correct?” Yannetti asked.
“Yes,” Caitlin said.
Yannetti wanted the jury to view the photos of Caitlin and McLaughlin together. After another objection from Lally, Cannone said the photos would not be shown on-screen in the courtroom.
Questioning continued, with Caitlin at one point describing her observations when she left her parents’ home hours before O’Keefe was found.
She said her boyfriend came to pick her up at 1:45 a.m. after a party at the house. Though she previously told prosecutors she was focused on her boyfriend, she said she did not see a body on the lawn.
In new questions after Caitlin’s cross examination, Caitlin again told Lally her attention was focused on her boyfriend — not the lawn or the snow.
Caitlin finished her cross examination near 9:45 a.m.
Tristan Morris, Caitlin Albert’s boyfriend, testifies
Caitlin’s boyfriend, Tristan Morris, followed Caitlin in testimony Tuesday morning.
He and Caitlin live together at an apartment in Easton. Morris said he never got out of the car when he picked Caitlin up at her parents’ house and said she seemed normal, with nothing out of the ordinary.
Yannetti cross examined Morris after questioning from Lally. Among other topics, Morris told Yannetti he did not have a clear view of the Alberts’ lawn as he and Caitlin drove off.
Friends recall birthday celebration for Brian Albert Jr.
In testimony on Monday, Brian Albert Jr. described celebrations at his parents’ house for his 23rd birthday on the night O’Keefe died.
After Morris’ testimony on Tuesday, one of Brian Jr.’s friends, Sarah Levinson, took the stand.
Levinson, a nurse, was at the Albert family’s house for Brian Jr.’s birthday party. She said several other female friends came over to celebrate with Brian Jr. Together, Levinson said, they ate calzones and had drinks.
Levinson said she was at Brian Jr.’s house when another group of Albert family members and friends got home from the Waterfall Bar & Grille, where they had been getting drinks with Read and O’Keefe.
Among other things, Levinson said the mood was good at the party after Brian Jr.’s parents got home.
Asked on cross examination if she saw O’Keefe “sprawled out” on the lawn, she said she was not looking toward where he would have been but agreed she did not see him.
With testimony done for the day Tuesday, Nagel will be back on the stand Wednesday morning for more questioning.
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