Killing of John O'Keefe

Killing of John O'Keefe
Location	Canton, Massachusetts, US
Date	January 29, 2022 (2022-01-29)
Deaths	1
Victim	John O'Keefe
Accused	Karen A. Read

On January 29, 2022, Boston police officer John O'Keefe (born 1975) was found dead outside a home in Canton, Massachusetts. He had been dropped off at the home by his girlfriend, Karen A. Read (born 1979), in the early hours of the morning, to join a gathering hosted by fellow police officer Brian Albert. He was discovered hours later and transported to a local hospital where cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma and hypothermia.

Police arrested Read on February 1, alleging that Read hit her boyfriend with her SUV and left him to die in the snow. She was later indicted with second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter, and leaving the scene of a collision. Read has alleged that she did not hit O'Keefe, and that she was framed by police.

Background

John J. O'Keefe (born December 8, 1975) grew up in Braintree and graduated from Braintree High School and Northeastern University. He also earned a master's degree in criminal justice from UMass Lowell and had lived in Canton since 2014, where he was raising his niece and nephew following his sister and brother-in-law's deaths. O'Keefe was a 16-year veteran of the Boston Police Department.

Karen A. Read (born 1979) is from Taunton and graduated from Bentley University with a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree in finance. She had been a financial analyst at Fidelity Investments since 2007, and was an adjunct professor at Bentley University. Read lived in Mansfield at the time of O'Keefe's death. O'Keefe and Read began dating in 2019.

Brian Albert, owner of the Canton home outside of which O’Keefe would be found dead, is a retired Boston Police Officer and was featured on 2013 reality television series Boston’s Finest. His brothers, Chris Albert, serves on the Canton Select Board, and Kevin Albert, serves in the Canton Police Department as a detective. Chris and his wife, Julie, and their son Colin, were neighbors with O'Keefe.

Event

On the night of January 28, 2022, O'Keefe and Read visited two bars in Canton: C.F. McCarthy's and Waterfall Bar & Grille. At the second bar, they met up with several acquaintances including fellow police officer Brian Albert. Shortly after midnight Albert invited a group of people, including the couple, back to his home on Fairview Road in Canton.

The two drove to the home in Read's SUV. Read claims to have dropped O'Keefe off in front of the home and left because she wasn't feeling well.

A snow storm hit Canton in the early morning of January 29. Read reported that when she woke up the next day, O'Keefe had not returned home. After he did not respond to calls or texts, she contacted an acquaintance from that night, Jennifer McCabe, who agreed to join her and another woman, Kerry Roberts, in looking for him. The three women returned to Fairview Road in Robert's vehicle, where they saw O'Keefe lying unresponsive in the snow. Read exited the car and began CPR. McCabe called 911 at approximately 6:04 am and Canton Police, Fire, and EMS responded to the scene.

O'Keefe was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton, where he was pronounced dead. A medical examiner later reported that O'Keefe had abrasions to his right arm, several lacerations to the face, two black eyes, and skull fractures which would have contributed to brain bleeding. They determined that hypothermia was a contributing factor to O'Keefe's death.

Read theorizes that O'Keefe was beaten inside the home, and his body was then left outside; however, there are 11 witness statements that say O'Keefe never entered the home.

Investigation

Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael D. Proctor, of the Norfolk State Police Detective Unit, was the lead investigator for this case. He produced a series of written reports (Case # 2022-112-0033) to Detective Lieutenant Brian P. Tully of the Massachusetts State Police.

According to police, pieces of a cocktail glass and patches of blood were found alongside O'Keefe's body. They also found pieces of a broken taillight, said to match a broken light on Read's car.

Read was arrested on February 1, 2022. Her phone was taken into custody. She was charged with manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide, and leaving the scene of a collision in the lower Stoughton District Court on February 2, 2022.

In April 2023, Read's attorneys presented a theory that implicated Brian Albert, who owned the home outside of which where O'Keefe was found dead, and his sister-in-law Jennifer McCabe, who had been drinking with Read and O'Keefe on January 28, and helped Read find O'Keefe's body the morning of January 29. Evidence showed that Brian Albert sold his house and got rid of his dog after the incident, and Jennifer McCabe made a Google search "hos[sic] long to die in cold" at 2:27 a.m.

In November 2023, residents of Canton voted to mount an independent investigation into the town's police department.

In January 2024, letters between the General Counsel for the Department of Justice and Norfolk District Attorney, Michael W. Morrissey, were released, confirming a federal investigation was mounted into the Norfolk District Attorney's office.

In March 2024, the Massachusetts State Police launched an internal investigation into the lead investigator in the case, Trooper Michael Proctor, due to potential violation of department policy, but have not said whether that investigation relates to a specific case.

Court proceedings

On February 2, 2022, Read was arraigned in Stoughton District Court on the charges of manslaughter, leaving the scene of a serious accident, and motor vehicle homicide. She pleaded not guilty and was released on $80,000 bail.

In June 2022, a Norfolk County grand jury indicted Read for second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter, and leaving the scene of a collision.

The case is being heard in Norfolk County Superior Court, with Judge Beverly J. Cannone presiding. The prosecution is led by Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey and Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally.

The defense is led by criminal defense attorneys David R. Yannetti, Alan Jackson, and Elizabeth Little. Jackson and Little are partners at a Los Angeles firm and have represented Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey.

On March 12, 2024, Read's attorneys filed for a motion to dismiss the case due to alleged conflicts of interest and federal crash reconstruction experts determining that O’Keefe’s injuries were “inconsistent” with the damage to Read’s car. The judge denied the motion on March 26 due to "extensive evidence supporting the indictments," such as O'Keefe's DNA being found on the broken taillight of Read's car.

In early April 2024, ahead of the trial date, the prosecutors filed a motion requesting special restrictions during the trial to keep demonstrations back at least 500 feet (150 m) from the courthouse to maintain an unbiased jury pool; Judge Cannone argued that 500 feet was too excessive, but has ordered a 200-foot (61 m) buffer zone where no protesters are allowed. This ruling came after ACLU filed a memorandum opposing the prosecution's request, citing freedom of speech, and urged the court to consider more narrowly tailored restrictions. Read's attorney said the defense takes no position on the motion. The judge also approved the prosecution's request to prohibit anyone inside the courtroom from wearing any attire that says “Free Karen Read” and also prohibit law enforcement officers, whether they be testifying or attending the trial, from wearing their uniforms. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court approved the judge's ruling, and later on May 2 issued a formal document affirming the approval of the buffer zone. The SJC argued that the Judge "struck a balance between the right to protest or demonstrate and the defendant’s right to a fair trial".

Trial

Read's trial was first scheduled to begin in March 2024, but was rescheduled to April. The trial started on April 16, 2024 with the jury selection, which was completed on April 24. Prosecutors previously asked the Judge to block Read’s lawyers from arguing that others are to blame for O’Keefe’s death, also known as third-party culprit defense. The judge instead offered the defense a chance to develop their argument through “relevant, competent, admissible evidence”, but still barred them from using the third-party culprit defense during opening statements.

Opening statements

On April 28, the prosecutors and the defense presented opening statements. Prosecutors outlined circumstantial evidence that pointed to Read’s guilt, while the defense told jurors that Read is being framed and that O’Keefe was beaten and attacked by a dog inside the home of another Boston police officer.

Testimonies from the O'Keefe family

O'Keefe's brother and sister-in-law, Paul and Erin O'Keefe, took the stand for the prosecution describing the relationship between Read and O'Keefe. Paul acknowledged that there have been arguments between the two. Erin said she considered Read as a friend.

When asked about the day when John O'Keefe died, Paul recalled seeing Read in the hospital screaming, asking if John was alive, while she was being restrained by hospital employees.

Testimonies from police and first responders

• Canton Police Officer Steve Saraf, the first police officer to arrive at the scene, testified that Read appeared to be giving O’Keefe CPR, and was "visibly upset", repeatedly asked if O'Keefe is dead and said "this is my fault". The defense pointed out that Officer Saraf's initial report did not include what Read said, but included the statement when he testified to the grand jury in April 2022. Defense attorney Alan Jackson argued that not including the quote “This is my fault” in the initial police report was an important omission.
• Four paramedics testified and told the court that Read was saying "I hit him" repeatedly at the scene.After the testimony from the paramedics, the defense raised questions about the ties between Canton firefighter and paramedic Katie McLaughlin and the Albert family. When asked about her relationship with Brian Albert's daughter, Caitlin Albert, she acknowledged that they went to high school together, but they are only acquaintances; however, the defense later accused McLaughlin of perjury after dozens of pictures of them together emerged, including one from June 2021.

• Canton Police Lt. Paul Gallagher, who was in charge of preserving the crime scene that day, testified that he and other two sergeants used a leaf blower to remove the snow, and collected DNA evidence with uncovered solo cups and put them in a brown paper grocery bag. He also said it was not standard practice to do so.

• Canton Police Sgt. Sean Goode testified that upon arrival at the scene, he observed the area, noting at least 4 inches (10 cm) of snow and some pink spots which were possibly blood. He also mentioned they improvised methods for evidence collection using leaf blowers, solo cups, and a grocery bag. Goode recalled officers looking for evidence, though, he noted they did not find the pieces of Read's broken taillight that would later be found at the house or O'Keefe's missing shoe. He also said, when asked, that no officer guarded the crime scene for the two hours they were there, and that there was no protocol for putting up a tent to keep the scene from the elements.

• Canton Police Sgt. Michael Lank testified during direct examination, holding up a broken cocktail glass that was found during the investigation. During cross-examination, the defense questioned Lank about his relationship with the Albert family, referencing an incident back in 2002, when Chris Albert, Brian Albert's brother, got into a fight with two other men while Lank was present; No one was arrested the night of the fight. A day later, one of the men involved in the fight went to the Canton Police Department with a complaint against Lank. Canton police then filed charges against two men for their role in the fight.

Testimonies from witnesses at the bars

Nicholas and Karina Kolokithas, O'Keefe's friends, were at the Waterfall Bar & Grille with Read and O'Keefe. Karina described the couple as "quite lovey-dovey". Nicholas testified that the atmosphere at the Waterfall Bar & Grille was "a fun atmosphere" and he did not see any arguments or tension between Read and O'Keefe.

Rebecca Trayers, a bartender at the Waterfall Bar & Grille, confirmed that the Albert family, who lived near O'Keefe, were a "well-known" family in Canton.

Curt Roberts, a mutual friend who was at the bar, testified that he did not see any arguments or bickering between Read and O'Keefe while they were at C.F. McCarthy's bar. He also said Read did not appear to be slurring her words, swaying, or experiencing confusion.

Michael and Katherine Camerano, O'Keefe's friends who lived close to him in Canton, also testified. Michael said that there was occasionally some tension in Read and O'Keefe's relationship over differing approaches to childrearing, but their relationship seemed normal in the month prior to O'Keefe's death. Katherine said she received a call from Read early morning on January 29 saying O’Keefe hadn’t come home. Read was "frantically screaming" as she called around looking for O'Keefe the morning he was found dead.

Testimonies from witnesses at the house party

The house party on January 28, 2022 was for Brian Albert's son, Brian Jr., who was celebrating his birthday.

Guests at the house party

• Julianna (Julie) Nagel and Sara Levinson, both friends of Brian Albert Jr., were leaving the house between 1:30 a.m. and 2 a.m. with the McCabes, Nagel said she saw a "black blob" on the front lawn but didn’t say if it was a person; Levinson said she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary on the front lawn.
• Ryan Nagel, Julie Nagel's brother, testified that he went to C.F. McCarthy's bar in Canton with his then girlfriend and another friend. Later, he was at the Hillside Pub in Canton when he received a text from his sister asking him to pick her up at the Albert home. When he arrived at the Albert home, he saw a black SUV pull up, but he didn't witness anyone exiting it. He waited for his sister for a couple of minutes, and when she came out of the house, he opened the door of the truck for her. They declined an invitation to go inside the house, and his sister went back in alone. He noticed the brake lights were on in the SUV, and he saw a person inside the car, a woman with long hair, seated in the driver's seat.
• Heather Maxon, Ryan’s then girlfriend, testified that on the night of January 28, 2022, as they approached the Albert home on Fairview Road, she and Ryan Nagel saw a black SUV with a female driving and a male in the passenger's seat. She mentioned being the third person to testify about seeing the black SUV, adding that it was parked outside the house when they arrived, just a couple of feet in front of where they parked their vehicle. However, she noted that she never saw anyone get out of the SUV. When they left the house, Maxon stated that the black SUV was still parked in front, running, with its exterior and interior lights on. She testified seeing a woman in the driver's seat but did not notice anyone else in the vehicle.
• Tristin Morris, Caitlin Albert’s boyfriend, was picking her up from 34 Fairview shortly before 2 a.m; he said he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary on the front lawn.

The Albert/McCabe family

• Caitlin Albert, Brian Albert’s daughter, said neither Read nor O’Keefe ever stepped into the house. She stated that she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary on the front lawn, although she also said that she did not look out the window towards the house when leaving in her boyfriend's car. She was also asked about her relationship with the paramedic, Katie McLaughlin, who was accused of perjury earlier. She acknowledged that they knew each other but they were not close. Judge has previously blocked the defense from showing the pictures of them together to the jurors.
• Brian Albert Jr., son of Brian Albert, said he saw a dark SUV, but nothing was on the lawn.
• Colin Albert, son of Chris and Julie Albert and nephew of Brian, said he didn’t see O’Keefe at his uncle’s house that night. When asked about his relationship to O’Keefe, he said he never had any animosity toward O'Keefe or had any arguments with him. When asked if he ever fought with people, he testified that he had never been in a fight, other than with his brothers. During cross-examination, the defense asked about a party picture back in high school, where his knuckles were red, which indicated him being in a fight; Colin claimed he slipped on the driveway and injured his knuckles. The defense also showed videos of Colin making threats against people when he was in high school. The defense also asked about his relationship with the Proctors, showing a photo from 10 years ago at Courtney Proctor’s wedding, where Colin was the ring bearer; Courtney Proctor is Trooper Proctor's sister. The defense alleged bias in the investigation due to the family ties; Colin said he has not seen Trooper Proctor for years.
• Allison McCabe, daughter of Jen McCabe, showed a screenshot of text exchange with her cousin Colin. She testified that she picked Colin up at the Albert home and dropped him off at his house before going to her own home. During cross-examination, it was revealed that the text exchange between McCabe and Colin Albert was not requested by investigators in the Read case until much later, and McCabe only provided the screenshot during the summer of 2023, after upgrading her phone. The defense also showed data from Life360 app her family used showing that she had left her house in the early-morning hours on Jan. 29, 2022, and gone to Canton High School, though she had previously said she had returned home and stayed home.
• Brian Albert said O’Keefe never entered the house. He also claimed that he and his wife slept through the commotions when first responders arrived the next morning. When asked about the several calls with Higgins around 2 a.m., he alleged that those were "butt dials". He also allegedly upgraded and traded in his phone just a day before a court order to keep his cellphone data. He was asked about the play fight between him and Higgins was captured on security camera from the Waterfall bar, and he said they were just “fooling around”, but the defense argued that they were practicing fighting techniques. When asked about the home sale, he said it has nothing to do with O’Keefe’s death.
• Nicole Albert, wife of Brian Albert, was asked about their family dog, a German Shepherd named Chloe, which was rehomed after the incident. They mentioned a few instances of the dog attacking others and that was the reason of rehoming. She said they sold the house because they wanted to move and downsize.
• Chris Albert, brother of Brian Albert, is a Canton Select Board member and owns a pizza shop in Canton. He said he lived near O'Keefe and was friendly with him and O'Keefe would bring his nephew in his shop for pizza. He was asked about his friendship with Brian Higgins, a federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agent, and he said he knew him because he had an office at the Canton Police Department. He said he did not notice any injuries to either Brian Albert, Brian Higgins, or their son Colin.
• Julie Albert, wife of Chris Albert, said she did not notice any injuries to either Brian Albert, Brian Higgins, or their son Colin; she also acknowledged that she knew Trooper Proctor and his wife. When asked about her family’s relationship with the Proctors, she said she rarely talks to Trooper Michael Proctor’s sister, Courtney; but the defense showed phone records of 67 calls between Julie Albert to Courtney Proctor after Read’s arrest on Feb. 1, 2022 and through Sept, 6, 2022.
• Matt McCabe, Brian Albert’s brother-in-law, testified that he and Jen left the Waterfall bar around midnight and headed to the home on Fairview Road. He recalled seeing a dark SUV parked outside the house, matching the description of Read's car, but O'Keefe and Read didn't come inside. The next morning, he heard screaming when his wife with on the phone with Read. He said Read “blurted that she broke her taillight, cracked her taillight, something to that effect.” He testified that two Massachusetts State Police troopers, Michael Proctor and Yuri Bukhenik, came to his home later that day and interviewed him and his wife separately. His brother-in-law, Brian Albert, also arrived at the McCabes’ home and spoke with the troopers. He denied observing any damage to the SUV’s rear in the three times he saw the car parked outside the house and said he didn’t see O’Keefe sitting in the SUV when he looked outside that night, nor did he see a 6-foot-2 man lying on the front lawn. While he noted there was music playing inside the house at the time, he also denied hearing any yelling, crash noises, or screams of pain outside. He further testified that he didn’t see a baseball cap, sneaker, or pieces of broken taillight on the front lawn as he left the home that night. The couple gave two of their nephew’s friends a ride home that night, and he testified that he did not hear one of the women, Julie Nagel, mention seeing an object on the front lawn as they drove away. The defense also asked Matt McCabe about a group chat he and his wife shared with Brian and Nicole Albert, noting that McCabe texted the group about State Police troopers searching a neighbor’s property on Fairview Road on Feb. 1, 2022. McCabe denied “monitoring” the investigation and said he just happened to notice as he was driving by. The defense showed McCabe a series of messages from the chat, noting that McCabe and Brian Albert exchanged some texts about police “barely” interviewing Kerry Roberts. He noted that earlier on Feb. 1, 2022, McCabe texted the group, “Ask Chris(Brian’s brother) to ask some questions,” “Tell them the guy never went in the house”. He confirmed that the “guy” refers to O’Keefe and “them” refers to the news crew who came into Chris Albert’s pizza shop.
• Jen McCabe, Brian Albert’s sister-in-law and wife of Matt McCabe, said she saw a dark SUV, but Read and O’Keefe didn’t come inside the house. Later, she woke up 5 a.m. from a frantic call from Read that O’Keefe didn’t come home. Said Read was saying “Did I hit him? Could I have hit him?” And also mentioned a cracked taillight. They spoke with O’Keefe’s friend, Kerry Roberts, and they started looking for O’Keefe together. When arriving at 34 Fairview Road, Read ran straight to O’Keefe, and screaming “is he dead?” And “stated that she hit him” three times when a paramedic asked what happened. When asked if she made the infamous “how long to die in cold” search, she said Read asked her to do it that morning after finding O’Keefe on the lawn. However, during cross-examination, the defense showed Cellebrite data from her cellphone, which showed that the searches were made several times at 2:27 a.m.; one of them was deleted. McCabe denied the allegations. Defense also asked her about a September 2023 visit she had at the home of Trooper Michael Proctor. McCabe said the visit was with the trooper's wife, Elizabeth Proctor, and Michael Proctor was not home at the time. When asked why she was at the home, McCabe said it was to discuss social media harassment, referring to Aidan Kearney, the blogger also known as Turtleboy.

Brian Higgins, ATF agent and friend of Brian Albert, was reportedly at the Fairview Road home the night before O’Keefe was found dead. The prosecution showed a screenshot of flirtatious text exchange between Higgins and Read just days before O’Keefe’s death, trying to indicate Read wanted to leave the relationship with O’Keefe. Higgins denied having any romantic interest. The defense asked him about the reason for destroying his phone and SIM card in 2022, he claimed that a suspect he was investigating at that time found his phone number. Carrier provided call logs showing that he had a few calls with Brian Albert on the night of January 29. He got rid of his phone and disposed it in a military base on Cape Cod. However, the incident and the disposal of his phone were two months apart.

Impact

In August 2023, a Massachusetts citizen ballot initiative was proposed to add recall elections to the Massachusetts Constitution in response to Norfolk County District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey's perceived corruption in the case.

The case has caused divisions in Canton, as town residents have debated whether O'Keefe was killed by Read, or whether Read was framed by the police. Social tensions and old family feuds have reportedly been inflamed by the case.

Local blogger Aidan Kearney, nicknamed Turtleboy, was indicted on "eight counts of witness intimidation, three counts of conspiracy to intimidate witnesses, and five counts of picketing a witness" in December 2023. Kearney has covered the case extensively and made more than 200 posts about it on his website and hundreds of videos on his YouTube channel; he often films himself confronting witnesses in public. In February 2024, he was also indicted on two new charges of harassing a witness and intercepting wire or oral communication. Kearney pleaded not guilty to all those charges.

In July 2023, a "rolling rally" of around 50 cars in support of the coverup theory drove through Canton, stopping at the homes of key figures relating to the case and verbally harassing them with a bullhorn.

In November 2023, Canton held a Special Town Meeting where residents voted in favor (903–800) of an independent audit of the Canton Police Department due to the ongoing investigation of this case.

In popular media

American TV series Dateline plans to release an episode on the case.

External links

• Commonwealth v. Karen Read, statement of case via DocumentCloud