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Judge announces recess — 1:00 p.m.
By Sean Cotter, Globe Staff
Cannone announced the court will be in recess until 2 p.m. The jury left first, then O’Keefe’s family, then Read’s.
Paul O’Keefe discusses Read’s arrival at the house — 12:59 p.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
He said Read arrived at his brother’s house about 20 minutes later with her father, and that her brother and his wife arrived later.
”When Karen and her father arrived I was shoveling the walkway out front,” he said, adding that Read stayed for about a half hour. Read and her father went upstairs at one point and came back down about 15 minutes later with some of her belongings.
”They got in their cars and drove back to Dighton,” where Read’s parents live, he said.
Paul O’Keefe testifies about ride back from hospital — 12:53 p.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
He said weather conditions that day were treacherous.
”Probably the worst driving conditions I’ve driven in as far as weather,” he testified. The family returned to his brother’s Canton home late on the morning of Jan. 29. “Karen Read called me and asked me if it was okay to come over and just see the kids and I said ‘sure,’” he said.
Paul O’Keefe describes Read’s continued ranting at hospital — 12:49 p.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Paul O’Keefe said the family again saw Read in the hospital after they viewed his brother’s body. She kept screaming “Is he alive,” and at one point, “I actually blew her a kiss,” he said. He said he thought Read “was a good influence on my niece and nephew. I appreciated all the help that she was providing my brother with the kids.”
Paul O’Keefe describes brother’s injuries — 12:47 p.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
O’Keefe paused briefly when asked to describe his brother’s injuries at the hospital. “He was pretty banged up,” he said. “His eyes had swelled up” and blood was coming down his mouth. “What really stood out to me was, you know, the eyes,” he said. “It was almost as if, like, there were ping pong balls under his eyelids.”
Paul O’Keefe describes last message to his brother, John O’Keefe — 12:37 p.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Paul O’Keefe said he and his brother planned on getting together on Jan. 29, 2022, but “a big snow storm hit the area,” and they decided “it’s probably better” to “just stay home and off the roads,” so they canceled the planned get together the night before.
On Jan. 28, a Friday, Paul O’Keefe’s daughters had basketball games, he testified. They returned home around 8:30 p.m., he said. He said he “noticed the first flurries” of snow between 10:30 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Paul O’Keefe also described his last communication with his brother, a group text with family members on the afternoon of the Jan. 28. “He was excited because our niece … had gotten accepted to Bishop Feehan High School,” he said.
At 6:40 a.m. on Jan. 29, he said, he got a call from his mother, who told him, “something happened to your brother,” and that he was found in the snow. “The only thing I was able to get [at the hospital] was that he was cold and they needed to warm him up.”
Paul O’Keefe discusses Read on stand — 12:27 p.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Paul O’Keefe said he first met Read in May 2020 and that his brother and Read “very briefly” dated previously in 2004.
“I believe my brother reached out to her in March of 2020, right at the beginning of COVID.” He said Read would stay at John O’Keefe’s home three or four times each week. During the pandemic, he said, “Karen would be at home with the kids during the day while she worked remotely.”
Paul O’Keefe said his brother rarely discussed any relationship issues he was having with Read. John O’Keefe, his brother testified, objected to Read spending “a lot of money on the kids” for gifts, and there were also arguments over what she fed the children.
During one vacation on a 2021 trip to the Cape, he said, he witnessed a verbal argument between Read and his sibling, describing it as “an intense fight.”
He said he recalled Read complaining his brother “wasn’t nice to her,” and that “I was kind of the referee in that entire situation.”
Paul O’Keefe takes stand — 12:20 p.m.
By Travis Andersen and Sean Cotter, Globe Staff
The prosecution’s first witness was Paul O’Keefe, John O’Keefe’s younger brother. He said John O’Keefe took in his niece and nephew when they were 6 and 3 after both their parents died from cancer. He struggled to maintain his composure when prosecutor Adam Lally asked him to name his siblings growing up and he paused momentarily before referencing his late sister and “my brother John.” Everyone called him Johnny, he said, “especially if you were family.”
Several jurors took notes as testimony began. Any who wished had been provided with notebooks.
During a break, Yannetti speaks with Read’s father — 11:59 a.m.
By Sean Cotter, Globe Staff
During a break, Yannetti speaks with Read’s father for a few minutes. After openings, Yannetti spoke with Read’s father for a few minutes. As prosecutors and defense lawyers talked quietly to each other during the break, Read talked to a couple of her relatives, giving them a smile.Several of the 10 or so family members on each side of the courtroom had brought seat cushions for the hard wooden seats. The trial is expected to last as long as two months.
Defense says prosecution won’t prevail — 11:54 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
As his opening drew to a close, Read defense attorney David Yannetti reiterated that his client was “framed, and the evidence shows that.” He said prosecutors “will fail to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt. … You will reasonably doubt their case because Karen Read was framed.” The attorneys on both sides approached Cannone at sidebar after Yannetti concluded. The first government witness is expected to take the stand shortly.
Driver who plowed the street did not see O’Keefe’s body that night, Yanetti says — 11:46 a.m.
By Sean Cotter, Globe Staff
Yannetti said Read’s defense team interviewed a plow driver that police never spoke to. The driver said that when he plowed the street around 2:30 a.m., he did not see anyone’s body lying in the yard, according to Yannetti. A short time later, the plow driver said he saw a truck parked near where the body was found.
”The Commonwealth will not be able to dispute any of those facts,” Yannetti said.
He said O’Keefe’s body looked as if he “had been attacked and beaten up.” He said an expert will testify that some of his injuries looked like scratch marks and claw marks consistent with an attack from a German Shepherd.
Yanetti says ‘car did not cause’ O’Keefe’s arm injuries — 11:44 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Yanetti told jurors that scratch marks on O’Keefe’s arm couldn’t have come from a vehicle. “You’ll take one look at that arm, and you will conclude that a car did not cause those injuries,” he said. He said the Albert family had a German shepherd named Chloe who was “rehomed” after Brian Albert testified before the grand jury.
Yannetti disputes time of Google search — 11:36 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Yannetti told the jury a defense expert will testify that the woman who searched “hos [sic] long to die in cold” actually Googled that on her phone at 2:27 a.m., not four hours later at Read’s request as prosecutors maintain.
Yannetti says Read woke up ‘in a panic’ — 11:30 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Yannetti told jurors Read “had a sinking feeling” that something was wrong when she woke up at O’Keefe’s home around 4 a.m. and saw he had not come home. When she later backed out of the driveway, her taillight hit O’Keefe’s car, he said, an assertion that prosecutors dispute. “You will witness the wheels and the hubcaps on John’s car jostle and move” on surveillance video, he said.
Jurors listen to defense opening — 11:26 a.m.
By Sean Cotter, Globe Staff
Defense attorney David Yannetti provided a more colorful opening than prosecutor Adam Lally, leading with “Karen Read was framed” as he spoke loudly to the jurors from the podium. The jurors appeared to listen intently, as they had to Lally. Off to the side, a few of Read’s family members periodically nodded or shook their heads as Yannetti described different parts of the case and claimed various investigators were conflicted, including Trooper Michael Proctor, an investigator on the case. “Michael Proctor predetermined the outcome of this case,” he said.
Yannetti describes Proctor texts about Read
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
On the day of O’Keefe’s death, Proctor texted his friends that he hoped Read “would kill herself” and seized her phone, Yannetti said. He “told his high school buddies that he was searching for nude photos of Karen Read,” Yannetti said. When a friend texted back that the homeowner would catch “a lot of grief” for a body being found on his lawn, Proctor replied, “nope,” since the homeowner was also a Boston police officer. “His fingerprints are all over the Commonwealth’s evidence,” Yannetti said.
Yannetti faults State Police probe — 11:19 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Yannetti told jurors that the lead State Police detective on the case, Michael Proctor, has “deep ties” to the Albert family and never asked Brian Albert for permission to enter the home the morning O’Keefe died. “He focused exclusively on Karen Read, the outsider,” Yannetti said. “Karen Read was a convenient outsider.”
Defense lawyer David Yannetti says ‘Karen Read was framed’ — 11:14 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
In his opening statement, Yannetti told jurors Karen Read was “framed for a murder she did not commit.” He said it was “no accident” that O’Keefe was found dead on the lawn of the home owned by the Alberts, a family connected to law enforcement. “You will learn, in short, that the police did no real investigation of the case, and you will question why. … You will question why they focused solely on Karen Read.”
Lally describes forensic evidence — 11:12 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Lally told jurors they’ll hear testimony that DNA “on the defendant’s taillight is consistent with Mr. O’Keefe.” A hair found on the bumper was also “consistent with” O’Keefe, Lally said. There will also be testimony about swelling around O’Keefe’s eyes and bleeding on his brain. He said O’Keefe was knocked to the ground by the impact of Read’s SUV, causing him to hit his head on the ground, which caused the swelling.
Lally describes Aruba trip — 11:04 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
About a month before the crash, Read, O’Keefe, and O’Keefe’s niece and nephew joined a larger group for a trip to Aruba, Lally said. During that trip, he said, Read became angry when she thought he was “making out” with another woman who had greeted him with a hug. The niece and nephew later witnessed a “20-minute screaming match” in the hotel room between O’Keefe and Read.
Lally says no one saw O’Keefe go inside the home — 11:01 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Lally told jurors that no one inside the home on Fairview Road in Canton saw O’Keefe enter the residence where the afterparty was being held. Around 4:30 a.m., Read entered O’Keefe’s niece’s room “in a frantic state” saying that O’Keefe hadn’t come home, Lally said. Read later showed two other women who arrived at O’Keefe’s home the damage to her rear taillight before they drove back to Fairview Road to search for O’Keefe. Read saw him in the blizzard, but the other two women initially did not. While they waited for paramedics, Read asked one of the women shortly after 6:20 a.m. to Google how long it takes to die in the cold, Lally said.
Jury listens closely to prosecution’s opening statement — 10:50 a.m.
By Sean Cotter, Globe Staff
As Lally delivered his opening statement, the 17 members of the jury appeared to be listening intently, some with their heads slightly cocked as they took in Lally’s detailed descriptions of the events leading up to O’Keefe’s death, the relationship between Read and O’Keefe, and the discovery of O’Keefe’s body in the snow. He talked about the witnesses who will testify and what evidence the jury will hear from people who knew the couple and were with them that night.
Lally describes scene to jurors — 10:46 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Lally told jurors Read repeatedly confessed her guilt to emergency responders at the scene. “The defendant stated repeatedly, ‘I hit him, I hit him, I hit him,’ ” Lally said. O’Keefe was later pronounced dead at Good Samaritan Medical Center, Lally said. Read later made statements related to self-harm and when she was driven to the hospital as a result she indicated that she and O’Keefe had gotten into an argument the night before, Lally said.
Fifth Amendment protects defendants from double jeopardy — 10:38 a.m.
By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff
Read’s Fifth Amendment protection against double jeopardy took effect when Assistant Clerk Magistrate James McDermott swore the jury in. If she is acquitted by the jury, she cannot be tried again for these charges under the constitutional ban on people being repeatedly prosecuted for the same offense.
”The prohibition against double jeopardy protects primarily ‘against three specific evils — a second prosecution for the same offense after acquittal; a second prosecution for the same offense after conviction; and multiple punishments for the same offense,’ ” the Supreme Judicial Court concluded in a 2020 ruling.
Lally recalls John O’Keefe in opening statement — 10:37 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Prosecutor Adam Lally began his opening statement by telling jurors that O’Keefe grew up in Braintree and took in his niece and nephew several years ago when their parents both died of cancer. O’Keefe was a “proud member of the Boston Police Department,” and “raised these children” for about eight years, he said. His niece was about 14 and nephew was around 11 when O’Keefe died, Lally said.
The courtroom is quiet as jury hears instructions — 10:35 a.m.
By Sean Cotter, Globe Staff
The small but crowded wood-paneled courtroom was quiet as Cannone spoke to the jurors. Those assembled were quiet, save for the click-click of reporters typing on laptops and the chirping of birds outside the open window. Cannone’s soft speaking voice intoned much the same information as she had told the pools of hundreds of prospective jurors over the past two weeks. “This trial will be decided by you,” Cannone said, “A jury free from outside interference.”
Jurors will be allowed to have notebooks during trial — 10:32 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Cannone told jurors they’ll be permitted to take notes during the trial, but their notebooks will be kept secured at the end of each day of testimony. She said the notebooks will be placed in a confidential area every day, and that they’ll be destroyed after trial. Taking notes isn’t required, she said. “Some jurors may feel that notes are helpful,” Cannone said. “Other jurors may feel that note taking is a distraction and may interfere with hearing and evaluating the evidence.”
Cannone advises jurors to pay close attention to testimony — 10:26 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Cannone urged jurors to pay close attention to the testimony. “That is the best way to ensure that you decide this case based on the evidence and the law, instead of upon unsupported assumptions,” Cannone said. Jurors should take each witness’s testimony on a case-by-case basis, she said. “Consider them as individuals rather than as members of a particular group … Finally, I might ask myself, would I view the evidence differently if the people were from different groups, such as different racial, ethnic, or gender identity groups?”
Judge addresses the jury — 10:19 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
After jurors were sworn in, the clerk read out the charges and Cannone informed them that “the defendant starts this trial presumed to be innocent.”
Only the jury, Cannone said — “in other words, you folks” — will decide whether the government has proven its case. She told jurors a charge is proved beyond a reasonable doubt “if, after you have compared and considered all the evidence, you have in your mind an abiding conviction to a moral certainty that the charge is true.”
Court is in session — 10:16 a.m.
By Sean Cotter, Globe Staff
Seventeen members of the jury came in around 10:10 a.m. It appears that 10 are women.
Cannone enters and a court staffer announces the session is now beginning. “God save the Commonwealth and this good court,” he says. “Thank you, and this court is now in session.”
Judge Cannone enters the courtroom — 9:58 a.m.
By Sean Cotter, Globe Staff
Cannone entered the courtroom just before 10 a.m. and began a quiet sidebar conversation with the lawyers.
A look inside the courtroom — 9:47 a.m.
By Sean Cotter, Globe Staff
The snug courtroom that Judge Beverly Cannone moved the trial to last week held only a small collection of people. A half dozen members of Read’s family sat behind her, and O’Keefe’s loved ones sat on the side.
A dozen media members and courtroom staff rounded out the room.
Read, clad in a black dress, talked quietly with members of her family, including her father, Bill, and brother, Nathan, as she waited for court to come into session.
Karen Read enters the courthouse — 9:20 a.m.
By Sean Cotter, Globe Staff
Read walked through the media gauntlet, entering the courtroom as someone yelled “We love you, Karen.” Several supporters followed, each wearing an article of clothing in some hue of pink.
Before Read’s entrance, the crowd of pink-clad supporters grew, swelling into the dozens on the edge of the 200-foot buffer zone from the courthouse. Some waved flags and others held “Free Karen Read” signs.
Read supporters have taken to wearing pink during court sessions since they are not allowed to wear clothing or buttons that refer to the case.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
The judge presiding over the case ruled earlier this month that she’ll implement a 200-foot buffer zone to keep demonstrators a distance from the courthouse.
In her ruling, Judge Beverly J. Cannone said that a government request to keep protesters at least 500 feet away is “far too excessive.”
Read the full story.
Jury was finalized last week — 8:50 a.m.
By Sean Cotter and Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
A jury of 12 plus four alternates will decide Read’s fate.
Jury selection ran five days and churned through about 500 potential jurors. A heavy majority of the potential jurors who were summoned to Norfolk Superior said they’d heard of the Read case, and about a quarter said they’d formed an opinion on it, leading many to be excused.
Read the full story.
Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
A look at the scene outside the courthouse — 8:43 a.m.
By Sean Cotter, Globe Staff
By 6 a.m., the media frenzy was well underway.
At each of the corners of Ames and High streets, TV reporters were speaking into cameras, brows furrowed. A line of press had already formed outside of Norfolk Superior Court under the morning sun four hours before openings were scheduled to start.
Catch up on the key players in the case — 8:31 a.m.
By Globe Staff
Here’s what to know about Read, O’Keefe, the lawyers in the case, and the judge, Beverly Cannone.
The case has drawn heavy media coverage — 8:26 a.m.
By Sean Cotter and Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
The case has drawn heavy media coverage and become a topic of intense speculation.
Aidan Kearney, a controversial blogger known as Turtleboy, has aggressively championed Read’s claims of innocence and faces separate charges of allegedly harassing and intimidating witnesses in the case. He has pleaded not guilty and will be allowed to attend the trial.
Read the full story.
A brief primer on the case — 8:20 a.m.
By Globe Staff
Karen Read, 44, is accused of intentionally backing her car into her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, a Boston police officer, and leaving him for dead outside a Canton home during a blizzard after a night of bar hopping.
Read’s lawyers maintain she’s being framed as part of a massive police coverup and that O’Keefe was actually beaten by people at the Canton home and his body left outside during the snowstorm on Jan. 29, 2022. His body was discovered the following morning on the snowy front lawn of the home, which was then owned by a fellow Boston police officer.
The trial is being held in Norfolk Superior Court and is expected to take several weeks. Read has pleaded not guilty.
Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
