Karen Read trial live: Witness who heard Read say ‘I hit him’ grilled during cross examination
Ms Read is accused of running over her police officer boyfriend and then fleeing the scene in 2022
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The trial of a woman accused of murdering her police officer boyfriend in Massachusetts continued on Tuesday as a witness who claimed she heard the defendant say “I hit him” multiple times sat for a cross examination.
Karen Read, a financial analyst and former Bentley University professor, is on trial charged with the second-degree murder and manslaughter of Boston police officer John O’Keefe.
Prosecutors allege that Ms Read ran over O’Keefe in her car while drunk, leaving him for dead in the snow outside a fellow police officer’s home in the early hours of 29 January, 2022.
Ms Read’s defense claims that she is being framed by police as part of a sprawling cover-up involving prominent law enforcement family, the Alberts.
Jennifer McCabe was with Ms Read when they discovered O’Keefe’s body lying in the snow in front of the home of Brian and Nichole Albert, where a group went after a night out at a local bar.
McCabe, who Google searched “hos (sic) long to die in cold” the morning that O’Keefe’s body was found in the snow, was questioned by the defense about her statements and actions after his death.
Did a professor run over her police officer boyfriend and leave him to die in the snow – or is she being framed?
Karen Read loses it on defense team as trial over the alleged murder of her cop boyfriend drags on
Surveillance footage shows Boston cop and girlfriend Karen Read in bar hours before she allegedly murdered him
Matthew McCabe said he woke up to ‘screams’ in bedroom
Matthew McCabe told the court that he had gone to bed with his wife Jennifer McCabe around the same time that night, after getting home from the Alberts’ home.
“I woke up to screams in my bedroom,” he explained before court ended for the day without further questioning.
Court ends abruptly for the day
Following Mr McCabe’s testimony of hearing screams in his bedroom on the morning of 29 January 2022, the day John O’Keefe died, the court session ended.
Attorneys had approached the bench to speak with the judge off-mic before she called proceedings to a close for the day.
Karen Read was ‘framed’, defence attorneys say
During opening statements on the first day of the trial, Ms Read’s attorney said she was framed for the death of John O’Keefe.
What happened the night John O’Keefe died?
Witness accounts of the night O’Keefe died were revealed in early April in court documents unsealed following a request from The Boston Globe.
Ms Read and O’Keefe met a friend, Jennifer McCabe, at a local bar the evening of 28 January 2022, according to witness statements. As the bar closed, the group was invited to the home of Nicole Albert and her husband Brian, a former fellow Boston police officer.
Ms Read told police she subsequently dropped O’Keefe off at the Alberts’ home. Ms Read said she went home afterwards due to stomach problems.
In the early hours of the morning on 29 January 2022, Ms McCabe said Ms Read called her in distress. The finance professor said she had tried to contact O’Keefe and could not reach him, Ms McCabe told authorities. They later met up with another friend, Kerry Roberts, who received similar calls from Ms Read.
Ms Roberts told police Ms Read called and said her boyfriend was dead, claiming he may have been hit by a snowplough. Ms McCabe also told police Ms Read asked her, “Could I have hit him?”
The group then said they found O’Keefe unresponsive lying in the snow in front of the Alberts’ home. Ms Roberts began CPR, and Ms McCabe called the police.
After paramedics arrived, witnesses said Ms Read repeatedly asked if her boyfriend was dead. Responding troopers also observed Ms Read had a broken taillight.
Lead investigator’s claims unveiled during first day of trial
During the first day of the trial, the court heard that lead investigator Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor told friends he had searched the suspect’s phone for nudes.
Karen Read murder probe’s lead investigator says he ‘searched her phone for nudes’
Finance professor accused of killing cop boyfriend is being ‘framed’ in cover-up, her defence attorneys say
How did John O’Keefe die?
Prosecutors allege that, after going to some bars, she dropped O’Keefe off at the home of retired detective Brian Albert for an after party.
There, she allegedly intentionally ran him over with her black Lexus SUV while intoxicated and fled the scene.
However, Ms Read’s attorneys have claimed that she is being framed by police as part of a vast conspiracy and cover-up.
Her attorneys claim O’Keefe was actually beaten up by people at the after-party and thrown outside, arguing that his injuries were consistent with a severe beating, rather than with being struck by a car.
An autopsy found that O’Keefe had several abrasions on his right forearm, two black eyes, a cut on his nose, a two-inch laceration to the back of his head and multiple skull fractures. Hypothermia was also a contributing factor in his death.
Karen Read appeared annoyed with defence team
Karen Read lost her cool with her defence team, rolling her eyes and giving a strong reaction during a break from the trial over her alleged killing of her cop boyfriend on Wednesday.
Colin Albert says his family has been targeted
While prosecutors are certain Karen Read was responsible for John O’Keefe’s death, her defence attorneys argue that the family whose house he was found outside of framed her.
Colin Albert is one of the family members they claim could have had the means to attack the victim that night, with that accusation circling for some time.
He says that has put his family in a very difficult, unsafe situation.
“People on Twitter, Instagram, social media were just coming at my family, calling us murderers, harassing us, turning up to our doorsteps, our sports games,” Mr Albert told the court Thursday. “We couldn’t leave the house without people taking pictures of us.”
In pictures: Karen Read on trial
What have other witnesses said?
On Wednesday the court heard from Allison McCabe, the daughter of Jennifer McCabe, who was with Ms Read when they discovered Mr O’Keefe’s body lying in the snow in front of the home of Brian and Nichole Albert, where a group went after the bar closed.
During Allison’s emotional testimony, she came to the defence of Colin Albert, one of the men Ms Read’s defence team claims was involved in a fight at Albert’s home that they say resulted in Mr O’Keefe’s death, according to CBS.
Allison told the court she had picked up Colin Albert and drove him to the home, and that Colin was not present during the alleged fight.
“Colin wasn’t at the house. He’s being harassed for … he was not at the house when John [O’Keefe] was there. I drove him home. People are harassing him, saying he was at the house when it’s not true,” Allison McCabe said in court.