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
McCabe was at a local bar the night John O’Keefe died
Matthew McCabe explained how he and a group of friends were at the bar until around midnight the night of the alleged murder.
He explained that the group at The Waterfall included his wife Jennifer, along with members of the Albert family: Nicole, Chris and Julie Albert, as well as a few other friends.
At some point later on in the evening, he said Mr O’Keefe and Karen Read showed up, along with other members of the Albert family.
WATCH: Prosecutors believe Karen Read killed John O’Keefe
Karen Read argues she was framed
Ms Read’s attorneys argue she has been framed in a large cover-up, claiming a law enforcement official who investigated the case has personal ties to the family of retired detective Brian Albert, outside whose home O’Keefe was found. Her attorneys also claim O’Keefe’s 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. Authorities also say hypothermia was a contributing factor in his death.
Read more here:
Karen Read: Professor goes to court as prosecutors say she ran over cop boyfriend
Karen Read’s murder charges have generated a media frenzy for months, with competing claims of a cold-blooded killing and conspiracy theories about a cover-up. Katie Hawkinson reports
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.
The court ended abruptly after Mr McCabe’s testimony.
WATCH: 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.