Photo: James Rojas/WBZ NewsRadio
DEDHAM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Wednesday was the 12th day of witness testimonies in the Karen Read murder trial at Norfolk Superior Court.
Read is accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, in January 2022 by hitting him with her SUV after drinking.
Read has pleaded not guilty to the charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death.
Her defense attorneys argue that she was set up by local law enforcement.
In the first week of testimony, Canton firefighter and paramedic Katie McLaughlin testified that Read said “I hit him” while on the scene of the Canton home where O’Keefe’s body was found. The home was owned at the time by retired Boston Police Officer Brian Albert.
In the second week of testimony, the prosecution called various witnesses who were at the bar where O'Keefe and Read were with friends hours before his death outside the Albert home.
Earlier this week, the jury continued to hear testimonies from members of the Albert family as well as friends of the Alberts who were at their house the night in question.
On Tuesday, a friend of Brian Albert, Jr., Julianna Nagel testified that she saw a "black blob" on the lawn outside the Alberts' house after attending a birthday party for Albert, Jr., there late on Jan. 28 into the early hours of Jan. 29.
Read More: Karen Read Murder Trial: Day 11 Of Testimony
Read's defense attorneys disputed the assumption that what Julianna Nagel saw was O'Keefe's body.
Testimonies continued on Wednesday. Julianna Nagel was back on the stand at the start of the day. She said she would have called 911 if she thought the "black blob" was a body.
Julianna Nagel also told David Yannetti, one of Read's lawyers, that her testimony at the trial was the first time she described the "black blob" as 5 to 6 feet long — over two years after the incident.
Her testimony was followed by forensic scientist Teri Kun of the University of California, Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory Forensic Unit.
Kun testified for the prosecution that samples sent from the scene did not contain canine DNA. Some have argued that O'Keefe could have been attacked in the Albert home by their German Shepherd.
On cross-examination, the defense again questioned the way evidence was collected at the scene and why swabs were sent for testing, not the materials themselves.
Next, Ryan Nagel, Julianna's brother, his former girlfriend Heather Maxon, and Richard D’Antuono, a friend of Ryan, were called to testify. D'Antuono drove the trio to the Alberts' house to pick up Julianna Nagel but left without her after she decided to stay there longer.
Ryan Nagel said that he saw a woman with long hair sitting alone in a black SUV that night when they arrived at the Alberts' house to pick up Julianna.
Maxon testified that she saw the SUV turn onto Fairview Road, where the house is located, as they were driving there that night and that she saw a woman driving and a man in the passenger seat. She did not see a man exit the car.
The SUV remained parked on the road near the Albert house, Maxon said. She saw the same female in the driver's seat a little while later when she observed the car again.
D'Antuono was next on the stand. He testified that he doesn't remember seeing anyone leave the SUV or come from the house to the car while he, Ryan Nagel, and Maxon were parked outside.
On cross-examination, Read's defense pointed out that D'Antuono might have been on his phone for parts of the time when they were parked outside the house and he was not closely monitoring the SUV in front of them.
Allison McCabe, daughter of Jennifer McCabe — who was with Read when they found O'Keefe's body — and niece of Brian Albert, Sr., was called as a witness next.
On the night in question, Colin Albert, Brian Albert's nephew, asked her to pick him up from the Fairview home around midnight after being there for Brian, Jr.,'s birthday party.
She said she did not see any of her parents' cars outside the house, which implies that Colin Albert left before the group, including O'Keefe, from the Waterfall Bar arrived.
Her testimony could undermine the defense's position that Colin Albert might have been involved in O'Keefe's death.
The defense honed in on why the text exchange between Allison McCabe and Colin Albert was not brought up until later in the investigation. Yannetti questioned McCabe about whether she knew how to change text exchange timestamps.
Allison McCabe also gave emotional testimony about the harassment she and her family have faced because of the case and the trial.
Colin Albert was next on the stand. He confirmed that Allison McCabe picked him up from the Fairview home around midnight after celebrating the birthday of Brian Albert, Jr., with friends for a few hours before.
He also testified that there was no animosity between him and O'Keefe.
The trial resumes on Thursday with more testimony from Colin Albert.
WBZ NewsRadio's Madison Rogers (@MadisonWBZ) reports.
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