EMT says she heard Karen Read say "I hit him"; evidence collection comes into question
The Karen Read trial continued Monday with a ninth day of witness testimony as the trial entered its third week. A Canton EMT who said she heard Read say "I hit him" after John O'Keefe's body was found was questioned by the defense about her relationship with the family who owned the home where he was discovered in the snow.
Court ended for the day with Paul Gallagher being cross-examined. He retired in August after 32 years with the Canton Police Department, last serving as lieutenant. Gallagher faced questioning about how he handled evidence in the case, including collecting blood samples in red plastic cups.
What is Karen Read accused of?
Read is accused of hitting and killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer O'Keefe, with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow outside a Canton home in January 2022.
Read's attorneys argue O'Keefe was killed during a fight inside the home, then dragged outside. They say that several people, including law enforcement, are attempting to frame Read.
Read has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. Her first trial ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury.
Special prosecutor Hank Brennan has handled most of the direct questioning in the second trial. Alan Jackson is regularly in charge of cross-examining witnesses.
Canton police lieutenant testifies
After the lunch break at Norfolk Superior Court, Gallagher was called as a prosecution witness. He was still on the stand when court ended for the day, and is expected to continue testifying on Tuesday.
Gallagher was not working when the call came in that O'Keefe's body had been found, but as a lieutenant it was the expectation that he respond to the scene. He said that because of the dangerous driving conditions, he responded in his personal vehicle. Gallagher stopped at the Canton Police Department, grabbed winter gear and headed to the scene.
On direct investigation, Brennan asked Gallagher if the neighbors of several homes ever came outside. He said no. Defense attorneys have previously attempted to show jurors that despite the chaos outside, no one inside 34 Fairview Road, the home owned by Brian Albert, came outside when first responders tended to O'Keefe.
Leaf blower and Solo cups
Gallagher said he decided to use a leaf blower at a low speed to move snow in the area of pink spots that he believed were blood. After removing the top layer of snow, Gallagher said he discovered coagulated blood.
He decided to collect the samples in red plastic cups, saying it was an impromptu decision, hoping to preserve the evidence.
"I wasn't going to get a second chance at it. It was either collect it, or never have it," Gallagher said. Later on cross-examination, Gallgher told Jackson "I believed 15 minutes would have made a difference," when asked why he didn't have someone go back to Canton Police Department to get better evidence collection mechanisms.
Brennan played videos that were recorded at the scene showing Gallagher using the leaf blower to clear snow.
Gallagher said there were no other footprints in the snow of 34 Fairview Road other than in the are directly around where O'Keefe's body was found.
According to Gallagher, in the video he can be seen uncovering a broken cocktail glass that was covered in snow.
Around 8 a.m., Gallagher returned to the Canton Police Department.
About an hour later, Gallagher went back to the home with Sgt. Michael Lank after learning that Jennifer McCabe had called to report she had more information.
McCabe testified last week that after the scene had cleared she was sitting with family members in the home, and remembered that she had heard Read say "I hit him, I hit him, I hit him" so she contacted Lank and asked him to come back to the house.
Canton police lieutenant cross-examined
On cross-examination, Jackson pointed out to Gallagher that he did not write a formal report about processing the scene.
"We didn't know it was a homicide at this time, or even that a crime had occurred," Gallagher said.
Gallagher said several of the other officers who were on scene that day did write formal reports about what they had found on the day of O'Keefe's death.
Gallagher said that he did not draw a diagram of where he recovered the broken cocktail glass or where he found the blood spots.
"The conditions were pretty hard to take notes at that time. I did not take notes, no," Gallagher said.
EMT Katie McLaughlin's relationship with Caitlin Albert
Katie McLaughlin, a Canton firefighter-paramedic, took the stand just before noon on Monday and concluded after about 90 minutes. She testified in the first trial and again Monday that she heard Read repeatedly say "I hit him" after O'Keefe's body was found.
During the first trial, defense attorneys accused McLaughlin of perjury. While on the stand both times, McLaughlin described herself as an acquaintance, not a friend, of Caitlin Albert, whose father, Brian Albert, owned the 34 Fairview Road in Canton at the time when O'Keefe's body was found in the lawn.
Read's defense attorneys said they received a "deluge" of photographs after she testified during the first trial that they claimed show McLaughlin and Caitlin Albert are friends, not acquaintances.
Brennan asked McLaughlin Monday on direction examination about her relationship with Caitlin Albert. McLaughlin said they went to high school together and were in the same grade. According to McLaughlin, the two have mutual friends and different friend groups that often got together in larger groups, so they have socialized together.
"I don't have a personal relationship with her, I wouldn't consider her to be a friend of mine. But I do see her occasionally because of personal events. I don't have a one-on-one, I don't have a close, personal relationship with her," McLaughlin said.
On cross-examination, Jackson questioned McLaughlin about her relationship with Caitlin Albert. He noted that in the first trial, McLaughlin only said "I went to high school with someone named Caitlin Albert."
"That is true, and you asked me if I knew her and I said yes. You asked me if we were friends and I said no," McLaughlin said.
"You wouldn't say you've been friends for years?" Jackson asked. "We've known each other for years," McLaughlin responded.
Jackson confirmed with McLaughlin that she has attended a baby shower, day trips, and other getaways with Caitlin Albert.
"We socialize, like I said. Group settings, social events I will see her," McLaughlin said.
After a sidebar, Jackson handed McLaughlin several photos and attempted to ask her questions about them. Brennan objected several times, with the judge stopping multiple questions.
McLaughlin did confirm that she and Caitlin Albert are both in several of the photos.
Canton EMT heard Karen Read say "I hit him"
McLaughlin said she was asked to try to gather more information about O'Keefe when first responders arrived on January 29, 2022. She saw Read, who appeared to be very concerned and involved, so she approached her.
Read was moving around the scene, McLaughlin said, so she moved around with her to obtain some basic information about O'Keefe.
"I asked if there had been any significant trauma that happened that proceeded this. And she answered with a series of statements that she repeated. 'I hit him, I hit him,'" McLaughlin testified. "There was a woman next to us who told her to calm down, stop talking, you're hysterical. So she repeated, 'I hit him.' A police officer asked her, 'You what?' And she repeated it again 'I hit him.' And the officer signaled for his sergeant to come down to the scene, or to where he was."
McLaughlin testified that the woman was Jennifer McCabe.
"They didn't handcuff her? Even though she just confessed to hitting a police officer, according to you?" Jackson said on cross-examination. McLaughlin said no.
Jackson on cross-examination attempted to show that there were inconsistencies with what McLaughlin described and what was shown on police dashboard camera video.
Read's attorney also pointed out that McLaughlin did not write down what she heard at the scene. Later on redirect, Brennan asked how she could remember what Read said if she did not write it down.
"I won't ever forget those statements," McLaughlin said.
Party at 34 Fairview Road
Earlier, Sarah Levinson testified. Levinson and Julie Nagel were at 34 Fairview Road celebrating Brian Albert Jr.'s birthday with a few other friends the night of O'Keefe's death.
She arrived at the home about 7 or 8 p.m. on January 28, 2022. She said some of Brian Albert Jr.'s friends who were there celebrating left around 11:30 p.m. Levinson said Colin Albert was at the house for about 45 minutes, but left around midnight.
At about midnight, Levinson said Brian Albert, Brian Higgins, Jennifer McCabe and her husband Matt McCabe arrived back at the home after they were drinking at the Waterfall Bar & Grille in Canton with Read and O'Keefe.
Levinson said there were no issues or arguments in the home that night. She was originally planning to leave with Julie Nagel, getting a ride with her brother. But when her brother arrived, they decided to stay and he left.
Levinson and Julie Nagel left in the backseat of Jennifer McCabe's SUV around 1:30 a.m. and she said there was some snow on the ground. During the first trial, Julie Nagel testified that she left instead with Jennifer McCabe later in the back seat of her SUV, and remembers seeing a "black blob" near the flagpole of the home as they left.
As he began his cross-examination, Jackson pointed out that Levinson had known the Albert family for years, but had never met their family dog.
"Is that because the dog was not really good with strangers?" Jackson said. Brennan objected, and it was sustained.
Read's attorneys have long argued that injuries on O'Keefe's arm were not caused by a vehicle strike, and were instead caused by Brian Albert's dog Chloe during a fight.
Jackson also attempted to show that while walking to McCabe's SUV, Levinson never saw anything in the yard.
Jackson highlighted that Levinson was not interviewed by police until October 2022. Levinson met with Michael Proctor, who was fired for his conduct as lead investigator in Read's case. Jackson asked Levinson he Proctor ever mentioned why it took so long for him to interview her, leading to an objection.
"Were you confused about the fact that you weren't contacted [by police]?" Jackson said, prompting an objection that was sustained. Jackson then asked to speak to Judge Beverly Cannone at sidebar.
Ryan Nagel testifies
Ryan Nagel took the stand earlier Monday morning. He was a passenger in his own pickup truck, which was being driven by his friend Ricky D'Antuono. Originally, Ryan Nagel planned to pick up his sister around midnight after she texted him to come get her.
According to Ryan Nagel, his sister came out for about five minutes and told him that she changed her mind and decided to stay at the home.
Ryan Nagel said Monday that when he and D'Antuono pulled up in front of 34 Fairview Road, he was behind a black SUV. Karen Read drove a black Lexus SUV.
"I saw there was a woman in the black SUV driver's seat sitting there with her hands at 10 and 2," Ryan Nagel testified, saying that the dome light in the vehicle was on.
On direct questioning, Brennan asked Ryan Nagel several questions aimed at showing that he did not ever see John O'Keefe enter Brian Albert's home. Yannetti attempted to show on cross-examination that O'Keefe was not in the passenger seat of the vehicle.
After just over an hour, Ryan Nagel stepped down and his former girlfriend, Heather Maxon, took the stand. She was in the truck with Ryan Nagel and D'Antuono. She did not see a man in the passenger side while at 34 Fairview Road.
Maxon stepped down after about 20 minutes of questioning from both sides.
Karen Read's blood alcohol level
Hannah Knowles, a member of the Massachusetts State Police crime lab, was back on the stand Monday morning to continue her testimony about Karen Read's blood alcohol level the night of John O'Keefe's death.
Read's blood was drawn just after 9 a.m. on January 29, 2022 at Good Samaritan Hospital, about three hours after O'Keefe's body was found. According to the test, Read had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.093%. The legal limit for driving in Massachusetts is 0.08%.
Following Read's arrest, the Massachusetts State Police crime lab used a formula to estimate that around 12:45 a.m., Read's blood alcohol content (BAC) would have been between .13-.29%.
On cross-examination, defense attorney David Yannetti asked Knowles what it would mean for her calculations if Read had consumed alcohol between 12:45 a.m. and 6 a.m. that morning after arriving back at O'Keefe's house.
"The foundations of my calculations would be incorrect," Knowles said.
Adam Lally, the lead prosecutor from Read's first trial, returned for brief redirect questioning of Knowles.
Karen Read trial latest
Most of the testimony last week came from key witness Jennifer McCabe. McCabe and Kerry Roberts searched for O'Keefe with Read when he did not return home on January 29, 2022. The women eventually found his body in the snow.
McCabe testified for three days. She was the subject of extended cross-examination by Jackson.
When McCabe finished her testimony Friday afternoon, Knowles took the stand. She was asked about retrograde blood testing, which investigators say can estimate what Read's blood alcohol content may have been at the time prosecutors say she hit O'Keefe with her SUV.