DEDHAM, Mass, — Members of the Albert family are expected to once again take the stand Tuesday in the Karen Read murder trial after they were all questioned on Day 10 of witness testimony on Monday.
John O’Keefe, Read’s Boston police officer boyfriend, was found on the front lawn of the Albert’s home in Canton in a snowstorm in January 2022. Read, 44, of Mansfield, is facing charges including second-degree murder in his death.
Brian Albert on Monday confirmed that he traded in his cell phone for a new one the day before a court order was issued to preserve it. He said he did not know all of the data on that phone would be factory reset and destroyed.
Defense attorney Alan Jackson wanted to know about calls Albert made in the hours after O’Keefe’s death to family, friends, and members of law enforcement.
“There were a lot of phone calls being made to a lot of people because of this horrible situation,” Albert testified.
Alan Jackson questioned, “Those many calls you just described, were those many calls an effort to get stories straight at the time?”
“No, absolutely not,” Albert said.
The defense’s theory is that O’Keefe was actually beaten up inside the Albert home and dragged outside in a snowstorm, not run down by Read’s Lexus SUV and left to die in the snow, which the prosecution has alleged.
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When asked if something large and heavy could be moved out of the basement without going through the main house, Brian Albert said, “Yes, it would depend on what it was obviously.”
Albert’s son, Brian Albert Jr., described seeing a dark-colored SUV like Read’s outside his family’s home on the night of O’Keefe’s death. He said it moved to the area where John O’Keefe’s body was found in the early hours of Jan. 29th, 2002.
His sister, Caitlin Albert, also took the stand Monday. She is expected to testify again on Tuesday.
The defense is trying to connect her to firefighter, Katie McLaughlin, who responded to the scene when O’Keefe was found. Read’s attorneys say the two are friends and are in multiple pictures together.
McLaughlin testified last week to knowing Albert.
She confirmed on Friday that she and Caitlin Albert went to high school together, were friends on social media, and were photographed together at a local beach about a decade ago. But she insisted they were only acquaintances and that she didn’t know it was Albert’s home when she responded to the call. She also said she hadn’t talked to Albert for a few years.
On Tuesday the defense wants to be able to show the jury pictures of Caitlin Albert and McLaughlin together, as they want to prove they are friends.
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