Karen Read trial: Brian Albert says John O’Keefe never entered his home before his death

DEDHAM, Mass. — The defense in the Karen Read murder trial on Monday morning will cross-examine Brian Albert, the man who lived at a Canton home where Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe was found dead in the snow in January 2022.

• WATCH LIVE: Live coverage of Monday’s testimony begins at 9 a.m.

Albert was last to testify on the stand Friday. He and his wife Nicole lived at 34 Fairview Road when O’Keefe was found on their front lawn in a snowstorm. They’ve since sold it, last year in 2023.

Brian Albert said O’Keefe never entered his home, and that he learned of what happened to him when his sister, Jen McCabe, burst into his bedroom around 6 or 6:30 that morning.

“She was very upset. Almost, almost hysterical,” Albert testified. “Shock. That’s how I would describe everybody’s reaction that morning was utter shock.”

Brian Albert said he never went outside to check on O’Keefe because he didn’t want to get in the way of first responders. He added that he was unaware that Read and O’Keefe had been invited over after being with them at the Waterfall bar.

He said the gathering at his home lasted until at least 1:30 a.m.

The defense claims O’Keefe entered the home and was beaten and attacked by the family dog.

They asked Albert’s wife Nicole about his experience as a boxer and if she heard anything after midnight, the time prosecutors allege Read hit O’Keefe with her car.

Defense attorney Elizabeth Little asked Nicole Albert, “You had never heard any sort of disruption inside, correct?”

Nicole: “No.”

Little: “You didn’t hear a crash? There needs to be an answer.”

Nicole: “Sorry no.”

Little: “You certainly never heard any screaming or yelling.”

Nicole: “No.”

The Alberts said selling their home and re-homing their dog had nothing to do with John O’Keefe’s death.

Read, 44, of Mansfield, is facing charges including second-degree murder in the death of O’Keefe, her boyfriend.

Last week, Julie Albert, the wife of current Canton selectman Christopher Albert, was questioned about her connection to Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, the lead detective assigned to investigate the death of O’Keefe.

Both Chris and Julie, the family of Brian Albert, testified that they were at the Waterfall bar having drinks with Read but had gone to bed before her boyfriend’s death.

Chris Albert testified that he and his family knew Trooper Proctor, the lead investigator assigned to the Read murder case, for many years and well before they were questioned in O’Keefe’s death. Read’s defense has alleged that Proctor was not truthful with his relationship with people he has identified as witnesses in the case.

Julie Albert testified that she was a longtime friend of Proctor’s sister, Courtney, but she denied using her friend as an intermediary to Proctor and the case focusing on Read.

The defense has argued that Read is a scapegoat for a well-connected group of people, including the Albert family, who were at a party inside 34 Fairview Road in Canton on the night of O’Keefe’s death.

Read’s attorneys have long argued that O’Keefe was beaten up inside the home and then dragged outside. Read’s defense attorneys have also alleged that the Albert family is at the center of an effort to frame Read.

O’Keefe got out of Read’s vehicle at the Alberts home, and while she made a three-point turn, she allegedly struck him and then drove away, prosecutors have said.

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Fatal hit-and-run: Karen Read, 41, of Mansfield, Mass., is charged with manslaughter in the Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022, death of Boston police Officer John O’Keefe. O'Keefe, 46, was off duty at the time of his death. (Boston 25 News, Boston Police Department)

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