Karen Read trial live: Witness who heard Read say ‘I hit him’ grilled during cross examination

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.

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.

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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.

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.

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.

You can read more on the case here.

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.

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.