Karen Read trial live updates: ‘There’s nothing nefarious’: Jen McCabe defends phone calls
Karen Read 's second trial in connection with the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, continues on Friday in Dedham's Norfolk Superior Court before Judge Beverly Cannone.
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Read more: Recap of trial day 5
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Read more: Recap of trial day 6
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Read more: Recap of trial day 7
The trial was off on Thursday for Law Day.
People to know:
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Alan Jackson, lawyer for Read
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Jennifer McCabe, friend of O'Keefe's, who was with Read when she found his body
10:13 a.m. - Jackson reviews McCabe's texts
The cross-examination moved on to text messages McCabe exchanged with her sister, Nicole, on the morning of O'Keefe's death.
At 8 p.m. on Jan. 29, 2022, McCabe's sister texted her, "we'll get more info [tomorrow]. don't want to text about it."
Jackson then showed McCabe a group text between her, her husband Matt, her sister, Nicole Albert, and her sister's husband, Brian Albert.
Brian and Nicole lived at 34 Fairview Road when O'Keefe was found outside.
In that group chat on Feb. 1, after learning news media were at a Canton sub shop owned by Brian Albert's brother, Chris, Matt McCabe said, "tell them the guy never went in the house."
Jennifer McCabe confirmed "the guy" was a reference to O'Keefe.
9:40 a.m. - 'There's nothing nefarious'
Jackson's questioning moved to the phone calls McCabe made on the morning of Jan. 29, 2022.
After getting a call from Read, McCabe said she called Julie Albert, who she was with the night before, and Tom Beatty, a friend of O'Keefe's. But Jackson revealed she also called her sister, Nicole, who lived at 34 Fairview Road, at 5:07 a.m.
The call lasted 38 seconds. McCabe said she didn't remember if her sister answered the phone.
McCabe neglected to mention that call in either police interviews immediately following O'Keefe's death or when she testified before a state grand jury.
"There's nothing about me calling my sister that's nefarious," she said.
"Did you use that word because you think that's how it's coming across?" Jackson said.
McCabe said she felt Jackson was "insinuating that it might be."
9:25 a.m. - Jackson presses McCabe about last time she saw Read's SUV
Jackson's cross-examination of McCabe resumed with an exchange about the last time she saw Read's SUV parked outside 34 Fairview Road.
Testifying before a federal grand jury in June 2023, McCabe said she saw a dark SUV she presumed to be Read's outside at 12:45 a.m.
"You know that because of a text at 12:45?" Jackson asked.
But on Friday, McCabe said she wasn't sure. Even after Jackson showed her a transcript, she refused to confirm it was 12:45 a.m.
Instead, McCabe said she couldn't recall the exact times, saying she went back and forth to the front door of the home many times that night.
9:05 a.m. - Court opens
The day began with a sidebar before the jury was brought in. When the jury was brought in, Cannone asked the panel if they had been able to follow her instructions about discussing the case and avoiding media coverage.
Each juror said they had.
Read, 45, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of O'Keefe, who was found outside the home of a fellow Boston police officer on Jan. 29, 2022.
Norfolk County prosecutors say Read struck O'Keefe with her SUV while driving intoxicated. Read's attorneys say her car never struck O'Keefe and that others are to blame for his death.
Karen Read murder case
Read the original article on MassLive .
