Crime

‘John O’Keefe and Karen Read never entered my house,’ witness Brian Albert says

Brian and Nicole Albert answered questions about the atmosphere inside their home the morning John O’Keefe died, as well as the current whereabouts of their former pet dog.

By Abby Patkin

updated on May 10, 2024

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On the stand Friday:

• Brian Albert, Norwood, MA

Judge Beverly Cannone called an end to Friday’s court session before the defense team got a chance to cross-examine Brian Albert. His testimony will resume Monday.

• Nicole Albert, Norwood, MA
• Julie Albert, Canton, MA

4 p.m. update: ‘I considered him to be a friend,’ Brian Albert says of John O’Keefe

Although they both lived in Canton and worked for the Boston Police Department at the time, Brian Albert testified Friday that he’d only met John O’Keefe a couple of times before the two joined a group of family and friends at the Waterfall Bar & Grille on Jan. 28, 2022.

“I knew John O’Keefe, but not well,” Albert said. “I had only met him two times prior to that night, but I knew him to be a Boston cop and I knew of him and I knew some things about him.” 

He said he knew, for example, that O’Keefe was friends with Albert’s sister-in-law Jennifer McCabe, as well as his brothers Chris and Kevin Albert, and Chris’s wife, Julie. Albert also knew that O’Keefe had taken custody of his young niece and nephew after their parents died. 

“Although I didn’t know him well, I considered him to be a friend and our relationship was very, very good,” Albert said of O’Keefe. “Cordial, and I considered him to be somebody that I could hang out with and have a good time with.”

O’Keefe stopped by the Waterfall on Jan. 28, 2022, with Karen Read, his girlfriend of two years. Asked to describe the atmosphere inside the bar that night, Albert replied: “In one word, it would be ‘fun.’ Everybody was in a great mood, people were getting along. It was friends and family, and it just seemed like a great night.” 

As their time at the bar wound down, Albert said he issued an open invitation to keep the night going back at his house at 34 Fairview Road. 

“Anybody that was there was welcome to come by if they wanted to,” he said. 

Albert testified that he entered his home and saw his son, Brian Albert Jr., sitting at the kitchen table with two friends. He said his nephew, Colin Albert, was standing nearby but was on his way out and remained at 34 Fairview Road for “no more than 5 minutes” after the group from the Waterfall began trickling in. 

Albert testified that he let his dog outside and then brought her upstairs to his bedroom. The dog, a German shepherd named Chloe, didn’t go outside again that night, he said. 

The mood was “pleasant, fun” back at the house, Albert said, explaining that people were drinking, sitting around, chatting, and listening to music. 

Over the course of the evening, he said he never looked out the window to the front of the house and never heard anything that drew his attention outside. Albert further testified that he wasn’t aware at any point that O’Keefe and Read were coming over, and he denied that the couple stepped foot inside.

“John O’Keefe and Karen Read never entered my house,” Albert said. 

He explained that he awoke later that morning when McCabe “burst” into his bedroom sometime between 6 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. 

“She was very upset, almost hysterical,” he testified, adding, “She said something to the effect of, ‘John is dead.’” His latter statement prompted an objection from the defense team. 

Albert said he didn’t know initially who McCabe was talking about. He and his wife headed downstairs to talk to investigators and found Canton Police Lt. Michael Lank, someone he knew but with whom he didn’t socialize. 

They spoke in the kitchen, and Albert said he didn’t see a reason to go outside at that point, as it was snowing, he’d already spoken to police, and he didn’t want to interfere with the investigation. 

He said he called his friend, Brian Higgins, to let him know what had happened. Higgins was among the group at the Waterfall the night before and had returned to Albert’s house for the afterparty. 

Higgins headed over to 34 Fairview Road, as did Albert’s sister-in-law, Julie Albert, who was there on an unrelated errand. 

“It was a very, very chaotic, unbelievably chaotic morning,” Brian Albert testified, adding, “Everybody’s reaction that morning was utter shock.”

The Alberts later sold 34 Fairview Road in 2023, but Brian Albert denied that the sale had anything to do with O’Keefe’s death. Rather, he explained that he and his wife began thinking about listing their home in the fall of 2021 because the housing market was hot and Chris Albert sold his house around that time and “got a great deal on it.”

2:30 p.m. update: Nicole Albert testifies further on Chloe’s whereabouts

After Chloe, the Alberts’ German shepherd, attacked another dog in May 2022, the family weighed their next steps. 

“We thought the best thing to do would be to try to rehome [Chloe], because I just didn’t want something like that to happen again,” Nicole Albert testified. 

She said she called several shelters and learned it would be difficult to rehome a dog aggressive toward other animals, meaning Chloe would likely need to be euthanized. 

Albert then reached out to a woman in Texas from whom the family initially adopted Chloe. The woman found someone in Vermont who lived alone and had a large property, she said.

Albert testified that she remained in contact with the woman for a few months afterward.

1 p.m. update: Nicole Albert faces questions about family dog Chloe

John O’Keefe and Karen Read never set foot inside 34 Fairview Road on Jan. 29, 2022, then-homeowner Nicole Albert testified Friday. 

She told the court she had only met O’Keefe “once or twice” before he and Read joined her, her husband Brian, and several others at the Waterfall Bar & Grille in Canton on Jan. 28, 2022. In fact, Albert testified that she didn’t recognize O’Keefe when he first arrived at the Waterfall. 

As the bar outing came to a close, some of the group headed back to Nicole and Brian Albert’s home for an afterparty. Nicole Albert testified that she left the Waterfall around midnight with her husband and their daughter Caitlin. 

Albert said she returned home to find her son, Brian Albert Jr., sitting inside with two friends. She also testified that she ran into her nephew, Colin Albert, as she entered the house.

“I kind of bumped into him when I walked in,” Albert recalled. “I didn’t realize he was there. I said, ‘Oh, hey, what are you doing here?’ And he said, ‘Oh, I just stopped by to see Brian, but I’m about to leave. My ride’s about to be here.’”

Family friend Brian Higgins arrived at about the same time as the Alberts, followed by Jennifer and Matthew McCabe — Nicole Albert’s sister and brother-in-law — about 15 to 20 minutes later, she testified. It was close to 2 a.m. by the time everyone left, Albert said. 

“We were just hanging out, sitting around the house, talking, having a good time,” she said of the atmosphere inside the home. “Nothing crazy.”

Albert told the court she didn’t even realize O’Keefe and Read had any intention of coming over to 34 Fairview Road and said the couple never entered her home. She said she awoke later that morning to Jennifer McCabe “bursting” into her bedroom.

“She’s saying, ‘He’s out in the snow. We found him out in the snow. We don’t know if he’s OK,’” Albert recalled. “And my immediate thought was just that something had happened to one of my children, something had happened to one of her children. I couldn’t imagine why she was in my bedroom at this time in the morning.”

She said she tried to get more information from McCabe. 

“She finally was like, ‘John, John. Remember John from last night at the Waterfall?’ And I’m like, ‘What do you mean? How could he be outside?’ And she’s like, ‘You’ve got to get up. The police are here and they want to talk to you,’” Albert testified.

She said she spoke with Canton Police Lt. Michael Lank and another officer inside her home. When they left, they told her the Massachusetts State Police would be in touch. On cross-examination, defense attorney Elizabeth Little questioned Albert further about her interviews with police. 

“Ms. Albert, you and your family discussed this case at length before your interviews with law enforcement, correct?” Little asked. 

“Of course we discussed the case,” Albert replied. “Just everything that was going on. We were trying to figure out what happened.”

She testified that she probably didn’t tell investigators during her initial interview with State Police that Colin Albert was at 34 Fairview Road, given her nephew was on his way out when she arrived. 

Little noted that phone records indicate Albert answered two calls from her sister minutes after 6 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2022, though Albert said she didn’t answer any calls from McCabe that morning. 

Friday’s testimony also touched on two of the more scrutinized elements of the case: Nicole and Brian Albert’s decision to sell their home, and the whereabouts of the family’s German shepherd, Chloe. Albert testified that she and her husband had always planned to downsize at some point, and their decision to sell their house had nothing to do with O’Keefe’s death. 

“It had no relation to it,” she said. “We had already had thoughts and plans of doing it before that happened. We had reached out to a Realtor at the end of ’21.”

As for Chloe, Albert testified that her husband let the dog out into their fenced backyard once they arrived back at 34 Fairview Road after midnight on Jan. 29, 2022. The dog didn’t go out again that night, she said. 

Albert testified that Chloe was “fine” with strangers but did not like other dogs and had a history of biting dogs. 

“Ms. Albert, Chloe has injured other humans, hasn’t she?” Little asked. 

“In one incident, in May of ’22, when she got out and was fighting with another dog, the woman whose dog it was tried to break up the two dogs, and while she was trying to break up the two dogs, she got injured,” Albert confirmed. 

She explained that Chloe had escaped from the backyard during that incident, something she had done a few times before. The family ultimately rehomed Chloe, who now lives in Vermont, according to Albert. 

Read’s lawyers have argued that wounds on O’Keefe’s arm more closely resemble dog bites and claw marks, rather than injuries from a car. However, prosecutors said in a February court filing there was no canine DNA found on swabs taken from O’Keefe’s clothing near his injuries. 

11 a.m. update: Turtleboy blogger removed from the courtroom for parts of trial after judge finds his presence would have a ‘chilling effect’ on witnesses’ testimony

Turtleboy blogger Aidan Kearney will not be allowed to remain in the courtroom as some witnesses take the stand in Karen Read’s trial after Judge Beverly Cannone ruled that his presence would have a “chilling effect” on their testimony. 

Read and her lawyers left the courtroom briefly as prosecutors went head to head with Kearney’s lawyer, Tim Bradl. In his request to bar Kearney from the courtroom during some witnesses’ testimony, Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally noted that Kearney has pending witness intimidation charges in connection with Read’s case. 

Bradl objected to prosecutors’ motion, arguing that he was given short notice of the request. He specifically pointed out that prosecutors served the motion to the Associated Press on Wednesday, while he himself received the filing earlier on Friday. 

“There’s some funny business going on here, and there’s been nothing but funny business from where I sit from the commonwealth on Mr. Kearney’s matters, and here we go again,” Bradl said. “I don’t appreciate that from counsel, from the Norfolk County DA’s office.”

He noted that Kearney has written extensively about Read’s case.

“He’s never caused a problem,” Bradl asserted. “He wishes to be in the galley of journalists like everyone else and cover the case. There’s never been a problem whatsoever. This is more personalized retaliation from the Norfolk County DA’s Office against Mr. Kearney.”

He further noted that a judge previously ruled that Kearney could cover Read’s case from the courthouse and that Kearney went through the proper channels to receive press credentials. 

“He just wants to be here,” Bradl said. “He doesn’t want to be an issue in this case. He wants to sit here and cover the case. He’s done his job; he wants to watch the trial unfold.”

Lally, for his part, explained that prosecutors couldn’t assume that Bradl — who is representing Kearney in his three pending criminal cases — would also represent Kearney in a separate, unrelated case. He said prosecutors were required under Supreme Judicial Court rules to serve their motion to the AP. 

According to Lally, several witnesses had expressed concerns about Kearney, and prosecutors feared the blogger’s presence might impact testimony. 

“Your honor, the witnesses’ concern has no legal materiality under the law,” Bradl offered in rebuttal. “So the answer that I have is, ‘So what?’” 

He called on Cannone to “hold the line on the First Amendment.” 

The judge agreed that Kearney had a right to be in the courtroom Friday and said she will continue to honor his press credentials. 

“However, my role in this case, Commonwealth vs. Karen Read, is to assure that the defendant’s constitutional rights to a fair trial are honored and upheld,” Cannone continued. She said she will excuse him from the courtroom when certain witnesses take the stand “because of the chilling effect that Mr. Kearney’s presence, I find, will have on the witnesses’ testimony.” 

Those witnesses include:

• Julianna Nagel
• Colin Albert
• Chris Albert, who testified Thursday
• Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor
• Jennifer McCabe
• Matthew McCabe
• Brian Albert
• Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik
• Nicole Albert
• Brian Albert Jr.

However, Cannone also ruled that Kearney will not lose his seat while he is excused from the courtroom; other members of the media will not be allowed to take his seat in his absence.

10:15 a.m. update: Julie Albert testifies that she doesn’t remember whether she discussed the case with trooper’s sister

As he continued to cross-examine Julie Albert, defense attorney David Yannetti homed in on Albert’s conversations with Courtney Proctor around the time Karen Read was arraigned in February 2022. 

Jurors learned Thursday that Albert and Proctor — whose brother, Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, led the investigation into John O’Keefe’s death — called each other 67 times between Feb. 1, 2022, and Sept. 6, 2022. Albert said she didn’t remember whether she had discussed Read’s case with Courtney Proctor during any of their calls. 

“You told Courtney Proctor that you were nervous to speak to her brother, Trooper Proctor, about this case. Remember that?” Yannetti asked.

“I do not remember those exact words, no,” Albert replied. 

“But you were nervous to speak to him, correct?” Yannetti followed.

“Of course, I was nervous in general for a police interview,” Albert answered. “I don’t know someone who wouldn’t be.”

Yannetti asked whether Albert was worried one of the investigators might ask to speak to her son Colin about the events of Jan. 28 and 29, 2022. 

“Were you nervous that one of the investigators in this case might approach your son to ask him about his whereabouts?” he asked. 

“No,” Albert replied. 

Yannetti questioned Albert about whether she called Michael Proctor’s personal cell phone shortly after speaking to police. Albert said she didn’t recall. She later confirmed that Colin Albert was present at 34 Fairview Road after midnight on Jan. 29, 2022. 

“You were interviewed by Trooper Proctor, and it’s fair to say you never told him that Colin was there that night, correct?” Yannetti asked. 

“I don’t recall my interview,” Albert replied.

Livestream via NBC10 Boston.

The Karen Read murder trial resumes Friday with the continued cross-examination of Julie Albert, whose family faces intense scrutiny as Read’s lawyers seek to argue that others were responsible for killing John O’Keefe.

Albert and her husband, Chris, both took the stand Thursday to share their memories of drinking with Read, O’Keefe, and several others at the Waterfall Bar & Grille in Canton the night before O’Keefe died. While Julie and Chris Albert returned home after the bar, Chris’s brother Brian invited others back to his house at 34 Fairview Road for an afterparty. 

O’Keefe’s cold and lifeless body was found on Brian Albert’s lawn on Jan. 29, 2022. 

Prosecutors say Read, 44, struck O’Keefe — a Boston police officer and her boyfriend of two years — with her SUV while dropping him off at Albert’s house. Yet lawyers for the Mansfield woman argue instead that she was framed as part of a massive coverup meant to protect the Albert family. As part of their theory, the defense team has sought to implicate Brian Albert and Chris and Julie Albert’s son Colin, among others. 

While questioning Chris Albert Thursday, defense attorney David Yannetti sought to highlight the family’s connections in Canton, from the police department to town hall.

“You would agree that your entire family has deep roots in the town of Canton?” Yannetti asked.

“I guess,” Albert replied.

“You would agree with me that the Albert family is well-known in the town of Canton?” Yannetti continued. 

“We have a big family,” Albert answered. 

Focusing his later questions on the family’s dynamics, Yannettii asked, “And you’re protective of each other, correct?”

“Like most families,” Albert said. 

Thursday’s court session left off with Yannetti grilling Julie Albert about her relationship with Courtney Proctor, whose brother Michael Proctor is the Massachusetts State Police trooper who led the investigation into O’Keefe’s death.

Albert acknowledged that she’s close friends with Courtney Proctor but denied using her friend as an intermediary to communicate with Michael Proctor about the case. She also said she mostly texts Courtney Proctor and only speaks with her “very rarely” by phone, though Yannetti pointed to phone records indicating Albert and Courtney Proctor spoke by phone 67 times between Feb. 1, 2022, and Sept. 6, 2022.