Read testimony shifts to last hours of officer’s life
Witnesses speak of no tension between couple
DeDHAM — it was supposed to be a nice evening with a few friends celebrating quiet victories: John O’Keefe’s niece, who was in his care, and Michael camerano’s daughter had received their acceptance letters to the private high school of their choice.
And, for a time, the night of Jan. 28, 2022, was celebratory. As the girls hung out at O’Keefe’s home, O’Keefe and camerano cajoled another buddy into coming out to the bar with them, and they were happily downing bud lights as the night stretched on, camerano testified Wednesday. eventually joining them, he said, was O’Keefe’s girlfriend, Karen Read.
More than two years later, Read sat quietly in norfolk Superior court on Wednesday, the seventh day of the high-profile trial to determine whether she murdered O’Keefe, a boston police officer, several hours after she sipped a vodka tonic with them at the bar.
Read is accused of drunkenly and intentionally running over O’Keefe after dropping him at a friend’s home for an afterparty early the next morning and leaving him to die in the snow.
Read maintains her innocence and says she’s being framed as part of a massive police coverup. Her lawyers claim O’Keefe was beaten by other people at the gathering in the home, which was owned by boston police Officer brian Albert, and possibly bitten by the family dog, chloe, before being left to die outside.
On Wednesday, the prosecution finished calling the emergency personnel who responded to O’Keefe’s death — a parade of canton police officers and paramedics who have talked about finding O’Keefe dead and interacting with Read afterward since testimony began on Monday of last week.
Assistant District Attorney Adam lally then moved on to others, such as camerano, who were with the couple on the night of Jan. 28 and then received frantic calls the following morning from Read.
At the first bar they visited, Mccarthy’s, O’Keefe was hanging out with camerano and curt Roberts, the two men testified. they both said everything seemed normal, including between O’Keefe and Read. but the men said they both went home around 10 p.m., while O’Keefe and Read headed to another tavern nearby: the Waterfall bar & grille.
that’s where they met up with others, including brian Albert, brian Higgins, and Jennifer Mccabe, who all later would be at the gathering at the home where O’Keefe died outside, according to testimony.
nicholas Kolokithas, who was among the group at the Waterfall, said everyone was having a good time and listening to a live band. His wife, Karina, said, “they walked in and John did his rounds, said hi to everybody, gave me a hug.” She said O’Keefe, whom she described as a “great guy,” was happy the girls had gotten accepted to bishop feehan, the private high school.
the prosecution has claimed that the relationship between Read and O’Keefe had been falling apart amid allegations that he was cheating and stress over the two children in O’Keefe’s care.
(O’Keefe had taken in his young niece and nephew after their parents both died a decade ago.) lally has said O’Keefe was trying to end their relationship. but no one who testified Wednesday said the pair seemed to be having a problem that night. camerano and Roberts, as well as camerano’s wife, Katherine, who all said they knew O’Keefe well, testified that nothing seemed amiss.
Asked if he observed any tension between O’Keefe and Read at the bar, Kolokithas said he noticed precisely the opposite. they were affectionate to the point that his wife asked him why he couldn’t be that way with her, he said.
As midnight came and went, the band was “fairly loud” and some people were discussing moving to another bar — or to the Alberts’ home on fairview Road.
“i heard from others that [Read] had mentioned wanting to go there,” Kolokithas said.
Rebecca trayers, the bartender, testified that no one seemed overly drunk.
Several of the people who testified said that the next morning, Read called them in a panic.
camerano said his wife told him, “John didn’t come home last night,” which she learned when Read called her.
“My wife says to me, go get Kayley — Kayley is home,” he said, referring to O’Keefe’s niece.
He said he cleared snow off his car and drove to O’Keefe’s house.
“When i pulled in, i could tell the garage door was open, left open,” he said. “Once i went inside, i saw Kayley, i asked Kayley to get whatever she needed and to come and get in the car.”
Katherine camerano testified that at 6:34 a.m., Read texted her, “he’s dead.”
She replied, “What? Karen are you serious?” She asked if she had found O’Keefe.
At 6:36 a.m., Read replied, “he was in the snow.”