The Waterfall Bar & Grille is the Canton tavern where John O'Keefe, Karen Read, Brian and Nicole Albert, Jennifer and Matthew McCabe, and others converged the night of January 28, 2022 — the last public place O'Keefe was seen alive.[1] The group arrived after a first stop at C.F. McCarthy's and stayed until closing.[2] Bartender Rebecca Trayers testified that O'Keefe ordered a beer at the bar;[3] Nicholas Kolokithas, who saw him up close, "didn't observe any injuries."[4] Nicole Albert described O'Keefe's clothing — "a hat on, some sort of just sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers" — no winter coat.[5]
The Waterfall's surveillance video and the parking-lot exit became load-bearing prosecution evidence. Trooper Yuri Bukhenik testified that the video shows "nine drinks being consumed by the defendant" from her arrival at McCarthy's through her departure from the Waterfall.[6] Karina Kolokithas, leaving the lot at the same time, testified Read "was walking to the driver's side" — anchoring the prosecution's timeline of who drove to 34 Fairview.[7] Chris and Julie Albert testified Read brought her own drink into the bar from McCarthy's under her jacket.[8]
“He came up to order a beer.”
— Rebecca Trayers
Confirms O'Keefe was actively present and ordering drinks at the Waterfall that evening.
“I didn't observe any injuries.”
— Nicholas Kolokithas
Confirms O'Keefe had no visible injuries at the Waterfall, establishing his physical condition before leaving for 34 Fairview.
“So just after these statements were made, they went to 34 Fairview Road — five minutes later, seven minutes later — we'd be sitting in front of 34 Fairview. Correct?”
— Alan Jackson
Highlights the approximately five-to-seven-minute drive from the Waterfall bar to 34 Fairview as elicited by Jackson and confirmed by Kolokithas.
“the defendant came in with a glass underneath her jacket, and I thought that was kind of funny and I laughed about it and made a comment about it.”
— Chris Albert
Documents Albert's observation that Read brought a glass containing clear liquid into the Waterfall; he later assumed it was some sort of vodka drink.
“I had a terrible migraine from the band being so close.”
— Julie Albert
Explains why Julie Albert left the Waterfall early, limiting her observation window to approximately 10-15 minutes after O'Keefe and Read arrived.
“I believe he had a hat on, some sort of just sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers.”
— Nicole Albert
Describes O'Keefe's clothing at the Waterfall — no winter coat — relevant to his condition when found outside in a snowstorm.
“I didn't mention Colin because I didn't consider him as part of the group that we were hanging out with after the Waterfall, because he left as soon as I walked in. I wasn't even — didn't even think of him. Didn't even think of him.”
— Nicole Albert
Nicole's explanation for omitting Colin Albert from the Trooper Proctor interview; Little used the omission in advancing her defense theory that the family concealed who was present.
“I observed no injuries at that time.”
— Brian Albert
Establishes that O'Keefe appeared uninjured when Albert saw him at the Waterfall bar around 11 PM.
“Colin was getting up and leaving as they were coming into the house.”
— Brian Albert Jr
Places Colin Albert's departure at the same time the Waterfall group arrived, establishing a narrow window of overlap.
“I didn't notice any issues or any negative things happening. All the conversation seemed positive, lighthearted. Everyone was just kind of having a good time, getting along.”
— Caitlin Albert
Characterizes the mood at the Waterfall as uneventful, countering any suggestion of conflict that evening.
“I did not see any injuries.”
— Matthew McCabe
Confirms O'Keefe had no visible injuries earlier that evening at the Waterfall bar.
“No, I did not.”
— Matthew McCabe
McCabe answered that he did not observe fighting or arguing between Read and O'Keefe at the Waterfall.
“She didn't know where John was, and the last time she saw him was at the Waterfall.”
— Matthew McCabe
Read's statement that she last saw O'Keefe at the Waterfall is central to the prosecution's case — McCabe testified he saw her SUV at 34 Fairview after the Waterfall.
“She proceeds to scream my name multiple times and she tells me that John didn't come home, they got into a fight, and that she left him at the Waterfall.”
— Jennifer McCabe
Establishes Read's initial account to McCabe — that she and O'Keefe fought and she left him at the bar.
“You were not present at the Waterfall Bar and Grill on January 28th of 2022 in Canton.”
— David Yannetti
Establishes Sullivan has no firsthand knowledge of events at the bar that night.
“To be honest with you, I — I guess you could view it as a flirty text.”
— Brian Higgins
Higgins acknowledges sending a flirtatious text to Read while at the Waterfall, establishing the nature of their communications.
“The video shows nine drinks being consumed by the defendant, and that's between when she arrives at C.F. McCarthy's until the time she leaves the Waterfall.”
— Yuri Bukhenik
Establishes Read's alcohol consumption on the night in question from surveillance evidence.
“I believe, based on all the physical evidence and facts, Mr. O'Keefe got out of that vehicle holding that cocktail glass. He walked out of the Waterfall Bar with Ms. Read, pulled ahead and then back in, struck him with her vehicle, and then left.”
— Michael Proctor
Proctor's concluding statement of his theory of the case, summarizing the prosecution's narrative
“At some point Karen said, 'I left him at Waterfall,' and I heard Jen say, 'No, I saw you pull up in front of my sister's.'”
— Kerry Roberts
Conflicting accounts between Read and McCabe about where O'Keefe was last seen — central to both prosecution and defense theories.
“I work at the Waterfall Bar and Grill in Canton.”
— Bridget Mihan
Establishes the witness's connection to the establishment whose surveillance footage is being entered into evidence.
“She pivots and she calls Kerry. Kerry, Kerry, John's dead. I think he got hit by a plow.”
— Hank Brennan
Brennan argues Read's shifting story — from 'left him at the Waterfall' to 'hit by a plow' — demonstrates consciousness of guilt and an attempt to substitute another large vehicle for her Lexus.
Multi-channel security camera footage from the Waterfall Bar & Grille covering the evening of January 28–29, 2022. The recording captures the bar interior, lobby, and parking lot, documenting the positions and movements of Karen Read, John O'Keefe, Jennifer McCabe, the Albert and Higgins group, and others throughout the night.
A still photograph extracted from Waterfall Bar & Grille surveillance footage showing John O'Keefe holding a drinking glass with a black straw.
A broken drinking glass, identified as a cocktail glass, recovered from the front yard at 34 Fairview Road by Canton police personnel who uncovered it using a leaf blower. The same type of glass was seen carried by O'Keefe when he exited the Waterfall Bar. Physical match analysis confirmed six of nine scene glass pieces (item 7-12) originated from this glass; bumper pieces A and B did not physically match it. Bumper piece E was not physically matched; it was microscopically and instrumentally consistent with road piece 7-14.
Surveillance video and still images from the Waterfall Bar & Grille showing John O'Keefe exiting the establishment at 12:11 a.m. holding a cocktail glass, establishing his last known location and physical condition.
Phone call records documenting McCabe's calls to O'Keefe on the night of January 28–29, 2022, including two calls giving directions from Waterfall to Fairview and seven missed calls between 12:29 and 12:50 AM, none of which appear on McCabe's own phone extraction.
Reports analyzing the surveillance footage from both C.F. McCarthy's and Waterfall Bar & Grille, authored by Trooper Michael Proctor following retrieval of the videos by Connor Keefe.
A three-page set of receipts from the Waterfall Bar dated January 28, 2022, corroborating patronage at the bar on the night in question. Admitted without objection.
A receipt introduced as Exhibit 54. Yannetti described it as showing $16.58 in drinks and a $10 tip; Trayers said she had not closely reviewed it and agreed the proposed tip made sense.
A PowerPoint presentation on CD compiling chronological bar surveillance footage from both C.F. McCarthy's and the Waterfall.
A black plastic drinking straw found near the paved berm on the street at 34 Fairview Road, collected as physical evidence from the scene.
A photograph of the broken drinking glass (item 3-2) demonstrating the physical match to a piece from the scene glass collection (item 7-12), used to visually anchor the prosecution's glass-origin analysis.
Map with icons showing the locations of significance in the case including 34 Fairview Road, the Waterfall Bar, Canton Library, Temple Beth Abraham, and 1 Meadows Lane, along Washington Street.
GPS location records from the cache.sqlite database and related location stores on John O'Keefe's iPhone trace the route from the Waterfall Bar to 34 Fairview Road, including coordinate points, accuracy circles whose radii can encompass multiple physical points, and a record of westerly movement around 12:25 a.m. A chart from Ian Whiffin's report shows five consecutive records with identical coordinates while reported accuracy refines from 43 meters to 7 meters. Whiffin opined that, based on the totality of the information, the device never moved far from the flagpole; the records and accuracy limits do not independently establish physical immobility.
Two written reports by Trooper Nicholas Guarino, dated April 24, 2023 and May 9, 2023, analyzing John O'Keefe's phone location and health data. The reports were accompanied by GPS mapping slides created using Google Earth and the LexisNexis TRACK system, showing O'Keefe's phone route from the Waterfall Bar to 34 Fairview Road and GPS accuracy circles indicating the phone remained outside the residence.
Commonwealth v. Read — Trial Archive