Commonwealth v. Read — Trial ArchiveAllison McCabe
Also known as: Allie McCabe
Testimony Impact
Allison McCabe is the cousin and close friend of Colin Albert, one of the partygoers at 34 Fairview Road on the night John O'Keefe died. She testified in Trial 1 that she picked Colin up from the Albert household around midnight, observed no visible injuries on him, and described him as not appearing overly intoxicated. Her testimony introduced text message evidence establishing the timeline of that pickup and photographs of Colin taken two weeks after the incident.
Notable Quotes From The Record
“Um, he texted me and was asking for a ride, and then I responded, drove, and got him. Texted him when I arrived.”
Establishes the communication chain for Colin Albert's pickup from 34 Fairview
“I believe it was starting to snow. Nothing crazy.”
Establishes weather conditions at Fairview Road around midnight — early stages of the snowstorm
“Normal. Didn't seem overly intoxicated.”
McCabe's assessment of Colin's sobriety level when she picked him up
“None.”
McCabe's testimony that she observed no injuries on Colin Albert's face when he came out of 34 Fairview Road around midnight
“Yep. Now I know. I didn't know that. I didn't do that.”
McCabe denies knowledge of timestamp manipulation and denies having altered any timestamps
“11:54, and then I responded at 11:55.”
Anchors the timeline of when Colin Albert requested a ride from 34 Fairview Road.
“You can get me now if it's easier.”
Colin Albert's text initiating the pickup — establishes he was ready to leave Fairview Road before midnight.
“12:10 a.m.”
Timestamp of McCabe's arrival text at 34 Fairview Road, establishing a specific pickup time.
“No, it wouldn't have been relevant at that time.”
McCabe's explanation for not turning over the screenshot — that Karen Read's presence at 34 Fairview wasn't known until later — reveals her awareness of the case theory's evolution.
“I don't know. I don't remember.”
McCabe's response when confronted with Life360 data showing she left home at 12:26 AM, contradicting her testimony of going straight home and staying.
“It wouldn't have taken me 2 minutes to go from the high school to my house. I'm confused.”
McCabe challenges the Life360 data but engages with its specifics, showing she cannot explain the recorded movements.
“Well, I'm not sure, but on the — the photo he showed me, it says, like, 'turn Wi-Fi on' — so, remind Allie to turn Wi-Fi on — so that could have affected the accuracy.”
Challenges the reliability of the Life360 data that the defense used to impeach her testimony, noting every alert flagged a Wi-Fi connectivity issue.
“Because Colin Albert wasn't in the house. And then it was brought up here that he was.”
Explains the August 2023 timing of the screenshot disclosure — the evidence wasn't produced earlier because Colin's presence wasn't at issue until the defense raised it.
“Colin wasn't at the house. He's being harassed — he was not at the house when John was there. I drove him home. People are harassing him saying he was at the house when it's not true.”
McCabe's most emphatic statement in the proceeding, directly rebutting the defense theory that Colin Albert was present at 34 Fairview when John O'Keefe was injured.
Key Moments
- McCabe testified that when Colin Albert came out of 34 Fairview Road around midnight, she observed no injuries on his face and he did not appear overly intoxicated — testimony directly relevant to the defense's theory that O'Keefe was beaten inside the house that night.
- Defense attorney Yannetti conducted a voir dire specifically to challenge McCabe's text message screenshot, demonstrating to the court that iPhone timestamps on texts and photos can be manually altered; Judge Cannone ruled the evidence admissible but allowed the defense to argue tampering to the jury.
- On cross-examination, Yannetti confronted McCabe with Life360 location data showing multiple trips after she claimed to have gone straight home — including drives to Canton High School and a 12-mile excursion completing at 1:32 AM — directly contradicting her account of her movements after dropping Colin off.
- The text message screenshot at the center of McCabe's testimony was not produced to law enforcement until August 2023, more than 18 months after the incident, and was never verified against the original phone through a forensic extraction — a chain-of-custody gap Yannetti pressed repeatedly on cross.
- On redirect, ADA Lally elicited testimony about harassment directed at McCabe and Colin Albert's families, offering context for the delayed disclosure of the screenshot and rebutting the inference that the delay reflected fabrication.