Commonwealth v. Read — Trial Archive
Person Brian Higgins Trial 1ATF agent Brian Higgins was present at 34 Fairview Road on the night of John O’Keefe’s death and engaged in extensive text communications with Karen Read, making him a central witness to disputed facts about the timeline and social dynamics of that evening. ← All People
🗣️ Witness · ATF

Brian Higgins

Trial 1
1,492 lines 5 proceedings
Courtroom still of Brian Higgins.

About

Brian Higgins is a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent who was among the group that moved from the Waterfall Bar to 34 Fairview Road in the early hours of January 29, 2022. He had an ongoing flirtatious text relationship with Karen Read and was personally connected to Canton law enforcement through his professional relationship with Police Chief Berkowitz. His testimony covered his movements that night, his later presence at Canton PD, a 2:22 a.m. phone call with Brian Albert, and his disposal of his personal cell phone after a preservation order. Higgins denied factory-resetting the phone, said he cut or broke the SIM card, and testified that he discarded the SIM and phone together in one trash bag and one dumpster on a military base after extracting the Read and O'Keefe text threads.

Key Points

  • Higgins testified that O'Keefe and Read never arrived at 34 Fairview Road while he was present, and that when he drove away he saw nothing on the roadside — a claim that became central to the dispute over when O'Keefe's body came to rest on the lawn.
  • On cross-examination, Jackson confronted Higgins with a 2:22 a.m. call log entry showing Higgins had called Brian Albert hours before O'Keefe's body was discovered, and Higgins's dismissal of the 22-second call as too short for a real conversation drew sustained scrutiny.
  • Jackson challenged Higgins about phone disposal: Higgins testified he threw the phone away, acknowledged that he was served an order on September 30, and said it was possible he removed the SIM card. The court sustained questions about whether he destroyed the phone in October; Higgins denied Jackson's allegation that the phone and SIM card went into separate dumpsters.
  • On Day 18, Yannetti questioned Higgins about disposing of his phone after a preservation order. Higgins denied performing a factory reset, said he cut or broke the SIM card, and testified that he put the SIM and phone together in one trash bag and discarded both in one dumpster while crossing a military base. Yannetti used the exchange and Higgins's selective text extraction to advance a broader evidence-destruction challenge.
  • Higgins acknowledged on redirect that he had relayed information about Chief Berkowitz's discovery of a taillight piece at 34 Fairview Road to Brian Albert, a transmission he confirmed without hesitation: 'Yes, 100%. I'm not hiding that fact.'

Trial Record (5)

Trial 1 First Criminal Trial Apr 29, 2024 – Jul 1, 2024 5 proceedings

Day 17

Direct Brian Higgins Adam Lally 5 highlights 436 lines spoken
Summary

Brian Higgins described his January 28-29 movements, his brief time at 34 Fairview Road, and text-message exchanges with John O'Keefe and Karen Read that were admitted into evidence.

Highlights (5)
Quote

“I was basically trying to suss out what the intentions were of the defendant.”

Higgins described his stated purpose in repeatedly questioning the nature of his communications with Read.

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Quote

“Absolutely not. And, referring to at my residence when she stopped by, it was just I was very uncomfortable.”

Higgins denied any sexual relationship or further intimate contact with Read.

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Show 1 more
Key Moment

Higgins testified about his January text communications and one-on-one contact with Karen Read, including his account that there was no sexual relationship between them.

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Cross Brian Higgins Alan Jackson 3 highlights 897 lines spoken
Summary

Brian Higgins was questioned about his relationships, January 29 phone and keycard records, and the extraction and later disposal of his phone.

Highlights (3)
Quote

“I did not have a 22-second call with Brian Albert. There was no conversation.”

Higgins disputed the defense's characterization of the phone-record entry while acknowledging the records elsewhere.

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Quote

“He walked me through on how I could pull the text string with John O'Keefe and the defendant. He walked me through the process, how to use the machine.”

Higgins described how he extracted selected text strings from his phone.

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Day 18

Cross Brian Higgins David Yannetti 2 highlights 62 lines spoken
Summary

Brian Higgins acknowledged disposing of his phone after a preservation order and not preserving other Albert-family text threads.

Highlights (2)
Quote

“That's not accurate. I did not tell them that. And I also didn't tell them that I saved texts with my father.”

Higgins directly disputed the account of his earlier statement presented during cross-examination.

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Key Moment

Higgins testified that he cut up or broke the SIM card, disposed of it and the phone in a dumpster on a military base, and did not preserve text messages with the Alberts.

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Redirect Brian Higgins Adam Lally 3 highlights 75 lines spoken
Summary

Higgins addressed his communications with Ms. Read, January 29 records, and his later disposal of his phone before denying he saw John O'Keefe by Fairview Road.

Highlights (3)
Quote

“To be honest with you, I mean, on a personal level, I kind of keep things to myself. I was a little embarrassed. I wasn't really proud of them. It kind of maybe didn't show me in a good light with respects that I was John's friend.”

Higgins explained why he said he had not discussed the text messages with others.

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Quote

“Because it was beaten. It was broken up. And I had already had a new phone. The only explanation is I threw it away. That's it.”

Higgins gave his explanation for disposing of his phone after the subpoena and hearing.

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Quote

“I've spent my whole life between being a firefighter, working in the profession that I work now, being a tactical medic. If I had seen John O'Keefe on the side of the road, I would have done something to make a difference.”

Higgins emphatically denied seeing O'Keefe while leaving Fairview Road.

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Recross Brian Higgins David Yannetti 3 highlights 22 lines spoken
Summary

Higgins was questioned about his phone-change timeline, preserved texts with Karen Read, and the preservation order; keycard logs entered as Exhibit No. 105.

Highlights (3)
Quote

“No. What I testified to was the phone number was what I was concerned about primarily.”

Higgins distinguished his stated concern about the phone number from defense counsel's suggested motive for disposing of the phone.

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Key Moment

Higgins testified that the phone number, rather than the call from an investigation target, was his primary concern; he later acknowledged changing his number and getting a new phone on September 29, 2022, before receiving the preservation order the next day.

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Locations Touched By This Testimony

34 Fairview Road 3 procs Canton PD Sally Port 3 procs Canton Police Department 3 procs Waterfall Bar & Grille 3 procs C.F. McCarthy's 1 proc