Commonwealth v. Read — Trial Archive
Person Katie Camerano Trial 1Katie Camerano was a family friend of John O’Keefe who testified about the frantic early-morning phone calls and texts she received from Karen Read on January 29, 2022. ← All People
🗣️ Witness

Katie Camerano

Trial 1
163 lines 2 proceedings
Courtroom still of Katie Camerano.

About

Katie Camerano was a close family friend of John O'Keefe whose household had an intertwined relationship with O'Keefe and his niece and nephew. She testified in Trial 1 about the sequence of communications she received from Karen Read between approximately 4:49 a.m. and 6:44 a.m. on January 29, 2022, as Read searched for O'Keefe. Her testimony introduced two significant text messages from Read — 'He's dead' at 6:34 a.m. and 'Last he was in the snow' at 6:36 a.m. — as well as Read's initial frantic phone call asking where O'Keefe was.

Key Points

  • Camerano testified that Read's first call, around 4–5 a.m., was marked by screaming — Read asking repeatedly 'Where's Mike?' — establishing the timeline of when Read began searching and her emotional state in those early hours.
  • Camerano introduced into evidence Read's text messages sent at 6:34 and 6:36 a.m. — 'He's dead' and 'Last he was in the snow' — two messages the prosecution presented as indicating Read had prior knowledge of how and where O'Keefe ended up.
  • Camerano described the O'Keefe and Camerano families' closeness, recounting that O'Keefe and her husband operated so naturally together as guardians that the children called them 'My Two Dads,' humanizing O'Keefe's role as guardian to his niece and nephew.
  • On cross-examination, Alan Jackson elicited that Camerano never reached out to Read after the morning of January 29 and was unaware that Read's phone had been seized by investigators shortly after — undercutting any inference that Read's silence toward Camerano was deliberate.

Trial Record (2)

Trial 1 First Criminal Trial Apr 29, 2024 – Jul 1, 2024 2 proceedings

Day 7

Direct Katie Camerano Adam Lally 2 highlights 158 lines spoken
Summary

Camerano described Read’s early-morning calls about O’Keefe and authenticated call and text records admitted as Exhibits 51 and 52.

Highlights (2)