Commonwealth v. Read — Trial ArchiveKatie McLaughlin
Katie McLaughlin is a Canton Fire Department firefighter-paramedic who was part of the crew that responded to 34 Fairview Road on January 29, 2022, where John O'Keefe was found unresponsive in the snow. While gathering medical information from those at the scene, she heard Karen Read make the statement 'I hit him' multiple times. She testified in both trials and became one of the prosecution's primary first-responder witnesses, while also becoming a focus of defense scrutiny over her undisclosed social connection to Caitlin Albert, whose family owns the property where O'Keefe was found.
Trial 1 vs Trial 2
In Trial 2, McLaughlin's examination was substantially compressed relative to Trial 1, with the voir dire proceedings consolidated and the Caitlin Albert relationship addressed more efficiently given its full airing in the first trial. Jackson adapted his approach by using surveillance video from the scene to challenge McLaughlin's characterization of Read as 'obviously upset and overly frantic,' and by more directly probing whether McLaughlin's pre-trial preparation with ADA Brennan reflected prosecutorial coaching on how to preemptively address the Albert relationship. The prosecution in Trial 2 also shifted from Lally to Brennan for both direct and redirect, adjusting the rehabilitation framing around McLaughlin's role as a medical responder with no investigative obligations.