Commonwealth v. Read — Trial ArchiveKerry Roberts
Kerry Roberts was a close personal friend of John O'Keefe who received a series of frantic calls from Karen Read in the early morning hours of January 29, 2022. She drove with Read and Jennifer McCabe to 34 Fairview Road, where she witnessed Read identify O'Keefe's snow-covered body, performed CPR, and observed his injuries firsthand. Roberts testified in both trials, and in Trial 2 faced substantial cross-examination about her grand jury testimony, her coordination with Jennifer McCabe before law enforcement interviews, and a false statement she gave to the grand jury regarding a Google search.
Trial 1 vs Trial 2
In Trial 1, Roberts's examination was brief and her cross was waived entirely by the defense. In Trial 2, the defense conducted an extensive multi-day cross-examination that had not occurred in the first trial, introducing Ring camera evidence, grand jury transcripts, and federal investigation statements to challenge her account. The false grand jury testimony admission — which Roberts acknowledged directly under oath — was the central new development in Trial 2, transforming Roberts from an unchallenged prosecution witness into one whose prior sworn statements became a focus of the defense's narrative about witness coordination.