Commonwealth v. Read — Trial Archive
Person Nicole Albert Trial 1Nicole Albert is Brian Albert’s wife and co-owner of 34 Fairview Road, who testified about the group’s movements on the night of January 28-29, 2022 and the discovery of John O’Keefe’s body the following morning. ← All People
🗣️ Witness

Nicole Albert

Trial 1
446 lines 4 proceedings
Courtroom still of Nicole Albert.

About

Nicole Albert is the wife of Boston Police Officer Brian Albert and co-owner of the house where John O'Keefe was found dying on the morning of January 29, 2022. She was present at the Waterfall bar with the group that evening and was at 34 Fairview Road when Jennifer McCabe woke her to report O'Keefe had been found in the snow. Her testimony covers the group's movements from the bar to her home, who was present and when they left, and her account of the morning discovery — all contested facts central to both the prosecution's and defense's theories of the case.

Key Points

  • Nicole's flat denial that John O'Keefe or Karen Read ever entered 34 Fairview Road was among the most direct statements of the night's contested facts, directly contradicting the defense's theory that O'Keefe was beaten inside the house.
  • Little used two call entries from Jennifer McCabe at 6:07 and 6:08 a.m., along with their reported durations, to challenge Nicole's account. Nicole denied answering or speaking with McCabe, and the court sustained an objection when Little characterized the entries as answered. On redirect, Nicole acknowledged she lacked expertise interpreting Cellebrite data and could not tell whether an answered label reflected an answered call or voicemail.
  • The defense highlighted that Nicole had never mentioned Colin Albert to either Sergeant Lank or Trooper Proctor during her police interviews, despite him being present at the house that night; Nicole explained she didn't consider him part of the group they were socializing with after the Waterfall.
  • Elizabeth Little established that Nicole's husband Brian Albert, a trained first responder, was lying beside her in their bedroom while emergency vehicles responded to a dying man in their front yard — and that neither of them went outside to help.
  • Nicole's acknowledgment that she could not account for the whereabouts of Brian Albert and Brian Higgins during portions of the gathering provided the defense a foothold for its theory that the two men had unsupervised time with O'Keefe inside the house.

Trial Record (4)

Trial 1 First Criminal Trial Apr 29, 2024 – Jul 1, 2024 4 proceedings

Day 9

Direct Nicole Albert Adam Lally 3 highlights 247 lines spoken
Summary

Nicole Albert recounted the Waterfall gathering, the later gathering at 34 Fairview Road, and the next morning’s police contact; eight exterior photographs of the home were admitted.

Highlights (3)
Quote

“I had none. I don’t believe we spoke or we were introduced or anything. I don’t think we spoke at all.”

Albert testified that she had no interaction with Karen Read at the Waterfall.

Open in transcript → Watch this moment ▶
Quote

“It had no relation to it. We had already had thoughts and plans of doing it before that happened. We had reached out to a realtor at the end of ’21.”

Albert said the decision to sell the house predated January 29, 2022.

Open in transcript → Watch this moment ▶
Key Moment

Albert testified that Jennifer came into her bedroom between 6:00 and 6:30 that morning and that Officer Lank entered the house after Albert and her husband went downstairs.

Open in transcript → Watch this moment ▶
Cross Nicole Albert Elizabeth Little 4 highlights 180 lines spoken
Summary

Nicole Albert was questioned about the household timeline, omitted names in earlier accounts, Chloe, and disputed morning calls; a stipulated 34 Fairview graphic was admitted as Exhibit 66.

Highlights (4)
Quote

“Of course we discussed the case, just everything that was going on. We were trying to figure out what happened.”

Albert acknowledged family discussions before law-enforcement interviews.

Open in transcript → Watch this moment ▶
Quote

“She may have placed those phone calls to me, but I never answered them.”

Albert maintained her denial of answering her sister's morning calls after being shown the records page.

Open in transcript → Watch this moment ▶
Key Moment

The court allowed questioning about Chloe's prior incident with another dog; Albert described one woman being injured while breaking up the dogs and said the dog had been rehomed in Vermont.

Open in transcript → Watch this moment ▶
Redirect Nicole Albert Adam Lally 2 highlights 16 lines spoken
Summary

Nicole Albert denied answering Jennifer McCabe’s calls, said she could not interpret Cellebrite call data, described rehoming Chloe, and characterized a brief gap in her observations at 34 Fairview.

Highlights (2)
Quote

“And then after that we just decided that we thought the best thing to do would be to try to rehome her because I just didn’t want something like that to happen again.”

Albert explained her stated reason for rehoming Chloe after the biting incident.

Open in transcript → Watch this moment ▶
Quote

“It wasn’t very long. A couple minutes. I wasn’t watching where everybody was and what everybody was doing.”

Albert characterized the period when Mr. Higgins and her husband were outside her sight.

Open in transcript → Watch this moment ▶

Locations Touched By This Testimony

Waterfall Bar & Grille 3 procs 34 Fairview Road 2 procs Canton Police Department 1 proc