Paul O'Keefe

Key Points

• Paul described receiving a 6:40 a.m. call from his mother Margaret telling him something had happened to his brother — establishing the family's first awareness of John's death and the chaotic circumstances of that morning.
• At the hospital, Paul observed his brother with swollen eyes, a breathing mask, and blood on his face, providing lay witness testimony about the severity of John O'Keefe's injuries before any medical or forensic expert had testified.
• Paul recounted seeing Karen Read at the hospital being physically restrained by hospital employees while screaming to the family asking whether John was alive — a moment the prosecution presented as significant to the circumstances of John's death.
• Paul testified that Karen Read came to the Canton house that day with her father, went upstairs to the bedroom for ten to fifteen minutes, and left with her personal belongings along with all Read family vehicles — establishing her movements in the hours following John's death.
• Paul told the jury that before January 29, he had spoken positively to Karen's father about her, calling her great and expressing appreciation for what she had done for John's children — contextualizing the family's prior relationship with the defendant as non-adversarial.