Day 13 - May 16, 2024

Judge Beverly J. Cannone · Trial 1 · 6 proceedings · 1,984 lines

Day 13 of 35

Appearing:

Day 13 covers Colin Albert's cross-examination about testimony preparation, family connections, missing messages, threat videos, and separate hand injuries, followed by Matthew McCabe's account of a dark SUV outside 34 Fairview.

Full day summary

Day 13 opens with Judge Cannone denying a defense motion to strike harassment testimony from the prior day, stating that Alan Jackson's questioning had opened the door. Jackson then conducts an extended cross-examination of Colin Albert about testimony preparation, the Albert family's historical connection with the Proctors, a month-long text gap with Allie McCabe, threat videos, and hand injuries. Albert's initial answer that he had not spoken to anyone to prepare was followed by his acknowledgment of a meeting with ADA Lally and Sergeant Tully. Jackson contrasts Albert's redirect estimate that the videos were from sophomore year with his earlier sworn estimate that they were closer to his junior or senior year. He also questions Albert about separate hand injuries: Albert attributes the February 2022 injury to a fall on ice and a July 2023 injury to hitting a heavy bag. After re-redirect, Lally begins Matthew McCabe's direct examination. McCabe says that during three intermittent looks he saw a dark SUV he believed was Read's in progressively farther positions, saw no one outside and no footprints, and later noticed the vehicle was gone before testimony was cut short by adjournment.

Key Moments

Judge Cannone denies the defense motion to strike harassment testimony, stating she disagrees with Jackson's characterization 'in the strongest way possible.'
Jackson revisits Colin Albert's initial answer that he had not spoken to anyone to prepare; Albert then acknowledges a meeting with ADA Lally and Sergeant Tully.
Jackson introduced a wedding photograph showing Colin Albert as a ring bearer and Michael Proctor in the wedding party, using that prior family connection to challenge Proctor's investigation.
Jackson plays two videos of Albert making explicit physical threats and contrasts Albert's redirect estimate that they were from sophomore year with his prior sworn estimate that they were closer to his junior or senior year; he also questions Albert about explanations for knuckle injuries on separate occasions.
Matthew McCabe testifies that during three intermittent looks he saw a dark SUV he believed was Read's in different positions outside 34 Fairview, saw no one outside and no footprints, and later noticed the vehicle was gone.

Notable Quotes

Beverly J. Cannone

“I remember clearly the lines of inquiry that you initiated, so I disagree with you in the strongest way possible. You've made your record. Your motion is denied.”

The judge's ruling sets the adversarial tone for the day and forecloses the defense's effort to limit what the jury heard about harassment connected to the Albert and McCabe families.

Alan Jackson

“Right. But you do remember, two and a half years ago, you left 34 Fairview at 12:10 a.m., correct, down to the minute?”

Jackson used the question to contrast Albert's precise timing recollection with his earlier inability to remember a recent preparation meeting; it states the defense credibility challenge, not a finding about Albert's memory.

Alan Jackson

“John O'Keefe looks like he had been beaten to death. He's got two black eyes, a laceration over his right eye, laceration over his nose, a giant wound on the back of his head. And he doesn't look like he was hit by a car — he looks like he was in a physical altercation.”

At sidebar, Jackson argued that O'Keefe's injuries supported a physical-altercation theory rather than a vehicle strike; the quoted statement records the defense position he was presenting.

Watch this day Day 13 — Colin Albert, Matt McCabe Watch with synced transcript →

Procedural

Procedural - Motions

15 lines

Attorney Alan Jackson renews the defense objection to harassment testimony elicited during Allie McCabe's examination the previous day, moving to strike the testimony and requesting a jury instruction to disregard it. Jackson argues the defense never opened the door to harassment evidence, stating his questions focused solely on when McCabe first spoke to state police and the federal grand jury. ADA Lally responds that Jackson's questioning implied McCabe only produced text messages after being questioned in another proceeding, directly opening the door to the harassment context explaining the delay. Judge Cannone denies the motion, stating she disagrees with Jackson's characterization 'in the strongest way possible.' The jury is then brought in and the court prepares to resume with Colin Albert's testimony.

Cross

Colin Albert Alan Jackson

1009 lines

Alan Jackson conducts an extended cross-examination of Colin Albert, beginning with questions about testimony preparation after Albert initially denied speaking with anyone and then acknowledged meeting with ADA Lally and Sergeant Tully. Jackson repeatedly highlights Albert's frequent 'I don't remember' responses while noting Albert's precise recollection of details from the night in question. Jackson elicits that Albert served as a ring bearer at Courtney Proctor's wedding about ten years earlier and that Michael Proctor was the lead investigator. He questions the details of Proctor's investigation, including a 10-minute interview, no phone extraction or seizure, and a screenshot of texts rather than underlying data. Jackson addresses a month-long gap in texts between Albert and Allie McCabe after the incident; after Albert says they communicated through other apps, Jackson asks whether the messages were switched or deleted to avoid discovery, which Albert denies. Jackson then presents a February 26, 2022 Fenway Johnny's photograph showing injured right knuckles, which Albert attributes to falling on ice. Jackson challenges that explanation, introduces two videos of Albert making threats against 'Advantage' kids, and questions Albert about right-knuckle injuries at a July 2023 hearing.

Redirect

Colin Albert Adam Lally

40 lines

ADA Adam Lally conducts a brief redirect examination of Colin Albert focused on rehabilitating the witness after cross-examination highlighted videos of Albert making violent threats. When Lally asked whether the videos were made when Albert was a sophomore in high school, Albert answered, "Around that. Yeah." In the immediately following recross, Albert confirmed that at an earlier hearing he had said he believed the video was taken closer to his junior or senior year in high school. Albert explains the videos were part of a back-and-forth with members of a club hockey team called Advantage, a group he had no relationship with, never met in person, and never had any physical interaction with. Lally then pivots to directly ask whether Albert ever threatened John O'Keefe or had any similar exchange with him, which Albert denies.

Recross

Colin Albert Alan Jackson

146 lines

Defense attorney Alan Jackson conducts a recross focused on the timing of Colin Albert's threatening videos and his accounts of hand injuries. Jackson confronts Albert with prior sworn testimony from a July 2023 hearing in which Albert had placed the videos closer to his junior or senior year, contrasting with redirect testimony that they were from sophomore year. During a sidebar, Jackson argues that the videos are relevant to the adequacy of the police investigation and the third-party-culprit defense because Albert was not fully investigated. After the recess, Jackson plays both videos for the jury and asks Albert about their threats of physical violence. He closes by contrasting Albert's trial account of a February 2022 ice-fall injury with testimony about a hand injury at a July 2023 hearing after boxing or hitting a heavy bag.

Redirect

Colin Albert Adam Lally

140 lines

ADA Lally systematically addresses each point raised during recross. He establishes that Colin Albert's contact with Trooper Michael Proctor was minimal — roughly five or six encounters, mostly as a young child at the grandmother's house — and that the wedding photo was from when Albert was eight or nine with no memory of the event. Lally reframes the month-long text gap with Allie McCabe as normal given their use of multiple communication platforms, and separates the two hand injury incidents as distinct events — ice in February and an ungloved heavy bag strike in July. He walks Albert through the threatening videos again, placing them at age 16 during a back-and-forth with a club hockey team over girls, with no physical meeting ever occurring. Albert concludes by describing over a year of online harassment, social media accusations of murder against his family, and people showing up at their homes and sporting events. Lally closes by having Albert reaffirm he never saw John O'Keefe at 34 Fairview Road that night.

Direct

Matthew McCabe Adam Lally

634 lines

ADA Lally walks Matthew McCabe through his relationship with John O'Keefe and Karen Read, then reconstructs the evening of January 28-29, 2022. McCabe describes going from the Canton Junction Pub to a high school basketball game, then to the Waterfall bar where the group gathered, and finally to 34 Fairview Road (Brian Albert's house) after midnight. At Fairview, McCabe testifies he looked outside three times and observed a dark SUV — which he believed was Karen Read's vehicle — parked in front of the house, each time positioned progressively further up the road. During those intermittent looks, he did not see anyone outside, and he saw no footprints in the accumulating snow or interior lights. The SUV was present for roughly 10-14 minutes before it was gone. McCabe left around 1:45 a.m., drove home by approximately 2:10-2:25 a.m., and was woken by screams in his bedroom — at which point testimony was cut short by adjournment.

◀ Day 12 Trial 1 Day 14 ▶

Day 13 - May 16, 2024

Procedural — Motions

Colin Albert — Cross

Colin Albert — Redirect/Recross

Matthew McCabe — Direct (Part 1)