Commonwealth v. Read — Trial Archive
Trial 1 Trial Day
◀ Day 13 Trial 1 Day 15 ▶

Day 14 - May 17, 2024

McCabe Cross-Examination and Jennifer McCabe’s Search Testimony

Judge Beverly J. Cannone
5Proceedings
4Pages
2Witnesses
3,279Lines
13 sidebars
Day 14 of 35
Appearing:
Adam LallyDavid YannettiJennifer McCabeMatthew McCabe

Matthew McCabe faced cross-examination about his SUV observations and group texts before Jennifer McCabe described the search for John O’Keefe.

Full day summary

Matthew McCabe completed his testimony as defense counsel questioned his prior grand-jury account, his observations of the black SUV outside 34 Fairview, V-shaped tire tracks, and February 1 group texts. He maintained that he first saw the SUV in front of the house and later farther to the right, and said he did not see John O’Keefe in the vehicle or on the lawn. On redirect and recross, he denied directing statements to investigators and explained that a statement that O’Keefe never entered the house referred to Channel 4. Jennifer McCabe then testified about directing O’Keefe to Fairview, seeing a dark SUV outside the home, the early-morning search with Karen Read and Kerry Roberts, finding O’Keefe on Fairview Road, and statements she said Read made during the search and emergency response.

Notable Moments

Matthew McCabe - Cross

McCabe agreed that his recollection of the January 29 observations would have been better at his April 2022 grand-jury testimony, then confirmed that the transcript recorded his answer that neither person seemed overly intoxicated.

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Matthew McCabe - Cross

Defense counsel questioned McCabe at length about the black SUV's reported locations. McCabe maintained that he first saw it in front of the house and later to the right, while the court directed counsel to move on after repeated questioning.

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Matthew McCabe - Cross

McCabe identified a February 1 text telling the group to ask Chris Albert questions and stating that John O’Keefe never went into the house; he rejected counsel's characterization that the message concerned getting stories straight.

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Jennifer McCabe Describes the Night Out, Fairview Observations, and Morning Search

McCabe described the group finding O’Keefe on Fairview Road, calling 911, and attempting aid before first responders arrived.

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Jennifer McCabe Describes the Night Out, Fairview Observations, and Morning Search

McCabe testified that Read made statements about having hit O’Keefe; McCabe said she later reported those remarks to Officer Lank.

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Notable Quotes
Matthew McCabe
“I don’t know if I can answer it. I believe it’s the second question. I told him I saw an SUV parked in front the house, then I saw an SUV move further up the right which looking out of the house would be to the right of the house so that would be when I saw the SUV to the right of the house, would be the second time I saw the SUV. I’ve always stated the SUV was in front of the house if looking out the front door.”
McCabe gave his explanation for the sequence and orientation of the SUV observations challenged on cross-examination.
Matthew McCabe
“John never went in the house. It’s not a story, it’s a fact.”
McCabe rejected defense counsel's characterization of a group-text statement concerning John O’Keefe.
Video thumbnail for Day 14 — Matt McCabe, Jen McCabe 7h 15m
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1. Matthew McCabe — Direct (Part 2)

Matthew McCabe resumed direct testimony about the early-morning calls, the search for John O'Keefe, and his trip to Fairview after O'Keefe was found.

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Direct
Matthew McCabe Adam Lally
226 lines

McCabe resumed direct testimony about the morning of January 29. He said he awoke shortly before 5:00 a.m. to loud repeated calls for “Jen,” heard his wife say that Karen could not find John, and later heard statements he attributed to Karen about not remembering going to Fairview and about a damaged taillight. He testified that his wife later reported they had found John at Fairview, prompting him to drive there through heavier snow and encounter first responders. He also described speaking with Officer Lank and later being interviewed by state troopers. The court sustained limits on questions that would have elicited what McCabe said to his wife and directed the prosecutor to reframe them.

2. Matthew McCabe — Cross

Defense counsel cross-examined Matthew McCabe about his observations of the black SUV and February 1 group texts.

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Cross
Matthew McCabe David Yannetti
1244 lines

Defense counsel questioned Matthew McCabe about the mood at the Waterfall, directions to 34 Fairview, and his observations of the black SUV outside the Albert home. McCabe maintained that he first saw the SUV in front of the house and later farther to the right, while qualifying his recollection of its distance, movement, and the V-shaped tire tracks. He said he did not see John O’Keefe in the vehicle or on the lawn and did not hear outside noises that drew his attention. The cross-examination also covered February 1 group texts involving Brian Albert, Jennifer McCabe, and Nicole Albert, including McCabe's messages about troopers and a text concerning John O’Keefe not entering the house. The court limited repeated and compound questioning and addressed the legibility and admissibility of the group-chat materials.

7 sidebars inside this proceeding
  1. Use of Intoxicated Terminology The parties discussed an objection to questioning about whether someone seemed intoxicated, and the court permitted use of the transcript's wording.
  2. Proctor Report Property Observation The court addressed questioning about a reported property observation, marked an excerpt from the Proctor report for identification, and instructed counsel to ask one fact per question.
  3. Group Text Reference to Chungs The court questioned the purpose of a group-text reference involving the Chungs, and counsel said he would not pursue that line further.
  4. Entire Group Chat Identification The court marked an unredacted entire group-chat printout as Exhibit JJ for identification and recessed for the jury break.
  5. Display of Group Chat Evidence The parties discussed readability, redactions, and objections to a group-chat exhibit; the court allowed only material already in evidence to be displayed and deferred Exhibit KK.
  6. Text Message Hearsay Objection The court addressed hearsay objections to proposed text-message questioning, permitted the questioning, and directed counsel to proceed more succinctly without highlighting proposed answers.
  7. Limits on Text Message Display The court limited questioning about text-message bubbles, sustained an objection to one bubble, and said the documents could not be displayed pending a satisfactory form.

3. Matthew McCabe — Redirect/Recross

Matthew McCabe completed redirect and recross examination about whether John O’Keefe entered the house and what those inside knew that night.

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Redirect
Matthew McCabe Adam Lally
68 lines

On redirect, Matthew McCabe said John O’Keefe never entered the house and that his family did not know what had happened to him. McCabe denied directing anyone’s statements to investigators or hearing family members do so in his presence. He reiterated that he did not see O’Keefe or anyone inside the SUV, explained that the tire marks he discussed were seen after a pickup truck was present, and said a February 1 text about more being dug up referred to snow removed around the scene.

Recross
Matthew McCabe David Yannetti
30 lines

Defense counsel returned to McCabe’s statement about telling others that John O’Keefe never entered the house. McCabe said Channel 4 was the party he was referencing and explained that those in the house did not know what had happened to O’Keefe.

4. Jennifer McCabe — Direct

Jennifer McCabe described the Waterfall outing, directions to Fairview, the early-morning search for John O’Keefe, and the emergency response after he was found.

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Direct
Jennifer McCabe Adam Lally
1671 lines

Jennifer McCabe described the group’s evening at the Waterfall, directions she gave John O’Keefe to Fairview, and her observations of a dark SUV outside her sister’s home. She authenticated text and call records, described the early-morning search with Karen Read and Kerry Roberts, and recounted finding O’Keefe on Fairview Road, calling 911, and later speaking with police. McCabe also testified about statements she said Read made during the search and emergency response.

5 sidebars inside this proceeding
  1. Relationship Evidence Instruction The court discussed anticipated testimony about the nature of a relationship and offered a limiting instruction, which defense counsel did not request at that time.
  2. Redacted Text Exhibit Procedure The court set a procedure for text-message exhibits: clean copies for authentication, redacted copies for introduction and display, with phone-number redactions completed during lunch.
  3. Missed Phone Number Redaction The court addressed an unredacted phone number in a displayed text-message exhibit and directed that it be crossed out before proceeding.
  4. Phone Call Records Foundation The parties clarified that proposed phone-call records came from John O'Keefe's phone extraction, and defense counsel withdrew the foundation objection after confirming access to both record sets.
  5. USB Evidence Access Issues The court discussed technical difficulty accessing USB evidence and encouraged cooperation if feasible, while stating it was not ordering the defense to provide assistance.
sidebar
Trial Pace and Witness Schedule
40 lines

The court addressed trial pace, scheduling, anticipated witnesses, and repetitive testimony, requested advance notice about Trooper Proctor, and recessed until Tuesday.

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