Day 14 - May 17, 2024

Judge Beverly J. Cannone · Trial 1 · 6 proceedings · 2,461 lines

Day 14 of 35

Appearing:

Day 14 completes Matthew McCabe's testimony about the SUV, a disputed report interpretation, and a Channel 4 text, then begins Jennifer McCabe's account of the early-morning search and Read's reported statements.

Full day summary

Day 14 opens with ADA Lally completing Matthew McCabe's direct examination. McCabe testified that Read said she last saw O'Keefe at the Waterfall and that he had seen a black SUV he identified as Read's arrive at 34 Fairview. On cross-examination, Yannetti challenged McCabe's reliability on the SUV's position, using Trooper Proctor's report to advance an interpretation McCabe disputed; McCabe maintained that its right-of-house description concerned a second sighting. Yannetti then introduced February 1 group texts in which McCabe told the group to tell Channel 4 that O'Keefe 'never went in the house,' with Brian Albert responding 'exactly.' Redirect and recross kept the audiences distinct: McCabe denied telling state police or investigators what to say, while acknowledging that the text referred to Channel 4. Jennifer McCabe then begins direct examination, recounting the Waterfall gathering, the early-morning search, Read's questions about whether she hit O'Keefe, the cracked tail light, her account that Read told a paramedic 'I hit him,' and Read's request that McCabe search how long it takes to die in the cold.

Key Moments

Matthew McCabe testifies that Read told his wife she last saw O'Keefe at the Waterfall; he said this was significant because he had seen a black SUV he identified as Read's arrive at 34 Fairview.
Yannetti confronts McCabe with Trooper Proctor's report to advance a first-sighting interpretation of the SUV's position; McCabe disputes that reading and says the right-of-house location described a second sighting.
February 1 group texts show McCabe telling the group, including members of the Albert family, to tell Channel 4 that O'Keefe 'never went in the house,' with Brian Albert responding 'exactly.'
Jennifer McCabe testifies that Read told a paramedic 'I hit him' three times — distinctly, in McCabe's account, from Read's earlier equivocal questions.
Jennifer McCabe testifies that after O'Keefe was found, Read grabbed her hands and asked her to Google how long it takes to die in the cold.

Notable Quotes

Jennifer McCabe

“When she spoke to the paramedic it was crystal clear: 'I hit him.'”

McCabe testified that Read's words to a paramedic were a declarative 'I hit him,' distinct from earlier questions; the Commonwealth relied on McCabe's account as inculpatory.

Jennifer McCabe

“Google how long it takes to die in the cold.”

McCabe testified that Read asked her to run the cold-exposure search after O'Keefe was found; later testimony contested whether forensic records reflected an earlier search.

David Yannetti

“the answer is: you were instructing people on the group chat to tell Channel 4 that the guy never went in the house, correct?”

Yannetti used the February 1 text to question what McCabe told a family group to say to Channel 4; the exchange concerns a media statement, not McCabe's separate denial about coaching police or investigators.

Watch this day Day 14 — Matt McCabe, Jen McCabe Watch with synced transcript →

Direct

Matthew McCabe Adam Lally

205 lines

ADA Lally resumes Matthew McCabe's direct examination from the previous day. McCabe describes being woken before 5:00 a.m. by screaming — Karen Read repeatedly yelling "Jen, Jen, Jen" on a phone call with his wife Jennifer McCabe. Read told Jennifer she couldn't find John O'Keefe and said the last time she saw him was at the Waterfall bar. McCabe found this statement significant because he had seen a black SUV he believed was Read's at 34 Fairview hours earlier. After multiple unanswered calls to O'Keefe and others, Read arrived at the McCabe home and left with Jennifer to search. Approximately an hour later, Jennifer called to say they found John at Fairview. McCabe drove to the scene, observed first responders, spoke briefly with Kerry Roberts, then entered the Albert residence where he found his wife, Brian and Nicole Albert, and Officer Lank — all visibly shaken. McCabe spoke with Officer Lank and was later interviewed at home by Troopers Proctor and Bukhenik. The testimony concludes with McCabe describing his wife's calm demeanor in crisis situations.

+1 procedural segment

Cross

Matthew McCabe David Yannetti

815 lines

Yannetti begins by establishing that John O'Keefe and Karen Read appeared happy together on both January 22 and January 29, with neither appearing intoxicated — impeaching McCabe with his own grand jury testimony on that point. He then questions McCabe about where he first saw the black SUV, using Trooper Proctor's January 29 report to advance a first-sighting interpretation that McCabe disputes; McCabe maintains that the report's right-of-house location described a second sighting. Yannetti establishes that directions given to John O'Keefe would have brought him from Chapman Street with the driver's side closest to the Albert property, yet the SUV was facing the opposite direction — making V-shaped tire tracks consistent with a three-point turn. McCabe testifies that he did not see damage to the SUV, did not see John O'Keefe inside it, and did not see a person on the lawn when asked, while explaining that he was focused on the road rather than the lawn. He also testifies that he heard no yelling, screaming, or crash noises from inside the Albert home and did not see sneaker, cap, or tail-light debris when leaving. The examination concludes with a group text chain from February 1, 2022, showing McCabe monitoring trooper activity near the Albert home and relaying information about Kerry Roberts' police interview to Brian Albert.

Cross

Matthew McCabe David Yannetti

31 lines

Resuming after a brief recess, Yannetti returns to a group text chain from February 1, 2022 — three days after O'Keefe was found. McCabe confirms he texted his wife, Brian Albert, and Nicole Albert: 'Ask Chris to ask some questions' and, separately, 'Tell them the guy never went in the house,' referring to John O'Keefe. Yannetti characterizes the latter exchange as an effort to get stories straight; McCabe denies that characterization and says O'Keefe never went in the house was a fact. Yannetti establishes that Brian Albert — the oldest Albert sibling and owner of 34 Fairview — responded 'exactly.' In the subsequent recross, McCabe identifies 'them' as Channel 4, which had gone to D&E. The examination ends immediately after that exchange.

Redirect

Matthew McCabe Adam Lally

60 lines

ADA Lally conducts a brief redirect of Matthew McCabe to counter defense themes raised during cross-examination. Lally establishes that McCabe never told anyone what to say to investigators and that the family discussions about O'Keefe's death were natural given their friendship and shock. Lally addresses the tire marks by clarifying they appeared after a pickup truck had already been present, and offers an innocent explanation for the SUV's orientation — that the driver missed the house and turned around via Cedarcrest. He also clarifies that McCabe couldn't see inside the SUV due to visibility conditions, that he didn't hear Julie Nagel's statements rather than denying she made them, and that the 'digging' reference from the February 1st texts was about snow being cleared around the scene as temperatures rose. The redirect ends with Lally establishing O'Keefe's prior relationship with someone named Bella's mother and that McCabe never heard from O'Keefe again after the directions call.

Recross

Matthew McCabe David Yannetti

21 lines

In a brief recross, Yannetti returns to the February 1, 2022 group text message where McCabe wrote 'tell them the guy never went in the house.' Yannetti notes that McCabe had denied telling anyone what to tell the state police or investigators and asks McCabe to identify who 'them' referred to. McCabe reviews the text and says it was Channel 4, which had gone to D&E. Yannetti asks whether McCabe was instructing people in the group chat to tell Channel 4 that O'Keefe never entered the house. McCabe answers yes, explaining that he was saying they did not know what happened and that O'Keefe never came in the house. Yannetti cuts off the explanation and returns to the narrow yes-or-no framing.

Direct

Jennifer McCabe Adam Lally

1323 lines

ADA Adam Lally conducts direct examination of Jennifer McCabe, establishing the timeline from the evening of January 28, 2022 through the discovery of John O'Keefe's body the following morning. McCabe describes the group gathering at the Waterfall bar, the plan to go to 34 Fairview Road, giving O'Keefe directions by phone, observing a dark SUV outside the Fairview house that she believed was Karen Read's vehicle, and sending unanswered texts to O'Keefe between 12:27 and 12:45 AM. She then describes being woken at 4:53 AM by O'Keefe's niece Kaylee, Read's repeated statements asking 'Could I have hit him? Did I hit him?', driving to O'Keefe's house on Meadow Avenue where Read showed them a cracked tail light, and ultimately finding O'Keefe's snow-covered body on the lawn at 34 Fairview Road. McCabe testifies that Read told a paramedic 'I hit him' three times, and that Read later asked her to Google 'how long does it take to die in the cold.'

◀ Day 13 Trial 1 Day 15 ▶

Day 14 - May 17, 2024

Matthew McCabe — Direct (Part 2)

Matthew McCabe — Cross

Matthew McCabe — Redirect/Recross

Jennifer McCabe — Direct