Commonwealth v. Read — Trial ArchiveMatthew McCabe - Direct (Part 2)
211 linesCOURT OFFICER: All persons having business before The Honorable Beverly J. Cannone, Justice of the Norfolk Superior Court, and in for the county of Norfolk, draw near and your attendance you shall be heard. God save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This court is now open. You may be seated.
COURT CLERK: 22117, the Commonwealth versus Karen Read.
JUDGE CANNONE: Good morning, counsel.
UNKNOWN: Good morning. Good morning, Miss Read.
UNKNOWN: Good morning. Good morning.
UNKNOWN: Good morning. So I'm going to ask you those three questions. Were you all able to follow the instructions and refrain from discussing this case with anyone since we left yesterday? Everyone said yes or nodded affirmatively. Were you also able to follow the instruction and refrain from doing any independent research or investigation into this case? Everyone said yes or answered affirmatively. Did anyone happen to see, hear, or read anything about this case since we left yesterday? No. Everyone said no or shook their heads. Thank you very much.
COURT CLERK: May we have Mr. McCabe, please? witness returns to stand
JUDGE CANNONE: Mr. Lally, whenever you're ready.
MR. LALLY: Good morning, sir.
MR. MCCABE: Good morning.
MR. LALLY: Where we left off yesterday, you had gone to bed on the 28th, correct?
MR. MCCABE: Uh, yes, that's correct.
MR. LALLY: Friday night. And at some point you woke up later in the morning on the 29th, correct?
MR. MCCABE: Yes, Saturday morning.
MR. LALLY: And do you recall, sir, what awoke you...
MR. MCCABE: ...on that morning? Yes, I do.
MR. LALLY: What was that, sir?
MR. MCCABE: I awoke to the screaming of "Jen, Jen, Jen." So when I woke up, I thought there was somebody in my bedroom. I kind of snapped up out of bed — "What the hell's going on?" — looking around the room, realized my wife was actually on the phone.
MR. LALLY: And the screaming that you heard, how loud was that, sir?
MR. MCCABE: It was loud enough to wake me up from a dead sleep. I could hear it. It was loud. Obviously I was laying in bed, and realizing after that my wife was actually laying right next to me on the phone. But it was a loud "Jen, Jen, Jen" — it was repetitive.
MR. LALLY: And do you know approximately what time that was, sir?
MR. MCCABE: Yeah, shortly before 5:00 a.m.
MR. LALLY: And did you recognize the voice that you heard screaming?
MR. MCCABE: I did not recognize the voice.
MR. LALLY: And as far as that phone conversation — well, let me ask you this first. As far as that phone conversation was concerned, could you hear both sides of that conversation?
MR. MCCABE: Uh, yes, I could.
MR. LALLY: And that was based on the volume of the person speaking on the other end, correct?
MR. MCCABE: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And eventually were you able to recognize or identify the voice on the other end of your wife's conversation?
MR. MCCABE: Yes. I asked my wife, "What the hell is going on?" after I woke up and popped up, looking around the room to find out who's in my bedroom, assuming it was... ...a kid — one of my kids screaming. I asked my wife, "What is going on?" and I could hear her saying, "I'm on the phone with Karen. She can't find John."
MR. LALLY: And did that conversation continue while you were in your bedroom, is that correct?
MR. MCCABE: Uh, yeah, that conversation continued for a couple minutes. I could hear the dialogue, and then again right back to "Jen, Jen, Jen" — the repeating of my wife's name.
MR. LALLY: Again, as far as the dialogue was concerned, specifically from Miss Read's perspective, what if anything do you recall about that?
MR. MCCABE: She didn't know where John was, and the last time she saw him was at the Waterfall.
MR. LALLY: And about how long did that initial phone call — or that initial conversation between your wife and the defendant — go on?
MR. MCCABE: From when I woke up — a minute, minute and a half, two minutes. I don't know the exact time.
MR. LALLY: And after — or take us through how that conversation ended.
MR. MCCABE: Yes, they hung up the phone. I was laying in the bed, my wife was next to me. And I think my wife immediately called somebody else — she was calling friends that lived near the Waterfall that happened to be there that evening, and she started making those phone calls.
MR. LALLY: And as your wife was making those phone calls, what if anything did you say to her?
MR. YANNETTI: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained. I'm not going to allow that. Next question.
MR. LALLY: With respect to the defendant's statement that the last time she saw Mr. O'Keefe was at the Waterfall — what if anything occurred to you in reference to that?
MR. MCCABE: In reference to her saying she last saw him at the Waterfall, I then told my wife, "What are you talking about?"
JUDGE CANNONE: Not — not asking what you said. I think Mr. Lally asked you what you thought, what you gathered from that.
MR. MCCABE: I thought she was crazy.
MR. LALLY: And why was that?
MR. MCCABE: Because I saw her vehicle. I saw the black SUV arrive to 34 Fairview that morning.
MR. LALLY: You had overheard the conversation from Mr. O'Keefe to your wife the night previous, correct?
MR. MCCABE: That's correct.
MR. LALLY: And so what happened then?
MR. MCCABE: I told my wife, "What are you talking about?"
JUDGE CANNONE: Not what you said to your wife. All right, sorry — it's hard to ask a question, Mr. Lally, so that he can answer it properly.
MR. LALLY: So your wife made some phone calls in your presence, correct?
MR. MCCABE: Yes, she did.
MR. LALLY: And following those phone conversations, what if any other conversations did she have with the defendant?
MR. MCCABE: There were multiple calls. I don't recall what calls were made, what time. But the next call, we were informing the defendant that — we saw your car, we saw you come to 34 Fairview, you guys were... ...there. And I heard the response of, "I don't remember, I don't remember going there."
MR. LALLY: And what if any other conversation do you recall — a subsequent phone conversation that you overheard from the defendant?
MR. MCCABE: At some moment — as I said, my wife had made a couple phone calls. In one of the calls with Karen Read, she alerted that she broke her tail light — cracked her tail light, something to that effect — while Jen and I were still in the bedroom and she was on the phone.
MR. LALLY: And as your wife and you were in the bedroom and your wife was on the phone, what if anything were the two of you doing?
MR. MCCABE: After my wife had made a few calls, we were completely confused on where the hell John was. The thought process in our head at that moment was we knew that John had mentioned that he was potentially going to be meeting up with another person. So we called that individual. My wife called that individual to see if — by chance, again, confused: left at the Waterfall, we saw them at the house — did John not go with her, did he get out of the car, did he go somewhere else? So we proceeded to call a couple other people that we thought he possibly might have met up with.
MR. LALLY: From those other phone calls that you observed your wife making, at any point in time — other than a conversation with the defendant — did you observe her to have any conversation with anybody?
MR. MCCABE: You're asking if my wife did what?
MR. LALLY: I'm asking — not as to any content or anything like that — your wife made phone calls, correct?
MR. MCCABE: That is correct.
MR. LALLY: And when she made those phone calls, did you observe her conversing with anybody on the phone?
MR. MCCABE: No, she did not speak to anybody. Nobody — nobody answered any of our calls.
MR. LALLY: And at some point, did you yourself reach out to Mr. O'Keefe?
MR. MCCABE: Yes, yes, I did.
MR. LALLY: And how did you do that?
MR. MCCABE: I texted him, and I think I called him as well. Pretty much "Where the hell are you?" I think it was when Karen Read and my wife left — were leaving my house — I think I responded, "Where the hell are you? Karen and Jen are out looking for you."
MR. LALLY: And in regard to those text messages, did you receive any response from Mr. O'Keefe?
MR. MCCABE: I did not.
MR. LALLY: And with regard to those texts, you had Mr. O'Keefe programmed in your phone, is that correct?
MR. MCCABE: Yes, I did.
MR. LALLY: And you would have had prior conversations with him via text message and phone, using that number that you had programmed into your phone?
MR. MCCABE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: So no response to the text. As far as the phone call you had placed to Mr. O'Keefe, did he answer — did you speak with him at all?
MR. MCCABE: I did not speak to Mr. O'Keefe.
MR. LALLY: Now, at some point, do you and your wife go downstairs?
MR. MCCABE: My wife proceeded downstairs. I remained in the bedroom.
MR. LALLY: And what is the next thing that you remember occurring?
MR. MCCABE: Well, I was getting dressed. I put my jeans on. My wife went downstairs — she was going to make a coffee. My wife and I were proceeding to leave. We were going to leave our house and make a drive to the house of the gentleman that my wife was calling, that we possibly thought John could have met up with. And within that moment — again, I don't know the exact time — I then heard yelling out in my front yard.
MR. LALLY: And when you heard the yelling in your front yard—
MR. MCCABE: I realized it was Karen Read. And I told my wife, "Please tell her to shut up, she's going to wake up the whole neighborhood."
MR. LALLY: And where is it — or when is this — in relation to that first phone call, when you sort of shot up out of bed?
MR. MCCABE: At least a half hour, give or take. Again, I don't know the exact time.
MR. LALLY: Now, at any point, after you hear the yelling out front — you hear the defendant yelling out front — what was she yelling?
MR. MCCABE: She again repeated "Jen, Jen." She, for some reason, kept repeating my wife's name. I don't know if she got all the way to my doorway or my wife walked out. But my wife had said — I was actually relieved, because I was like, "Not again" — not thinking what happened to John happened to John. I was thinking he was on somebody's couch. So I was like, good — I'm not going to look for him, thinking my wife was going to go. My wife said she's going to go with Karen to go find John.
MR. LALLY: And at any point in time that morning, when the defendant arrived at the house, did you actually go outside or look outside?
MR. MCCABE: I did not go outside. I did look out the blinds of my bedroom window, which is the closest to the driveway.
MR. LALLY: What if anything did you see when you looked out?
MR. MCCABE: I saw Karen's car in my driveway.
MR. LALLY: Did you see the defendant, Miss Read, anywhere outside as well?
MR. MCCABE: I don't — I... ...don't recall physically seeing her. I saw the vehicle. I don't recall seeing her directly making any physical contact as far as seeing her.
MR. LALLY: What if any concerns did you have in reference to your wife going out with Miss Read at that particular time?
MR. MCCABE: I had mentioned to my wife, before she was leaving the house, that—
JUDGE CANNONE: I'll allow this.
MR. LALLY: Were your concerns—
MR. MCCABE: My concerns were that she was going to be driving with Miss Read in Miss Read's vehicle, and my concerns were that she had a broken tail light. What I thought by a broken tail light was that her tail light was out, meaning there was no light. And I didn't think it was a bright idea to be driving around with no physical light on the tail light, particularly given the weather.
MR. LALLY: Is that fair to say, because of the weather?
MR. MCCABE: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And so your wife then leaves with Miss Read. Is that correct?
MR. MCCABE: That is correct.
MR. LALLY: Did you happen to see who got in where, as far as the car, who was driving when they went?
MR. MCCABE: I did not see that, no.
MR. LALLY: Now, was that within the same time frame that you were describing before, about a half hour after you heard the initial call?
MR. MCCABE: Yes. From Miss Read arriving at my house, yes, half hour or so after the initial call. And it wasn't long after before they proceeded to leave.
MR. LALLY: Now at this time that you're looking out from the blinds, you see the defendant's car—and the defendant outside—was it light out, was it dark out, what are we talking about?
MR. MCCABE: It was dark out.
MR. LALLY: And so they leave, you're in your home with four children. Correct?
MR. MCCABE: That is correct.
MR. LALLY: And when was the next time that you spoke to your wife?
MR. MCCABE: The next time I spoke to my wife was an hour later. I received a phone call from her. I don't know the exact time, but I'm going to say about an hour, hour or so.
MR. LALLY: And without reference to much of the content of that, all I'm really asking for is what if any indication did she give you as to where she was.
MR. MCCABE: She indicated they found John, and at Fairview.
MR. LALLY: And upon receiving that information, where did you go?
MR. MCCABE: I proceeded to finish getting dressed and drove over to Fairview.
MR. LALLY: And when you got to Fairview, what if anything did you see when you arrived?
MR. MCCABE: When I got to Fairview, I had come down through the Chapman Street entrance, and as I proceeded down the hill towards the Albert residence, I noticed all the first responders—fire engine, etc., police cars. And I realized I was not going to be able to get to the Albert residence because it was all blocking the street. So I backtracked, turned around, went back up Fairview to the top, to Chapman, took a left, and took a left down Spring Lane, which is a parallel street to Fairview, and came down Spring Lane to Cedarcrest on Fairview, so I could get to the Albert household.
MR. LALLY: Now during your drive from your home over to Fairview, and doing all that sort of turning around and coming back around the other way to Cedarcrest, what were the roads like?
MR. MCCABE: It was snowing. Careful driving.
MR. LALLY: And the snowing that you observed that morning when you drove from your house to Fairview, what was that like in relation to the snowing that you observed when you were driving home from Fairview hours before?
MR. MCCABE: Much, much thicker snow, much more snow on the ground, much more snow to wipe off my car. And again, I had to drive slow.
MR. LALLY: Now when you come around to sort of the other side, as far as the first responders, you mentioned police cruisers and a fire truck. Is that right?
MR. MCCABE: Yeah, it might have been an ambulance there as well, but yes.
MR. LALLY: You recall specifically seeing an ambulance?
MR. MCCABE: I do recall seeing an ambulance. I don't know if I saw it when I came down, or if I saw it when I eventually parked the car, but I do recall seeing an ambulance.
MR. LALLY: And when you parked the car, where did you go?
MR. MCCABE: I proceeded onto Fairview, and I parked the car along the side of the road, because there was another vehicle. I believe the other vehicle might have been blocking the driveway, but there was another vehicle right on the side of the road as well.
MR. LALLY: Now in addition to the other vehicles, as far as cruisers, fire truck, or whatever from first responders, what if any other vehicles, or who if anyone else, did you see outside?
MR. MCCABE: There was a—it ended up being Kerry Roberts's vehicle was parked as I was at the driveway. The Ford Explorer, I think it was.
MR. LALLY: And again, without any reference to the content of the conversation, did you have any conversation with Ms. Roberts at that time?
MR. MCCABE: Yes, yes I did.
MR. LALLY: Did you know Ms. Roberts at that time?
MR. MCCABE: I knew who she was. Didn't really have a relationship with her, but I knew who she was.
MR. LALLY: And how did you know who she was?
MR. MCCABE: Friends through the town. She did live in the Ponkapoag neighborhood, though. I believe she moved in and we moved out shortly after. I don't know the actual time period. Her kids were a couple years younger. One was one year younger than my child, so I knew who her child was through being the grade below my youngest child through soccer.
MR. LALLY: And just to be clear, when you talk about the Ponkapoag neighborhood, that's where you used to live on [unintelligible] and where Mr. O'Keefe used to live, in the house that was the [unintelligible] house?
MR. MCCABE: Yes, that's correct.
MR. LALLY: So then after the conversation with Ms. Roberts, about how long was that conversation?
MR. MCCABE: Oh, that was a brief conversation. She informed me that—well, sorry—she was going to drop Karen off back at the house, she was going to the hospital, and she was going to pick up John's parents in Braintree. I told her I would come with her to pick up the parents. I said the road conditions were pretty bad, and you know, just for safety reasons I thought I would go with her, help her go pick up the parents. She informed me that Jen was in the house. Jen was waiting to be interviewed by the police.
MR. LALLY: So where did you go from there?
MR. MCCABE: I then proceeded to the front door of 34 Fairview.
MR. LALLY: And when you got inside, who if anyone was inside when you got there?
MR. MCCABE: When I got to the front door, it was my wife, Brian Albert, Nicole Albert, and Officer Lank.
MR. LALLY: And when you came in, can you describe—starting with your wife, Jennifer McCabe—can you describe her demeanor when you first came into the house?
MR. MCCABE: Shocked. Face was drawn. Just kind of in awe. All three of them were just looking like—you know, with a drawn face—like I'm walking in going, "What the hell is going on?"
MR. LALLY: And just to be clear, by "all three of them," you mean your wife, Brian Albert, Nicole Albert?
MR. MCCABE: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And just turning back briefly to the phone conversation that you had from your wife, which led you to come over to Fairview—how would you describe her demeanor on that phone call as well?
MR. MCCABE: "Matt, we found John at Fairview." It was a quick conversation. I didn't get any details.
MR. LALLY: Now at some point while you were at the house, did you speak to—you mention Officer Lank was there, is that correct?
MR. MCCABE: That's correct.
MR. LALLY: Do you recall if there were any other officers in the house at that time, or at any later time?
MR. MCCABE: At that moment it was just Officer Lank. Other officers came in the house a little later, but at that moment it was just Officer Lank.
MR. LALLY: And at some point while you were at the house, did you have any conversation—or what if any conversation did you have with Officer Lank or any other officer?
MR. MCCABE: Yes. Officer Lank asked me to step outside, and we spoke briefly. He asked me if I knew what happened to John. Obviously I told him no, I had no idea, I'm just finding out right now. He asked me when I last saw John. I told him I saw him at the Waterfall, we saw him at the bar. I believe—again, heat of the moment—I believe I said we saw his vehicle out front but we never saw John.
MR. LALLY: Now after the house on Fairview, about how long were you there that morning?
MR. MCCABE: I'm going to say, give or take, at least four hours.
MR. LALLY: From the time that you got there?
MR. MCCABE: From the time I got there, yes.
MR. LALLY: And where did you go from there?
MR. MCCABE: When I left Fairview, I went back to Jen and I's house, home.
MR. LALLY: Your children were still there. Is that correct?
MR. MCCABE: My children were all there, correct.
MR. LALLY: And at some point after you arrived home, who if anyone—as far as police officers or anybody like that—came to your home that day?
MR. MCCABE: Two Mass State Police officers came to my house.
MR. LALLY: And did you speak with those officers—troopers from the state?
MR. MCCABE: Yes, that's correct.
MR. LALLY: And as far as the troopers that you spoke to, do you recall what their names were?
MR. MCCABE: Yes. Trooper Michael Proctor and Trooper Yuri Bukhenik, if I said it right.
MR. LALLY: Close. Close. Now on that date of January 29th, 2022, had you met either Trooper Proctor or Bukhenik before?
MR. MCCABE: I had never met them.
MR. LALLY: And where did they speak with you, in the house?
MR. MCCABE: Well, they first came in the house and informed me they were going to interview my wife, and asked me to leave the room. I went up to my bedroom.
MR. LALLY: And at some point, did they interview you as well?
MR. MCCABE: Yes, they did.
MR. LALLY: And where was your wife when they interviewed you?
MR. MCCABE: I'm assuming—I think she wasn't in the room with me. I think she went upstairs. As I said, my kids were home. I don't know if she went in the kids' bedroom to kind of wake them up. I don't know what she...
MR. LALLY: Was she in the room when they interviewed you?
MR. MCCABE: No, she was not.
MR. LALLY: And in addition to the troopers that came over to your house, did your brother-in-law Brian Albert—did he come over at any point in time around this?
MR. MCCABE: Yeah, yes he did.
MR. LALLY: And if you know, did he speak with those troopers as well?
MR. MCCABE: Yes, he did. And where were you and your wife when the two Troopers were speaking to Mr. Albert?
MR. LALLY: I was still upstairs in the bedroom.
MR. MCCABE: Your wife, where was she?
MR. LALLY: I'm trying — she might have come up and seen me, but I think she might have went in the girls' bedroom. I don't recall if we were standing in the same room. I think she might have went in my daughter's bedroom. Again, my kids were starting — it was, I don't know the exact time, 12:00 give or take — time to wake up.
MR. MCCABE: So the Troopers, when they were speaking to Brian Albert, they were in the downstairs area at home?
MR. LALLY: Yes, they were.
MR. MCCABE: And both you and your wife were upstairs?
MR. LALLY: Yes, it's my
MR. MCCABE: recollection.
MR. LALLY: Now turn your attention to a couple days later. Did you speak with any other Troopers?
MR. MCCABE: I did. I only remember the first name of one of them. It was a man and a woman. I just remember Connor — Conor something. I don't know their names.
MR. LALLY: And where did that conversation occur?
MR. MCCABE: I was in my first floor dining room, at the table.
MR. LALLY: And do you know, those same two Troopers that came on a subsequent day — spoke with your wife as well?
MR. MCCABE: Yes, they did.
MR. LALLY: And sort of same arrangement as far as where you were and where she was at the time that you spoke with those two Troopers?
MR. MCCABE: Yes, that's correct. One moment. Sure.
MR. LALLY: Just briefly, sir. Describing your wife's demeanor — you described her as sort of being in shock, is that correct?
MR. MCCABE: Yes, that's correct.
MR. LALLY: Have you seen your wife display that kind of demeanor before, or have you seen your wife in sort of crisis mode over the course of your relationship — in your [unintelligible]?
MR. MCCABE: I've seen her in crisis mode — I would call it crisis mode — as well in the past.
MR. LALLY: And sort of typically, how would you describe how she handles situations like that, or what her demeanor is in those types of situations?
MR. MCCABE: She is very calm, very calm.
MR. LALLY: And just so it's clear for the jury — so when you're talking about sort of prior incidents in regard to sort of crisis — what types of scenarios or what types of incidents are we talking about?
MR. MCCABE: Well, previous deaths — deaths of my parents, my brother. She is the one that can get in the room, sit, relax, hold their hand, make them feel comfortable. She's much more — I can't do that. She's much more — so she's done that with my family, and she's also done that with our neighbor.
MR. LALLY: Nothing further. Thank you, sir.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right. Mr. Yannetti?