Commonwealth v. Read — Trial ArchiveLaura Sullivan - Direct/Cross/Redirect
307 linesJUDGE CANNONE: Okay, all right. Thank you. Your next witness, Mr. Lally?
MR. LALLY: Yes, the Commonwealth will call Miss Laura Sullivan to the stand.
JUDGE CANNONE: And Mr. Lally, I'd like you to tell me when you want me to give that instruction.
MR. LALLY: I think it's — just flag it for me.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sure.
COURT CLERK: Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
MS. SULLIVAN: I do.
JUDGE CANNONE: Mr. Lally, whenever you're ready.
MR. LALLY: Thank you. Good afternoon, ma'am.
MS. SULLIVAN: Good afternoon.
MR. LALLY: Could you please state your name and spell your last name?
MS. SULLIVAN: Laura Sullivan — S-U-L-L-I-V-A-N.
MR. LALLY: And where do you live?
MS. SULLIVAN: Pembroke, Massachusetts.
MR. LALLY: And how long have you lived in Pembroke?
MS. SULLIVAN: Almost six years.
MR. LALLY: And who, if anyone, do you live in Pembroke with?
MS. SULLIVAN: I have — I live with my boyfriend and our three children — two stepchildren that are with us half the time, and then my son Ben.
MR. LALLY: And your son, how old is he?
MS. SULLIVAN: He's 10.
MR. LALLY: Sorry?
MS. SULLIVAN: 10. Sorry.
MR. LALLY: Fine. And your stepchildren, how old are they?
MS. SULLIVAN: 15 and 13.
MR. LALLY: Now do you work?
MS. SULLIVAN: I do.
MR. LALLY: What do you do?
MS. SULLIVAN: I work in Human Resources.
MR. LALLY: How long have you been doing that?
MS. SULLIVAN: Just over six years.
MR. LALLY: Ma'am, if I could turn your attention to New Year's Eve of 2021 into New Year's Day 2022, do you recall that time frame?
MS. SULLIVAN: I do.
MR. LALLY: And do you recall where you were?
MS. SULLIVAN: I was in Aruba.
MR. LALLY: And if you could explain to the jury sort of — how often was that a regular trip that you did around that time of year?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yeah, we've been doing a trip like around that time for — I'd say five or six years. This will be our sixth year, I believe.
MR. LALLY: And over the course of those five or six years that you've done that, when you say "we," how did that start and how was that expanded, if so?
MS. SULLIVAN: We — I mean, Josh and I have been going to Aruba for years. In 2021, post-COVID, we decided to bring our children — we had never gone with them before. And since it was post-COVID, a lot of people were kind of stir-crazy, and a group of our friends jumped on board. And so we went from just the five of us going to approximately 60 people.
MR. LALLY: And as far as yourself and the other people, is this all at one sort of facility, or how are the bookings?
MS. SULLIVAN: So we all stayed at the Renaissance, which is in downtown, and we buy timeshares — it was a timeshare resort where we would purchase weeks that people owned, and so if they weren't going for that year we would buy a week. So we were able to get — I think it was something close to 20 rooms for all of us to go for the same week.
MR. LALLY: And as far as the planning in regard to that year in particular, when did that planning process sort of begin?
MS. SULLIVAN: It starts approximately a year in advance, because the rooms go on sale almost immediately, because people want to get rid of them. So I would say it was probably around January of 2021 that we booked our room for that year.
MR. LALLY: And once you had booked your room, as far as the family and friends group that you were talking about, how was that sort of put out to them — through what means?
MS. SULLIVAN: We would — well, I would post on Facebook: "More rooms are available for Aruba if anybody was interested in going," so the timeshare owners would reach out to me directly — is there anybody else who would want to go — and we would look for any interested friends or what have you to join our trip.
MR. LALLY: So at some point in time over the summer of 2021 — say July or August or so — was there someone, a friend of yours, that reached out in regard to possibly coming on the trip?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yeah, I received a text message from John O'Keefe interested in learning more information about our trip.
MR. LALLY: And if you could describe to the jury sort of — how did you know John?
MS. SULLIVAN: I met John in May of 2013. I met him at a bar in South Boston — he was with Pat Rogers at the time. After meeting John, I started dating Pat, and my son's father is Pat Rogers.
MR. LALLY: Let me stop you there. So as far as John O'Keefe and your son's father, Pat Rogers, did you know or did you come to know sort of what they did for a living?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yeah, they were both Boston police officers.
MR. LALLY: And did you know sort of what the relationship was beyond co-workers?
MS. SULLIVAN: They were best friends.
MR. LALLY: So at some point following that meeting in 2013, you began to date Mr. Rogers. Is that right?
MS. SULLIVAN: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And what happened?
MS. SULLIVAN: So in July of 2013, I became pregnant, and in November of 2013, Pat committed suicide.
MR. LALLY: Okay. Following that, how would you describe sort of the relationship with Mr. O'Keefe, or how did it evolve?
MS. SULLIVAN: So in November of 2013, I was on a work trip and I had not had the best conversation with Pat — it was kind of, it just didn't feel right. And I called John and said, "You need to go find him. I can't get a hold of him, he won't answer his phone." And so John left his nephew's birthday party and called a bunch of people on the way, and ultimately Pat was found in the basement of his house. And John was there immediately following, but he was the one that found people to go find Pat. Immediately following that, John never really left my side, you know, as a support system.
MR. LALLY: And at some point following that, you had your son?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yeah.
MR. LALLY: And at some point, did you have a conversation with Mr. O'Keefe in regard to your son?
MS. SULLIVAN: It was his birthday, December of 2013, and we went to the Playwright — which is where we had all met — and I gave him a card and I asked him to be Ben's Godfather, and he said yes.
MR. LALLY: And in relation to your son, was John involved in your son's life?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes, very much so.
MR. LALLY: And how so?
MS. SULLIVAN: He was — every birthday, Christmas — he was always in contact. He was the first person in my delivery room after I gave birth. He was a constant. He was a connection to Pat, and always making sure that Ben was taken care of, in the sense of being there to tell stories or what have you from his relationship with Pat.
MR. LALLY: And through sort of his relationship with you and your son, did John also become familiar with your family as well?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yeah, yeah.
MR. LALLY: And in regard to your family, was there some kind of term, or how would they refer to Mr. O'Keefe?
MS. SULLIVAN: The Godfather. He was called The Godfather to almost everybody.
MR. LALLY: Now ma'am, if I can turn your attention back to that summer of 2021 — you received a text from Mr. O'Keefe. Is that right? And I'm sorry, you do have to say yes or no.
MS. SULLIVAN: Oh, sorry. Yes.
MR. LALLY: After you received that text, did you reach out to Mr. O'Keefe?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes. I gave him a call, because I was excited — I was immediately excited. I gave him a call, I explained to him that we had a group of rooms, we were going with — I don't even know the number at that time that had signed up to go — but it was a lot of kids, it was all of our friends, and that they would have a great time.
MR. LALLY: And from that, did he give you any sense, or say anything about who — was it just himself, or who was coming along?
MS. SULLIVAN: He had mentioned that it would be the kids, and he said Karen would be joining him as well.
MR. LALLY: And at that point — well, at some point subsequent to that, you knew him to be referring to Karen?
MS. SULLIVAN: Correct.
MR. LALLY: Yes. At that point, had you met Karen Read? Did you know who that was?
MS. SULLIVAN: I had not. I knew that they were dating, but I had never met Karen, though.
MR. LALLY: And in addition to himself, it would have been Mr. O'Keefe, Miss Read, the — ...defendant, and his niece and nephew, Patrick [unintelligible] — correct?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And uh, if you know, in relation to your son, um, as far as uh — Mr. O'Keefe's niece and nephew — uh, where are they in relation as far as ages?
MS. SULLIVAN: They are like three — three years apart.
MR. LALLY: Three years apart?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yeah, three years apart.
MR. LALLY: Now when you have that conversation with Mr. O'Keefe, what if any interest does he show as far as going?
MS. SULLIVAN: Um, after, you know, asking a couple questions, he — I could hear Karen in the background and he put Karen on the phone, and that was the first time I had spoken to her. Um, he basically said, "Just talk to her so you can answer her questions."
MR. LALLY: Do you recall what kind of questions they were, or what it was about?
MS. SULLIVAN: She was interested in the room setup — how many people could sleep in a room, um, and how the room is set up. You have a king-size bedroom, um, and then there's a kitchen area, and then there's a living room that has a pullout couch, um, and they explained that it's a four-person occupancy room and you could get a rollaway bed as well.
MR. LALLY: And following that conversation, um, when was the next time if at all that you had any conversation with Mr. O'Keefe and/or Miss Read in regard to the —
MS. SULLIVAN: So during that conversation, um, Karen mentioned that she needed her own bathroom and she needed her own space and that she wanted two rooms. And so I put them in contact with a woman that um I knew had two rooms, uh, for them to, you know, figure that piece out. Um, I don't handle any of that — I put people in contact with whoever owns the rooms. I put them in contact with, um, with the woman who had the two rooms, and I know that they had, you know, paid her um relatively quickly. I mentioned to John that the rooms — I couldn't promise that the rooms would be next to each other, um, and they weren't — they were on opposite sides of the hotel, but they got two rooms.
PARENTHETICAL: [gap in recording — approximately 5 minutes]
MR. LALLY: And when you say opposite sides of the hotel, where — where, you know, sort of where those rooms were in relation to each other, and who stayed in which room?
MS. SULLIVAN: So the pool and lobby is in the center, and then the hotel comes like this, and there are pool walkout rooms on the first floor of each. And um, Karen and John were on this side and the kids were on this side, and they both had walkout rooms.
MR. LALLY: And as far as sort of front door to front door, do you know about how far away they were from each other?
MS. SULLIVAN: I would say — I mean, steps-wise, maybe 200. But I mean the hotel is — it's small enough, but it was separated by a lobby, the front entrance, the outside entrance.
MR. LALLY: Now um, with regard to your arrival, when was it that you arrived in Aruba?
MS. SULLIVAN: So the timeshare — the timeshare rooms run Friday to Friday, so we were booked for the 31st through the 7th. Um, Josh's birthday is December 30th, so we went down as a family a day early, and we had friends who were already down there since Christmas. Um, John's timeshare room — the woman reached out and said, "Hey, we're leaving early if you want to arrive early," so — him, Karen, and the kids actually came down on the 30th as well. They were on the flight following us, um, and then the rest of the 60-ish people, however many were there, showed up on the 31st.
MR. LALLY: And so from that first day that you arrived there, as far as uh, when you got there on the 30th, when was the first time that you saw John, or when was the first time that you saw anyone from that?
MS. SULLIVAN: It was um — we were at the pool, so it was not long after they had landed. He texted me and said, "We're here," and Ben and I jumped out of the pool and went to the lobby to see him. And then on the way back from the lobby, I saw somebody banging on the window on the left-hand side of the rooms and I didn't know who it was. And then I saw Kaye? and I was like, "Oh, that must be Karen."
MR. LALLY: And again, was this the first time that you had seen Karen face to face, or met Miss Read?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And just for clarity purposes, as far as Miss Read is concerned, do you see her in the courtroom today?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Can you just identify as to where she's seated or an article of clothing that she's wearing?
MS. SULLIVAN: She's right there.
MR. LALLY: Just — let the record reflect the identification. Thank you. Now after you see this person bang on the window, and you recognize Kaye?, what — what happened?
MS. SULLIVAN: Um, she came out, she gave me a big hug, said it's nice to meet you, um, I've heard so much about you, I recognized you from pictures.
MR. LALLY: And uh, following along from there, what happened then as far as the day was concerned?
MS. SULLIVAN: Uh, so as I mentioned, it was Josh's birthday. We had already made um plans to go out for dinner. Our friends who had been there since Christmas have a 17-year-old daughter who um watched our children so we could go out for dinner. I mentioned it to John, I said, you know, "We'll just add you to the reservation, you can join us for dinner." Um, the kids can stay with Chloe, and they said absolutely. So we all went out for dinner that evening, um, to Screaming Eagle.
MR. LALLY: And Screaming Eagle — where is that in relation to the hotel?
MS. SULLIVAN: It's probably about a 15-ish minute cab ride.
MR. LALLY: And when you arrive there, what if anything you recall about sort of the dinner or how it went?
MS. SULLIVAN: So um, we were sitting outside on the patio, um. It was um — Karen, myself, our friend Laura, across from Laura was her husband Dave, Josh was in front of me, and John was in front of Karen.
MR. LALLY: And um, what if anything specific you recall about the dinner, or sort of how — what happened?
MS. SULLIVAN: So we — the waiter came over, he started taking drink orders. Karen placed her order, I placed mine, Laura placed hers, Dave placed his, and then Josh ordered a dirty martini with blue cheese stuffed olives.
JUDGE CANNONE: I'll allow it. I don't know where it's going, and you can move to strike if — unless you wanted to see me, Mr. [unintelligible].
MR. LALLY: So — turning back to uh, at the restaurant, uh, drinks that were ordered, people have what they have, um, and at the end of uh the evening, as far as uh the bill — it comes — at something, correct?
MS. SULLIVAN: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And what if anything you recall about that?
MS. SULLIVAN: Karen had paid the bill prior to us receiving it.
MR. LALLY: And what if any reaction did you or anyone have?
MS. SULLIVAN: The entire table was um kind of taken aback. You know, said it wasn't necessary, um, wanted to Venmo or give cash or something along those lines, and she declined, saying that um she — she was honored to be there and wanted to pay for it.
MR. LALLY: Turning your attention to the following date, um, what if anything you recall about the next day — that would have been — I'm sorry, the 31st, is that correct?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Um, so turning your attention to December 31st, 2021, uh, what if anything you recall about that day in specific regard to Mr. O'Keefe?
MS. SULLIVAN: John was very vocal on the 30th on how he just wanted to sit in the pool and watch the Alabama game.
MR. LALLY: And he was a pretty big Alabama fan, is that correct?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Um, and so over the course of that day, uh, what if any interaction did you have — starting with Mr. O'Keefe — what if any interaction did you have with him?
MS. SULLIVAN: Um, I saw him in the pool, I know he was — he was sitting uh at the pool bar watching the game with Josh. Um, I saw the kids, I recall seeing Karen, I don't remember if we spoke or not, um, but it was mostly in the pool because we were waiting for the rest of our friends to show up.
MR. LALLY: Now amongst uh the rest of your friends that showed up, um, do you have any siblings?
MS. SULLIVAN: I do.
MR. LALLY: And how many siblings do you have?
MS. SULLIVAN: I have two.
MR. LALLY: And um, brother or sister?
MS. SULLIVAN: I have a younger brother and a younger sister.
MR. LALLY: And with reference to your younger sister, what's her name?
MS. SULLIVAN: Marietta.
MR. LALLY: And how much younger than you is — Marietta?
MS. SULLIVAN: She's 10 years younger than me.
MR. LALLY: And was Marietta Sullivan — was she coming in on that day as well?
MS. SULLIVAN: She was.
MR. LALLY: And uh, do you recall about what time it was that she arrived — came to the hotel — when was the first time you saw her?
MS. SULLIVAN: It's tough to remember, but I want to say everybody showed up on one of the first or second flights that came out of Boston, so I'd say she was there by 1 PM.
MR. LALLY: And if you recall, what if any plans were there as far as dinner was concerned on that evening?
MS. SULLIVAN: New Year's Eve — so what we tend to do is um book reservations, and if people are interested in joining they can join us. And that night we had approximately 40 people going to have dinner on the beach at Moomba Beach, um, around — I want to say it was like 7 o'clock we had our reservations for.
MR. LALLY: And uh, did Mr. O'Keefe and the defendant, Miss Read, join you for dinner that evening?
MS. SULLIVAN: They did not.
MR. LALLY: No. Let me take a step back just for a moment. As far as Miss Read was concerned, prior to um your arrival in Aruba, did you have her phone number, or had you — did you have any way of contacting her?
MS. SULLIVAN: No.
MR. LALLY: And when was it that you got Miss Read's phone number?
MS. SULLIVAN: Uh, John had added her and I — and Chloe — to a group text the night that we had gone out for dinner, to make sure that we could all communicate, to make sure the kids were okay.
MR. LALLY: So you got her phone number in relation to watching kids, as far as connecting [unintelligible] and your children and everybody else — correct?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Now if you recall, you go out to dinner, you take the reservation, it was about 7 or so, um, do you recall about what time it was that you got back to the hotel?
MS. SULLIVAN: I want to say it was around 9:30, 10:00 by the time my group got back. I know there was a couple different seatings so um we probably got back around like 9:30, 10 o'clock.
MR. LALLY: And as far as your group was concerned, your sister Marietta — was she within your group that went out to dinner?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes. Yep.
MR. LALLY: And um, beyond uh sort of your younger sister Marietta, did you have sort of immediate family with you on this trip as well?
MS. SULLIVAN: Um, my mother was with us as well.
MR. LALLY: And with regards to your sister Marietta and your mother, what if — anything — where were each of them staying?
MS. SULLIVAN: So they had their own room. I think it was a couple away from us on the fifth floor.
MR. LALLY: Is that the top floor as far as this hotel is?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Now, once you arrived back from dinner, where was it you and your group went?
MS. SULLIVAN: We go to the pool area, the kids can swim, we ring in the New Year at the pool bar watching it on the TVs and then watching the fireworks.
MR. LALLY: Now when you came back to the hotel and you went at some point to the pool area, your sister Marietta — do you know where she went?
MS. SULLIVAN: She actually — when we got back from dinner she went up to her room with my mom, and essentially put my mom to bed. She didn't want to be up anymore. But she went to go change as well.
MR. LALLY: Now when you came down to the pool area, as far as Mr. O'Keefe and/or Miss Read was concerned, did you see them in that area?
MS. SULLIVAN: I saw John — I want to say around 10, 10:30ish. I don't know the exact time, it was definitely before midnight.
MR. LALLY: And where in relation to the hotel did you see him?
MS. SULLIVAN: Around 10, 10:30 — he was standing behind me at the pool bar.
MR. LALLY: And at some point, does your sister come out to the pool area after putting your mother to bed?
PARENTHETICAL: [objection — speaker unclear]
MS. SULLIVAN: Yeah. So right before I saw John at the pool bar, I saw my sister — she came out and she was visibly upset.
MR. LALLY: Your Honor, in regard — excuse me — to the instruction that you would give about this?
JUDGE CANNONE: Maybe. All right, thank you. So, jurors, you're about to hear testimony about certain conduct or behavior allegedly committed by Miss Read. Be mindful that the defendant is not charged with committing any crimes other than those charged within the indictments. The witness's testimony may not and indeed must not be considered by you as any evidence that the defendant has a bad character, or as evidence that she has a propensity to commit the crimes with which she has been charged. You may not take the defendant's prior acts as a substitute for proof that the defendant committed the crimes charged here. But you may consider the acts solely on the limited issue of the state of mind of the defendant and the nature of her relationship with John O'Keefe as it might go to motive or intent.
JUDGE CANNONE: You may not consider this evidence for any other purpose. Specifically, you may not use it to conclude that if the defendant committed the acts, that she must also have committed the offenses with which she's charged. You can only use the evidence for the limited purpose of how it goes to the defendant's state of mind, the nature of her relationship with John O'Keefe as it may go to motive. And just for the record, my findings are the same that I made at sidebar previously. Go ahead, Mr. Lally.
MR. LALLY: Thank you. Now with regard to — at some point your sister comes out to the pool area where you were, is that right?
MS. SULLIVAN: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And do you know where Mr. O'Keefe was at that point?
MS. SULLIVAN: I do not know.
MR. LALLY: And when your sister comes out to the pool area, what happened?
MS. SULLIVAN: She said —
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained. I thought you were doing something else.
MR. LALLY: When your sister comes out to the pool, how would you describe her demeanor when she comes out?
JUDGE CANNONE: I'll allow that.
MS. SULLIVAN: She was frustrated.
MR. LALLY: And at some point did you have a conversation — without regard to what the conversation was — at some point did you have a conversation with her about something that had just happened?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Now, following that conversation with your sister, at some point subsequent to that did Mr. O'Keefe come back out to the pool area?
MS. SULLIVAN: After I spoke with her, yes. He came out to the pool area.
MR. LALLY: And do you know about how long a period of time it was between the time that your sister came out to the pool area and Mr. O'Keefe came out?
MS. SULLIVAN: I would say approximately 20 minutes, but I don't really know the exact timing.
MR. LALLY: Now when Mr. O'Keefe came back out, did you have any conversation with him?
MS. SULLIVAN: I did.
MR. LALLY: And can you describe that conversation?
JUDGE CANNONE: All right. Is this the instruction that you were talking about instead of the other one? All right. So, jurors, I have another instruction for you. You're about to hear evidence of statements made by John O'Keefe. Is that accurate, Mr. Lally?
MR. LALLY: Yes.
JUDGE CANNONE: These statements are being admitted only for the limited purpose of establishing John O'Keefe's state of mind. You're not to consider this testimony as proof that the defendant has a bad character or propensity to commit crimes. The testimony of witnesses recounting conversations with Mr. O'Keefe can only be used as they go to the defendant's motive or intent on January 28th or 29th, and only if you find that the defendant was aware of Mr. O'Keefe's state of mind at the time of the crime and would be likely to respond to it. There need not be direct evidence that the defendant learned of Mr. O'Keefe's state of mind, so long as you can reasonably infer from the evidence that she did learn of it. Okay, Mr. Lally.
MR. LALLY: Yes, Your Honor. Miss Sullivan, if I could take you back — Mr. O'Keefe comes out, you have a conversation with him. Can you describe to the jury what that conversation was about?
MS. SULLIVAN: I turned around and I was pretty shocked to see him. I said, "What's going on?" and he said nothing. I said, "Did Eda and Karen have words?" and he said, "I don't know." And I said, "Well, that's not what Eda said." And I asked him if everything was okay. And at that time his phone was lighting up — it looked like calls and texts — and it said "Karen" on his phone.
MR. LALLY: After you made that observation, what did you say to John?
MS. SULLIVAN: I asked him if he needed to take it. And he said, "Yes, she's crazy, I got to take care of this."
MR. LALLY: And was that the last time that you saw him on New Year's Eve?
MS. SULLIVAN: It is.
MR. LALLY: Now turning your attention to the following day, New Year's Day — did you see either Mr. O'Keefe or Miss Read at all on that day?
MS. SULLIVAN: I did not. I saw the children, but we didn't see them that day, no.
MR. LALLY: Now turning your attention to the following day, being January 2nd — what was sort of the plan, as far as what was going on?
MS. SULLIVAN: Our hotel has a private island. The hotel we stay at has a private island, and we rented all eight of the Cabanas between the 60 of us that were there. And when the Cabanas went on sale, I had reached out to John and asked him if he wanted me to get him one, and he said sure. So I booked one for him and he paid me for that Cabana. So we all went out that morning, and it was probably around 10:00 in the morning, and they weren't there yet. And so I sent him a text and I said, "Are you coming, or do you want me to sell this Cabana?" — because there were other couples there, at least he could have made the money back. And he asked me who was there. And I said everybody — I named off a couple names, I'm not really sure — but I said everybody's here.
MR. LALLY: And when you said that, how did Mr. O'Keefe respond?
MS. SULLIVAN: He said, "Well, apparently I made out with your sister the other night, according to Karen."
MR. LALLY: Now, is that the first time that you had heard that?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes.
MR. LALLY: So fair to say whatever you had heard from your sister on December 31st was not that?
JUDGE CANNONE: I'll allow that.
MS. SULLIVAN: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And what was your reaction when Mr. O'Keefe told you?
MS. SULLIVAN: [unintelligible] I was shocked. I immediately found my sister and said, "Did you make out with John?"
MR. LALLY: Now when you went to talk to your sister, who was it that your sister was with when you went to talk to her about that?
MS. SULLIVAN: I don't recall who was standing near her, maybe my mom. I don't know.
MR. LALLY: As far as your sister was concerned at that time, was she dating someone?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes.
MR. LALLY: The person that she was dating — was that person on the trip as well?
MS. SULLIVAN: He was, yes.
MR. LALLY: And was that person that she was dating, who was on the trip as well — were they at the Cabana on that day?
MS. SULLIVAN: They were, yes.
MR. LALLY: Now, you had some conversation regarding your sister, and then at some point you went back and had a further conversation with —
MS. SULLIVAN: Yeah. I texted him back. I said I just talked to Eda, she said absolutely not, that did not happen.
JUDGE CANNONE: That's sustained. I'll strike that.
MR. LALLY: Now at some point after that exchange, did Mr. O'Keefe and/or Miss Read and/or the kids come out to the Cabana area?
MS. SULLIVAN: They did, yes.
MR. LALLY: And at any point, how would you describe how Mr. O'Keefe and/or Miss Read was acting when they came out?
MS. SULLIVAN: Karen immediately went in the water. I just recall her being like floating in the ocean for a good chunk of the day. John was hopping around from the different Cabanas talking to people. One of my favorite pictures of him is with my son from that day.
MR. LALLY: Did you have any conversation with Mr. O'Keefe once he came out to the Cabana area?
MS. SULLIVAN: No. We kind of just kept it light. We didn't really talk about anything that had happened. I was just kind of trying to stay out of it for now.
MR. LALLY: And following sort of the Cabana situation, or the Cabana day, what happened then?
MS. SULLIVAN: So post that day, I think I saw John one other time. I saw him in the pool. It was the one time that him and I were alone. He didn't seem like he was himself.
JUDGE CANNONE: I'll allow it.
MS. SULLIVAN: He seemed distant. I asked him if he was okay and he kind of just shrugged it off. And I said, "Are you happy?" And he kind of just rolled his eyes and shrugged it off. I said something along the lines of, "Life is too short to not be happy." And he goes, "Well, you know, Laura, it is what it is." And I did ask him if he wanted to talk about it. I said, "Do you want to talk about it?" And he said, "Not really."
MR. LALLY: So following that exchange in the pool area, when was the next time that you saw —
MS. SULLIVAN: I had spoken to him — we all went on the Jolly —pirate. Um, we had all bought tickets in advance, so we had basically rented the whole boat for everybody to go. Um, had bought four tickets and we had gotten a bus from our hotel, and he didn't show up for the bus and wasn't answering my calls or my texts. And then, uh, we finally got down to where the boat was. The boat was about to leave, and he messaged me. He's like, "Not going to make it. Um, kids slept late." And so I didn't think anything of it. Then after that I saw him and Karen, uh, the night before they left. And they ended up leaving a day or two early so that the kids could get back to school.
MR. LALLY: And when you saw them, where was that in relation to the hotel?
MS. SULLIVAN: Right outside the hotel is a marketplace that has a bunch of restaurants and an arcade. I was sitting at the 5 O'Clock Somewhere bar that looks into the arcade, with, um, my best friend Val and my friends Dave and Laura, and Karen and John walked up.
MR. LALLY: What, if any, conversation did you have with either Miss Read — the defendant — at that point?
MS. SULLIVAN: Karen grabbed me and she said, "Hey, I'm sorry. I thought I saw something that I didn't, and I would like to pay for some of your sister's room."
MR. LALLY: And how did you respond to that?
MS. SULLIVAN: I said, "It's absolutely not necessary. Um, just an apology will do."
MR. LALLY: And did she persist in wanting to pay for the room?
MS. SULLIVAN: She did.
MR. LALLY: And how so?
MS. SULLIVAN: She just said, "I — I — I will apologize, but" — something along the lines of, "you know, I want to pay for some of her room. Can I just have her room number?" I don't remember if I gave her the room number or not. I don't really know.
MR. LALLY: And with regard to that trip, um, when was — when was the last time that you saw him?
MS. SULLIVAN: So, um, the day that they were leaving, I saw him by the pool. He came up, he gave me a big hug. He said, "I love you, this was a great trip, thank you so much." And I said, "Well, you're definitely in again for next year," and he said, "Absolutely." And that was the last time I physically saw him.
MR. LALLY: And so that conversation — just turning back for a moment — as far as, um, with regard to Miss Read, you know, what day would that have been, as far as in relation to — when they were leaving early?
MS. SULLIVAN: January 3rd — 2nd — I want to say it was the 5th. I want to say it was January 5th.
MR. LALLY: Now, after — after Aruba, did you have any conversation with [unintelligible]?
PARENTHETICAL: [Pause]
MR. LALLY: Thank you. I have nothing further for this witness.
MS. SULLIVAN: After that I talked to him via text, um, a couple times, about a couple different things. But one of them was, um, as I mentioned, we start planning a year in advance, and I said, "Rooms are coming available, are you in?" And he said, "Let me — let me recover from this trip first."
MR. LALLY: Now, ma'am, if I could turn your attention to Saturday, January 29, 2022. You recall that day?
MS. SULLIVAN: I do.
MR. LALLY: And, um, at some point, uh, that morning or during that day, did you get a call?
MS. SULLIVAN: I did. Um, I received a call from—
JUDGE CANNONE: I'll hear that she received a call from someone.
MS. SULLIVAN: I received a call from my aunt.
MR. LALLY: And what did you learn in the call from your aunt?
MR. YANNETTI: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: I'll—
MS. SULLIVAN: —that John O'Keefe had passed away.
MR. LALLY: And after you hung up the phone with your aunt, what — what did you do?
JUDGE CANNONE: [ruling unclear]
MS. SULLIVAN: I called him. I called anybody's number that I had associated with the family. I ended up calling Kaylee. I texted Kaylee. I texted Karen.
MR. LALLY: And, uh — without telling me what Kaylee said, did Kaylee respond to you?
MS. SULLIVAN: She did.
MR. LALLY: And at some point did the defendant, Miss Read, respond to you as well?
MS. SULLIVAN: She did.
MR. LALLY: Was that a phone call or a text, or how did she respond?
MS. SULLIVAN: It was a text, uh, later that afternoon.
MR. LALLY: And do you recall what she said in the text?
MS. SULLIVAN: Um, she said, "Hi, Laura. John has passed." And—
MR. LALLY: What, if anything, did you respond to that?
MS. SULLIVAN: I said, "Oh my God, what happened?" And she said, "We found him in the snow at 5:00 a.m."
MR. LALLY: And what, if anything, did you ask, or how did you respond?
MS. SULLIVAN: I — I said, "What happened?" I — I just recall, you know, kind of going into a tailspin, asking a bunch of questions. And she mentioned — um, she said, "I don't know. We were both at the same party. I didn't go in. I went home." witness (sullivan) becomes emotional and pauses.
MR. LALLY: Have a moment.
JUDGE CANNONE: Thank you.
MR. YANNETTI: Good afternoon, ma'am.
MS. SULLIVAN: Good afternoon.
MR. YANNETTI: You were not present at the Waterfall Bar and Grill on January 28th of 2022 in Canton.
MS. SULLIVAN: I was not.
MR. YANNETTI: You were not present at 34 Fairview Road in Canton on January 29th of 2022.
MS. SULLIVAN: I was not.
MR. YANNETTI: You'll agree with me that Michael Proctor, the state police Trooper, visited you at your home — all the way in Pembroke, Massachusetts — on February 8th of 2022?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: To interview you?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: Nothing further.
JUDGE CANNONE: Anything, Mr. Lally?
MR. LALLY: Just briefly. As far as, um, Trooper Proctor coming to your house — was he alone, or who, if anyone, else was he with when he came?
MS. SULLIVAN: He was — he was with another Trooper.
MR. LALLY: Okay. And do you recall who that Trooper was?
MS. SULLIVAN: Uh, Trooper Fanning.
MR. LALLY: Nothing further.
JUDGE CANNONE: Your next witness, Mr. Lally?