Commonwealth v. Read — Trial ArchiveMarietta Sullivan - Direct/Cross/Redirect
224 linesCOURT CLERK: The Commonwealth call Miss Marietta Sullivan.
COURT CLERK: Witness transition — approximately five-minute recess [garbled court officer instruction] Raise your right hand, please. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
MS. SULLIVAN: I do.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right, Mr. Lally, whenever you're ready.
MR. LALLY: Good afternoon, ma'am.
MS. SULLIVAN: Good afternoon.
MR. LALLY: Could you, uh, please state your name and spell your last name?
MS. SULLIVAN: Sure. My name is Marietta Sullivan. Uh, last name is S-u-l-l-i-v-a-n.
MR. LALLY: And where do you live right now?
MS. SULLIVAN: I live in, uh, Plymouth.
MR. LALLY: And, uh, how long have you lived in Plymouth?
MS. SULLIVAN: Uh, since July of the past summer, so not even a year yet.
MR. LALLY: And, uh, do you work now?
MS. SULLIVAN: I do.
MR. LALLY: And what do you do for work?
MS. SULLIVAN: I'm a director at a Memory Care Community.
MR. LALLY: How long have you been doing this?
MS. SULLIVAN: Uh, just over a year now.
MR. LALLY: Um, do you have any, uh, any siblings?
MS. SULLIVAN: I do.
MR. LALLY: And how many siblings do you have?
MS. SULLIVAN: I have two. Uh, older, younger — both older.
MR. LALLY: And, uh, brother, sister?
MS. SULLIVAN: Uh, brother and sister.
MR. LALLY: And your sister — what is her name?
MS. SULLIVAN: Laura Sullivan.
MR. LALLY: And, uh, what is sort of the age difference between yourself and your sister?
MS. SULLIVAN: We are 10 years apart.
MR. LALLY: Now, if I could turn your attention to, uh, New Year's — um, specifically, uh, 2021 into 2022. Uh, do you recall that time frame?
MS. SULLIVAN: I do.
MR. LALLY: And, uh, do you recall where it was that you were, or where you were going, uh, for that time?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes, sir. We were, um, going to Aruba for a family trip.
MR. LALLY: And is that sort of an annual family trip?
MS. SULLIVAN: It has become since then. It was the first time I had attended.
MR. LALLY: And, uh, do you recall sort of the time frame on that trip, as far as when you were leaving, when you were coming back?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yeah, uh, so we left on, uh, Friday the 31st, and we returned the next week, Friday the 7th.
MR. LALLY: And when you say "we," who is who?
MS. SULLIVAN: My mother and I flew out together, with another group of people, to meet my, uh, sister and brother-in-law down in Aruba.
MR. LALLY: And at that time, uh, to meet them down there — had Laura — had she flown down prior to you?
MS. SULLIVAN: She had, yes.
MR. LALLY: And, uh, at that particular time, um, were you dating someone?
MS. SULLIVAN: I was. I was seeing somebody, yes.
MR. LALLY: And the person that you were seeing — was that person coming on the trip as well?
MS. SULLIVAN: He was, yeah. The day after we got there.
MR. LALLY: So your sister arrives on the 30th, you arrived on the 31st, and the person you were seeing arrives on the first?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Now, when you arrived there, um, do you know about how many people were on this trip?
MS. SULLIVAN: I would say over 30. Upwards of — yeah, I would say over 30 is the best estimate I could give you.
MR. LALLY: And as far as this trip was concerned, do you recall where you stayed?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yep. We stayed at the Renaissance Aruba.
MR. LALLY: Is that somewhere that you stayed on this occasion as well as a subsequent occasion?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And on the, uh, 31st, when you and your mother arrive — about what time of day was it that you got there?
MS. SULLIVAN: So our flight landed around 3:30-ish, I would say. We weren't at the hotel much later than that.
MR. LALLY: And with regard to the hotel, um, the hotel has a lobby area — is that correct?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes, sir.
MR. LALLY: Can you describe to the jury, uh, sort of, what — what does that layout look like? What does the lobby look like?
MS. SULLIVAN: Uh, sure. So right when you, uh, walk in the front doors, right in front of you is the check-in desks — um, three or four of them in front of you. Um, to the left of you when you come in is a hallway to, uh, one side of the hotel. To the right of you is a bank of elevators that leads to another hallway that leads to the other first-floor side of the hotel. Um, you're in a big lobby, and then directly across from where the, uh, elevators are is the entrance to the pool area.
MR. LALLY: And when you arrive there — uh, when you arrive there at some point in time, in the late afternoon of the 31st — um, you obviously check into your room, ma'am, and then following that, where do you go?
MS. SULLIVAN: So we checked into our room, and then happy hour was starting around 4:30, so we met everybody down at the pool for that time.
MR. LALLY: Is there a bar in that area?
MS. SULLIVAN: The pool, yes. Pool bar.
MR. LALLY: And so when you get down to, uh, the pool bar area, um, with anyone specifically — did you — did you see, or did you run into —
MS. SULLIVAN: So first ran into my sister, gave her a hug. The rest of the ...kids and my brother. Um, as soon as I got into the pool, I ran into Johnny and a couple of our other friends that were sitting at the pool bar down there.
MR. LALLY: And with reference to who you referred to as "Johnny," what's his last name?
MS. SULLIVAN: John O'Keefe.
MR. LALLY: And that was someone that you knew at the time, is that correct?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And how did you know him?
MS. SULLIVAN: He was a very, very dear family friend. He was very close to my sister, subsequently became very close to me and my family as a result. And he was my nephew's Godfather.
MR. LALLY: And suffice to say that you had known him for some substantial period of time?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes, since Ben's father unfortunately passed away.
MR. LALLY: So at this point in time, when we're talking about turning from 2021 to 2022, how long had you known Mr. O'Keefe?
MS. SULLIVAN: Oh, man — probably about eight, nine years. It's as long as my nephew's been alive.
MR. LALLY: And when is it that you would see — or how often would you see Mr. O'Keefe?
MS. SULLIVAN: Family parties, family parties that we threw, kids' birthday parties, and my sister's Christmas party that she would throw every year.
MR. LALLY: And how would you describe sort of the nature of your relationship with him?
MS. SULLIVAN: He was similar to a big brother to me. He was somebody who was there for my sister during her darkest times, so I really respected him for that. But yeah, he was a big brother and a family friend.
MR. LALLY: Now, when you saw Mr. O'Keefe at the pool bar after you arrived there, what if any conversation did you have with him, or what if anything were the two of you doing around that?
MS. SULLIVAN: Um, so I went up to him in the pool. He had his Alabama hat on. He expressed to me that he was excited to watch the Alabama football game at the pool bar — given the circumstances, we were in a beautiful tropical place — and he got to watch his favorite college team play football. Um, and he said that's all he really wanted to do for the day was be able to watch that game.
MR. LALLY: Now, at this point in time, as you're talking to Mr. O'Keefe, were you aware of him dating anybody? Had you met anybody that he was dating at that time?
PARENTHETICAL: [unclear]
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MS. SULLIVAN: I had not met the person that he was dating. I had heard about her through family friends and other people that were on the trip.
MR. LALLY: So as far as the other sort of family events that you would see Mr. O'Keefe at — Miss Read, or his girlfriend at that time — wasn't there with him?
MS. SULLIVAN: No.
MR. LALLY: So after the time that you spent at the pool bar that afternoon, do you recall what else you did that evening?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yep. So most of us in the group had dinner reservations — I believe they were around 7 p.m. — and we were all getting ready to leave the pool bar, to get picked up around 6:30.
MR. LALLY: And as far as the fairly large group that went out to dinner that night —
MS. SULLIVAN: Yeah, most of us.
MR. LALLY: And was Mr. O'Keefe part of that group that went out to dinner?
MS. SULLIVAN: He was not.
MR. LALLY: Do you recall about what time it was that you got back — returned to the hotel?
MS. SULLIVAN: Most of us got back a little after 9:00. Taxis were kind of crazy to get, so, little after 9:00.
MR. LALLY: And when you got back to the hotel, where did you go?
MS. SULLIVAN: Um, I went upstairs to check on my mom. She had gone in a bank of taxis before me, so I went upstairs to make sure that she was up there and safe and in the room.
MR. LALLY: And so, however long you spent up in the room with your mother, at some point did you come back?
MS. SULLIVAN: I did.
MR. LALLY: And when you came back down — by "down" I mean — you recall where you were staying in the hotel?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yep. So we were on the fourth floor of the hotel, so I took the elevator up and then I took it back down to the lobby.
MR. LALLY: At that point in time, when you're getting back from dinner, going up to the room, and coming back down, were you aware of where Mr. O'Keefe and his niece and nephew were staying?
MS. SULLIVAN: Yeah, I knew where they were staying. Yes, room-wise.
MR. LALLY: And where was that in relation to the lobby?
MS. SULLIVAN: Uh, first — so, lobby's on the first floor, their rooms are on the first floor. Yes.
MR. LALLY: So when the elevator gets down to the lobby level, you get out, is that correct?
JUDGE CANNONE: Just have to answer yes.
MS. SULLIVAN: Yes. Sorry, that's—
MR. LALLY: So the elevator comes down to the lobby, you walk out — who if anyone do you see when you come out?
MS. SULLIVAN: So when the elevator opens up, I — the first person I saw was the attendant standing behind the desk. I didn't see anybody else in the lobby with me until I stepped out. Um, when I stepped out, I looked to my left and I saw Johnny coming in through the first set of outside doors.
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as Mr. O'Keefe was concerned, was there any other sort of term that you would use to refer to him — "Johnny" or "Godfather"? Your Honor, I think this may be appropriate.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right. So, folks — I'm going to say again that first instruction I gave you with the last witness — that you're about to hear testimony about certain conduct or behavior allegedly committed by the defendant. Miss Read is not charged with committing any crimes other than those charged within the indictment, so this witness's testimony may not, and must not, be considered by you as any evidence that the defendant has a bad character, or as evidence that she may have a propensity to commit the crimes with which she's been charged. You may not take the defendant's prior acts that you'll hear about as a substitute for proof that the defendant committed the crimes charged here.
JUDGE CANNONE: But you may consider the acts solely on the limited issue of the defendant's state of mind, and the nature of her relationship with John O'Keefe, as it might go to motive or intent. You may not consider this evidence for any other purpose. Specifically, you may not use it to conclude that if the defendant committed these acts, that she must also have committed the offenses with which she's been charged. You can only use the evidence for the limited purpose of how it goes to the defendant's state of mind, motive, and the nature of her relationship with John O'Keefe — and for the same findings that I made at
MR. LALLY: As you walk out of the elevator, you're by yourself, correct?
MS. SULLIVAN: Mm-hmm. Yes.
MR. LALLY: And you see Mr. O'Keefe — could you see where Mr. O'Keefe was in relation to the lobby, or where he was coming from?
MS. SULLIVAN: He was coming from the outside doors into the lobby.
MR. LALLY: Is that where the pool bar is located?
MS. SULLIVAN: Opposite side. Opposite. Yes.
MR. LALLY: And when you see him come in, who if anyone do you see with him initially?
MS. SULLIVAN: Nobody with him.
MR. LALLY: And what if anything was he doing, or how was he acting when he came in?
MS. SULLIVAN: So he sort of stumbled in. Um, I came out of the elevator and my initial response to him was, "Whoa, you okay?" — I actually said, "Whoo, Godfather, are you okay?" Um, but yeah, he was stumbling into the lobby.
MR. LALLY: And did you go over to him at that point?
MS. SULLIVAN: I did. I went up to him and I gave him a hug, and um—
MR. LALLY: What happened then?
MS. SULLIVAN: Uh, I pulled back. He was glassy-eyed, looking above me. We never made eye contact. He was looking above me. It looked like he was looking for someone. Um, I asked him, "Where are you going?" — assuming that he would be coming to the pool bar to meet us. Uh, he kept looking around and he indicated that he was going that way and pointed toward a bank of rooms to our right, and I said, "Well, you should go that way," and I stepped back and I guided him toward the area that he was going.
MR. LALLY: Now as far as the bank of rooms to the right — you indicated that you were familiar with or aware of where Mr. O'Keefe was and where the children were. Is that correct?
MS. SULLIVAN: I know they were on the first floor. I'm not 100% positive as to where exactly their rooms were.
MR. LALLY: And if you know, did you know whether or not Mr. O'Keefe was staying in the same room as Patrick and Kaylee at that point?
PARENTHETICAL: [sidebar]
JUDGE CANNONE: Jurors, please be mindful of that second instruction that I gave you regarding evidence of statements made by John O'Keefe, for the limited purpose of establishing his state of mind, and I will fully give you this instruction again at the end of the case. So it's the same one that I already gave you. Go ahead, Mr. Lally.
MS. SULLIVAN: I didn't know that they were staying in the same room or not. No.
MR. LALLY: Um, so you pointed him in that direction, and what happened?
MS. SULLIVAN: So I pointed in that direction, he walked off. I continued out to the pool bar. Um, when I heard, very loudly, his name screamed across the lobby — very angrily — and it made me stop in my tracks.
MR. LALLY: And when you stopped in your tracks, what happened?
MS. SULLIVAN: Um, I started to turn around to come back in. So once you go out to the pool bar, you kind of go around a corner and you go out of view. So I turned around to go back in. As I'm going back in, I hear someone yell, "Who the [expletive] was that?" And as I come around the corner, I see Mr. O'Keefe walking toward a woman, and they were — and he said — excuse me — he said, "Calm down, that's Laura's little sister."
MR. LALLY: And what happened then?
MS. SULLIVAN: Um, when I came back around the corner, I said — after Mr. O'Keefe said, "Calm down, that's Laura's little sister" — I said, "Hi, nice to meet you." Um, that's when Miss Read's head snapped up, and she very loudly told me to go [expletive] myself across the lobby. And I said, "Yeah, you too," and walked away.
MR. LALLY: And just to be clear — when you say "Miss Read" — this is someone that you became familiar with as the trip went along?
MS. SULLIVAN: This was my first interaction with her. Um, I had never been fully introduced to her at all. I just had seen her sitting by the side of the pool when I had been talking to Johnny earlier in the day.
MR. LALLY: And the person you know to be Miss Read — do you see her in the courtroom today?
MS. SULLIVAN: I do.
MR. LALLY: Could you just describe where she's seated or an article of clothing that she's wearing?
MS. SULLIVAN: Sure. She's in a black-and-white checkered blazer, two people in from you.
COURT CLERK: The record will reflect identification.
MR. LALLY: Yes, thank you. Um, as far as Miss Read was concerned, what if anything did you observe as far as the defendant — beyond the yell — what if anything did you observe as far as her and how she was acting at the time that this interaction was going on?
MS. SULLIVAN: She was just very loud. Um, she very — you know, energetically screamed for me to go [expletive] myself. She was waving her hands. Um, Johnny was trying to calm her down, and— After I said, "Yeah, you too," I went out to the pool bar, so I didn't see much after that.
MR. LALLY: And could you hear anything, as far as when you're walking out to the pool bar, as far as any other conversation between the defendant and Mr. O'Keefe?
MS. SULLIVAN: Not after that first time, no.
MR. LALLY: You go back out to the pool bar — and with anyone, did you talk to?
MS. SULLIVAN: I went straight up to my older sister Laura, who was out to dinner with the couple the night before, and I said —
JUDGE CANNONE: I'll allow this part.
MS. SULLIVAN: I went up to her and I looked at her and I said, "John O'Keefe's girlfriend," and she looked at me and said, "Karen?" And I said, "Yeah, you guys like her?" She said, "Yeah, she's okay," and I said, "Well, she sucks."
MR. LALLY: Now, following that — that particular — at any point in time later in that evening, did you see either Mr. O'Keefe or Miss Read?
MS. SULLIVAN: Later on that evening? I did not see them, no.
MR. LALLY: And when was the next time that you did?
MS. SULLIVAN: I saw them briefly on the 2nd, which was the day that we rented Cabanas on the island.
MR. LALLY: When you say you briefly saw them — can you describe?
MS. SULLIVAN: So we had all rented the Cabanas — each family had one, or they were sharing one. I was sharing one with my family down at the end. We got about halfway through the day and realized that their family Cabana was still empty, so I saw them about halfway through the day when they did come to the Cabana, and I briefly saw Miss Read and Mr. O'Keefe at the pool — the island bar — that same day, but there was no conversation.
MR. LALLY: Now, with regard to Mr. O'Keefe and Miss Read, at some point in time on that day of the Cabanas, what if any conversation did you have with your sister regarding that?
MR. JACKSON: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Yeah, I'll see you at sidebar, quickly.
MR. LALLY: Sullivan, with regard to the day of the Cabanas, did you have some conversation with your sister Laura in regard to Mr. O'Keefe and Miss Read?
MS. SULLIVAN: I did.
MR. LALLY: And what if anything did your sister Laura tell you she had learned from Mr. O'Keefe?
MS. SULLIVAN: So my sister pulled me aside from everybody and asked if, the night that I got into the altercation with Miss Read in the lobby, if I was making out with Mr. O'Keefe.
MR. LALLY: How did you respond?
MS. SULLIVAN: That I absolutely was not.
MR. LALLY: And — beyond the fact that it didn't occur, why would that not occur?
MS. SULLIVAN: He was —
JUDGE CANNONE: I'll allow it.
MS. SULLIVAN: He was family. He was my older brother for all intents and purposes. It just never would have happened between us.
MR. LALLY: And you expressed that to your sister, is that correct?
MS. SULLIVAN: I did, yes.
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as the remainder of the trip was concerned, starting with the defendant Miss Read, what if any other interaction did you have with her?
MS. SULLIVAN: None.
MR. LALLY: And as far as Mr. O'Keefe was concerned, what if any further interaction did you have with him?
MS. SULLIVAN: None, that was it.
MR. LALLY: And was that normal? Or — as far as Mr. O'Keefe was concerned —
MR. JACKSON: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: I'll allow it.
MS. SULLIVAN: As far as I knew Johnny, that wasn't normal. He would always come up to us, up to our family, try to be around my nephew — his godchild — and he was always the life of the party and wanted to be around his family and his friends.
MR. LALLY: And following that trip in Aruba, did you see Mr. O'Keefe again?
MS. SULLIVAN: I did not.
PARENTHETICAL: [counsel]
JUDGE CANNONE: : I'll have at least a couple other witnesses. Okay? But it would be great if we could complete the testimony of that one witness, for all sorts of reasons. I will — I will do my best. I'm hopeful. I am. I'm hopeful.
PARENTHETICAL: [counsel]
JUDGE CANNONE: : I think we do okay. Anything I need to look at, or anything in particular for Friday?
PARENTHETICAL: [counsel]
JUDGE CANNONE: : Probably, but I can't — [unintelligible] May we approach just briefly?
PARENTHETICAL: [sidebar]
MR. LALLY: Nothing further.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right, Miss Sullivan, thank you.
MS. SULLIVAN: Good afternoon.
MR. JACKSON: Fair to say that you were not at the Waterfall Bar & Grille on January 28th of 2022 in Canton?
MS. SULLIVAN: I was not.
MR. JACKSON: You were not at 34 Fairview Road in Canton on January 29th, correct?
MS. SULLIVAN: I was not.
MR. JACKSON: And yet Trooper Proctor drove all the way to Pembroke to interview you on February 8th of 2022, did he not?
MS. SULLIVAN: He did.
MR. JACKSON: Nothing further.
JUDGE CANNONE: Mr. Lally, anything?
MR. LALLY: Just very briefly. Miss Sullivan, when Trooper Proctor came to the house in Pembroke, were you living there at that time?
MS. SULLIVAN: I was.
MR. LALLY: And was he alone, or was he with another trooper?
MS. SULLIVAN: He was with another trooper.
MR. LALLY: And do you recall that trooper's name?
MS. SULLIVAN: I don't.
MR. LALLY: Now, with regard to your conversation with Trooper Proctor and the other trooper that day, was it just you that he spoke to?
MS. SULLIVAN: Just me.
MR. LALLY: Let me ask it a different way. As far as when the troopers came to your house on February 8th, are you the only person from your home that the troopers spoke to that day?
MS. SULLIVAN: No.
MR. LALLY: With anyone else did they speak to in the home?
MS. SULLIVAN: They spoke to my sister first, and —
MR. LALLY: At any point did they speak to your sister's boyfriend as well?
MS. SULLIVAN: No.
MR. LALLY: And when they spoke to you, where was your sister?
MS. SULLIVAN: She was outside of the house. She went to go pick up my nephew.
MR. LALLY: And when they spoke to your sister, where were you?
MS. SULLIVAN: I was downstairs in my room, which was in the basement.
MR. LALLY: And could you hear what they were talking about when they were talking to your sister?
MS. SULLIVAN: I could not.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right. All right, so — jurors, we're actually finished with witnesses for today. We finished everyone that we had hoped to finish for today, so we're done for the day. As you know, we're not in session tomorrow, but we will see you Friday, and Friday will be a full day. So please — those three cautions: do not discuss this case with anyone, don't do any independent research or investigation into the case, and if you happen to see, hear, or read anything about the case, please disregard it. Let us know. Just leave everything here — literally, figuratively — clear your heads, and see you Friday. Thank you all. That make sense? May be seated. Thank you.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right, so hopefully we will start and finish that one witness on Friday anyway, but —