Day 17 - May 24, 2024

Judge Beverly J. Cannone · Trial 1 · 2 proceedings · 2,801 utterances

Day 17 of 35

Appearing:

ATF agent Brian Higgins testifies about his relationship with Karen Read and his movements the night O'Keefe died, then faces a damaging cross-examination revealing a 2:22 a.m. call with Brian Albert and deliberate destruction of his cell phone.

Full day summary

Day 17 centered entirely on Brian Higgins, an ATF special agent with an office at Canton PD, who testified on direct about his social ties to the Albert family and his presence at 34 Fairview Road the night of January 28-29, 2022. Prosecutors used extensive text messages between Higgins and Read — spanning January 12-29 — to establish motive, showing Read expressing dissatisfaction with O'Keefe and pursuing a romantic connection with Higgins in the weeks before O'Keefe's death. On cross, Alan Jackson systematically dismantled Higgins's credibility: phone records showed a 2:22 a.m. call between Higgins and Brian Albert that Higgins initially denied and later attributed to a possible butt dial. Card access logs placed Higgins at Canton PD for most of January 29th — including time in the sallyport where Read's vehicle was later stored — while he made repeated calls to the Alberts and Chief Berkowitz. The cross concluded with Jackson establishing that Higgins had used a federal forensics kiosk to selectively extract only two text threads from his phone before removing its SIM card, discarding the components in separate dumpsters on a military base, and destroying the device despite a court preservation order.

Key Moments

Prosecution reads dozens of text messages between Read and Higgins showing Read expressing relationship dissatisfaction and initiating romantic contact with Higgins in the weeks before O'Keefe's death.
Higgins testifies he drove past the spot where O'Keefe's body was later found without seeing anyone, supporting the defense timeline but also raising questions about when the body arrived.
Phone records reveal a 22-second call between Higgins and Brian Albert at 2:22 a.m. — hours before the body was discovered — that Higgins initially denied making.
Card access logs show Higgins spent most of January 29th at Canton PD, including time in the sallyport where Karen Read's vehicle was delivered as evidence.
Jackson establishes that Higgins selectively extracted only two text threads using a federal forensics kiosk, then destroyed his phone by removing the SIM card and discarding it and the phone in separate dumpsters on a military base despite a court preservation order.

Notable Quotes

Alan Jackson

“Did you remove the SIM card from that phone, drive onto a military base, throw the SIM card in one dumpster, and the phone in a different dumpster?”

Jackson's closing question of the day crystallizes the defense's evidence-destruction narrative, alleging Higgins took deliberate, methodical steps to prevent recovery of his phone data.

Karen Read (text)

“I'm pretty sure we would have hooked up.”

Read's own text to Higgins — introduced by the prosecution — represents the apex of the motive evidence, showing her willingness to pursue an intimate relationship while still with O'Keefe.

Alan Jackson

“And you did not see a 217-pound man bleeding out on the side of the road, in the lawn, or in the yard just to your right by that flag pole, correct?”

Jackson uses Higgins's trained-observer status to argue the body was not yet present when Higgins departed, directly challenging the prosecution's timeline.

Direct

Brian Higgins Adam Lally

886 utt.

Brian Higgins, an ATF special agent who maintained an office at Canton PD, testified about his movements on January 28-29, 2022. He described driving back from NYPD officer funerals in New York with Brian Albert, Kevin Albert, and Eddie Hernandez, then going to the Hillside bar and later the Waterfall, where he saw John O'Keefe and Karen Read arrive. He went to 34 Fairview Road around midnight, stayed roughly 30 minutes, and testified he never saw O'Keefe or Read at the house. Extensive text messages between Higgins and Read (January 12-29, 2022) were read into the record, revealing a flirtatious relationship initiated by Read, including discussions about her dissatisfaction with O'Keefe, an alleged incident in Aruba, a kiss at O'Keefe's house after a Patriots game, and an invitation to Read's visit at Higgins's West Roxbury apartment. The final text from Read to Higgins read 'John died.'

+1 procedural segment

Cross

Brian Higgins Alan Jackson

1899 utt.

Alan Jackson conducted an extensive cross-examination of Brian Higgins, establishing his deep ties to Canton law enforcement through his friendship with Chief Berkowitz, his office at Canton PD, and his social relationship with Brian and Kevin Albert. Jackson challenged Higgins on his movements the night of January 28-29, 2022, pressing him on the fact that he drove past the area where O'Keefe's body was later found without seeing anything. Phone records revealed a 22-second call between Higgins and Brian Albert at 2:22 a.m. that Higgins initially denied and later attributed to a possible butt dial. Key card logs showed Higgins spent most of January 29th at Canton PD — including time in the sallyport where Karen Read's vehicle was later delivered — while making frequent calls to Brian Albert, Kevin Albert, and Chief Berkowitz. Jackson concluded by establishing that Higgins used a federal forensics kiosk to selectively extract only two text threads from his phone before destroying the phone by removing and breaking the SIM card and discarding both, despite a court preservation order.

◀ Day 16 Trial 1 Day 18 ▶

Day 17 - May 24, 2024

Brian Higgins - Direct

Brian Higgins - Cross (Part 1)