Day 8 - May 9, 2024

Chris Albert, a Canton pizza shop owner and neighbor of John O'Keefe on Meadows Avenue, testified about the evening of January 28, 2022. He described arriving at the Waterfall bar around 9:50 PM after closing his shop, where he joined his wife, the McCabes, and others. O'Keefe and Karen Read arrived around 10:45 PM; Albert noted Read carried a glass of clear liquid under her jacket. The group socialized at a high-top table near a live band. During the time he observed them, Albert testified that he did not notice any arguments or unusual interaction between O'Keefe and Read. He walked home around midnight in light snow and learned the next morning from his wife that O'Keefe had been found dead on the lawn at 34 Fairview Road, his brother Brian's house.

David Yannetti questioned Chris Albert about his relationships with law-enforcement figures, the timing of Brian Albert's move from Canton, the Nebbercracker nickname, lawn-related photographs, and Colin Albert's whereabouts. Albert acknowledged individual relationships and that Brian moved shortly after O'Keefe's death. He denied the asserted Colin conflict and described the nickname as a joke shared with O'Keefe. When Yannetti asked whether Albert had omitted Colin's whereabouts during a February 10 interview, Albert said he did not remember.

ADA Lally conducted a brief redirect to rehabilitate Chris Albert on points raised during cross-examination. Lally established that Albert was not yet a selectman on January 28, 2022, and that the photograph with former Chief Berkowitz was from a fundraiser months later. Albert explained he sold his house for financial reasons as his children aged, and testified that after learning Chris was selling his house, Brian decided it might be a good idea to sell his house because Brian's children were getting older. On the subject of Colin Albert, Chris testified Colin came home about 10 minutes after he got into bed and showed no injuries that night or the following day. He also observed no injuries on Brian Albert or Brian Higgins the next day. Lally concluded by eliciting the full Nebbercracker story — a lighthearted nickname stemming from O'Keefe jokingly telling Albert's young son to get off his lawn, after which O'Keefe brought the boy candy as an apology.

Julie Albert, a Canton resident and sister-in-law to Brian Albert, describes the social gathering at the Waterfall bar on the evening of January 28, 2022. She establishes the timeline of arrivals: she arrived around 7:30 PM with Nicole Albert and Caitlyn Albert, her husband Christopher joined around 9:30 PM, then Brian Albert Sr. and Brian Higgins arrived, followed by the McCabes, the Kolokithas couple, and finally John O'Keefe and Karen Read before 11 PM. Albert notes that Read arrived carrying a glass with a clear liquid from C.F. McCarthy's. Albert left approximately 10-15 minutes after O'Keefe and Read arrived due to a migraine. She testifies that her husband came home around 12:10 AM and her son Colin arrived 10-15 minutes later, and she observed no injuries on either. The next morning she went to 34 Fairview Road to deliver birthday donuts for her nephew and found the group visibly upset, learning from Jennifer McCabe that something had happened to John O'Keefe.

David Yannetti's cross-examination of Julie Albert addressed her personal ties to the Proctor family and phone contacts with Courtney Proctor. Yannetti used phone records to question Albert about 67 calls between February 1 and September 6, 2022, including calls on the dates of Karen Read's arrest and arraignment. Albert said she did not recall the timeframe-specific contact or most calls, did not deny the count, and denied using Courtney Proctor as an intermediary to communicate with Michael Proctor. The court adjourned for the day, ordering Albert to return the next morning.