Commonwealth v. Read — Trial Archive
Trial 2 Trial Day
Trial 2 Day 2 ▶

Day 1 - April 22, 2025

Judge Beverly J. Cannone · Trial 2 · 11 proceedings · 1,933 lines

Day 1 of 36
Appearing:
🏛️ Hank Brennan 🛡️ Alan Jackson 🗣️ Kerry Roberts 🗣️ Tim Nuttall

Trial 2 opens with competing opening statements and the first witness battle over Karen Read's 'I hit him' statement to a first responder at the scene.

Full day summary

Trial 2 of Commonwealth v. Karen Read commenced with jury instructions, administration of the oath, and reading of the three indictments — second-degree murder, OUI manslaughter, and leaving the scene. ADA Hank Brennan delivered the prosecution's opening, anchoring its theory in digital evidence — cell phone location data, health app readings, battery temperature, and black box data — alongside Read's own statements at the scene and to friends that morning. Alan Jackson countered with the defense's central thesis: no collision occurred, the investigation was corrupted by lead investigator Michael Proctor's personal ties to the Albert family, and the Commonwealth's own medical examiner would not rule the death a homicide. The day's most contested testimony came from firefighter-paramedic Tim Nuttall, whose account of hearing Read say 'I hit him' was subjected to four rounds of examination, revealing inconsistencies between his Trial 1 and Trial 2 accounts, contradictions with Trooper Proctor's early report, and positioning questions raised by dash cam video. The day closed with the beginning of Kerry Roberts's testimony, which introduced Read's predawn calls declaring 'John's dead,' her admission of a memory blackout from heavy drinking, and a disputed exchange between Read and Jennifer McCabe about where O'Keefe had been left.

Key Moments
  • ADA Brennan opened by building the prosecution's case around digital evidence — Waze data, phone battery temperature, and black box readings — rather than eyewitness testimony of a collision.
  • Alan Jackson's defense opening directly challenged the Commonwealth's theory three times in succession — 'There was no collision. There was no collision. There was no collision.' — and previewed evidence of investigative corruption by Michael Proctor and third-party involvement by the Albert household.
  • Tim Nuttall testified that Read said 'I hit him' three times at the scene; Jackson highlighted his Trial 1 testimony of twice and used a selected dash cam segment to question his timing. Nuttall said that clip was not the statement moment and identified an earlier approach sequence, leaving a narrower mismatch about CPR timing.
  • Jackson used Trooper Proctor's February 8 report to confront Nuttall with an account in which Read allegedly spoke to another woman rather than Nuttall. Nuttall said he did not remember that account and expressly denied the report's praying detail.
  • Kerry Roberts testified that Read called her at 5:00 a.m. screaming 'John's dead' before the body was found, and that Read admitted drinking so heavily she could not remember anything from the prior night.
Notable Quotes
Alan Jackson
“There was no collision with John O'Keefe. There was no collision. There was no collision. John O'Keefe did not die from being hit by a vehicle. Period.”
Jackson's triple repetition of 'there was no collision' in the opening moments of the defense statement established the thesis around which all defense evidence and cross-examination on Day 1 was organized.
Hank Brennan
“That cell phone — it is the best of historians. It doesn't suffer from intoxication. It doesn't suffer from memory loss. It doesn't suffer from emotion, pride, or bias.”
Brennan's framing of cell phone data as a witness immune to intoxication and memory loss previewed the prosecution's strategy of substituting digital evidence for the unreliable human witnesses the defense spent the day attacking.
Kerry Roberts
“Karen called and — the first thing she said was, 'Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, John's dead.' And then she hung up.”
Roberts recalled Read saying 'John's dead' before Roberts knew what Read meant; Roberts said she did not know what was going on.
Video thumbnail for Day 1 — Opening Statements, Nuttall, Roberts 7h 19m
Watch this day Day 1 — Opening Statements, Nuttall, Roberts Watch with synced transcript →

Procedural — Jury Instructions

The court first handled pending motions, then brought in the jury, read three indictments, and delivered preliminary instructions on proof, evidence, bias, and avoiding outside influence.

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Procedural
Procedural - Jury Instructions
46 lines

Judge Cannone opens Trial 2 by having counsel identify themselves for the record: ADA Lally and ADA Brennan for the Commonwealth, and attorneys Jackson, Little, Alessi, and Yannetti for the defense. After confirming jurors followed prior instructions, the judge administers the jury oath and the clerk reads the three indictments: second-degree murder, manslaughter while OUI, and leaving the scene causing death. Judge Cannone then delivers extensive preliminary instructions covering the presumption of innocence, proof beyond a reasonable doubt, the roles of judge and jury, rules about evidence and objections, note-taking, implicit bias, and strict admonitions against outside research, social media use, and public commentary about the case.

+1 procedural segment

Opening Statement — Commonwealth

In the Commonwealth's opening, ADA Hank Brennan outlines the prosecution's theory that Read struck O'Keefe with her Lexus, left him in the storm, and can be linked to the event through digital data, scene evidence, and her own statements.

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Opening
Opening Statement - Hank Brennan Hank Brennan
38 lines

ADA Hank Brennan presents the prosecution's theory of the case: that Karen Read, after a night of heavy drinking and arguing with John O'Keefe, struck him with her Lexus SUV in reverse outside 34 Fairview Road in Canton on January 29, 2022, then drove away, leaving him to die in near-blizzard conditions. Brennan walks the jury through the timeline using cell phone location data (Waze), health data, battery temperature readings, and the vehicle's black box. He describes the first responders' arrival, Read's statements at the scene ('I hit him'), the broken tail light evidence, and Read's conflicting accounts to friends that morning. Brennan previews expert testimony from a neurosurgeon on O'Keefe's skull fracture and an accident reconstructionist, and plays a post-charge media clip in which Read speculates she may have 'clipped' O'Keefe.

Opening Statement — Defense

Alan Jackson said the defense would challenge the collision theory and allege investigative bias, citing communications, Jennifer McCabe's Google search, and tail-light evidence. These were opening assertions, not established facts.

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Opening
Opening Statement - Alan Jackson Alan Jackson
60 lines

Alan Jackson opened the defense case by establishing three core themes: no vehicle collision occurred, the investigation was corrupted by lead investigator Michael Proctor's personal ties to the Albert family, and the physical and medical evidence contradicts the Commonwealth's theory. Jackson walked the jury through the timeline of January 28-29, 2022, highlighting suspicious post-incident conduct by Brian Albert, Brian Higgins, and Jennifer McCabe — including late-night phone calls, a 2:27 a.m. Google search for 'hos long to die in cold,' and subsequent destruction of phones and sale of the Albert home. He previewed defense expert testimony that John O'Keefe's injuries were inconsistent with a vehicle strike, that his body showed no hypothermia, and that the Commonwealth's own medical examiner refused to rule the death a homicide. Jackson also challenged the tail light evidence, noting that 46 fragments appeared only after Proctor had custody of Read's vehicle.

Tim Nuttall — Direct

Tim Nuttall describes finding John O'Keefe unresponsive in the snow, the hypothermic-resuscitation response, and Karen Read's reported statement: 'I hit him' three times.

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Direct
Tim Nuttall Hank Brennan
314 lines

Tim Nuttall testified about his background as a firefighter-paramedic and his response to a dispatch for an unresponsive male at 34 Fairview Road around 6 a.m. on January 29, 2022. He described arriving early due to inclement weather, jumping on the ambulance as a volunteer second paramedic, and finding John O'Keefe lying supine in the snow with no pulse, no breathing, and extremely cold skin. Nuttall recounted that while kneeling at O'Keefe's head providing ventilations, he looked up and asked a woman with blood on her face if she knew the patient, and she responded 'I hit him. I hit him. I hit him.' He described the team's resuscitation efforts, O'Keefe's injuries — a hematoma above the right eye, deep scratches on the right arm, and matted blood on the back of his head — and the transport to Good Samaritan Hospital. Dash cam video from cruiser 683 and photographs of the arm injuries and scene were introduced as exhibits.

Tim Nuttall — Cross

Across two sessions, Jackson cross-examines Tim Nuttall on changing recollections, an incorrect clothing memory, a disputed Proctor-report account, and a selected dashcam clip whose timing did not resolve the statement moment.

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Cross
Tim Nuttall Alan Jackson
310 lines

Alan Jackson focused on two areas bearing on Tim Nuttall's reliability. First, Jackson questioned Nuttall about three meetings with prosecutor Brennan before his testimony and the shift from Nuttall's Trial 1 testimony that he heard 'I hit him' twice to his Trial 2 recollection of three times. Nuttall described the first meeting as an introduction and review of prior testimony; he said another discussion included the repetition count and video. Jackson suggested the meetings reflected Brennan's desired version, but Nuttall denied that formulation and maintained that three times was his recollection. On redirect, Nuttall also denied that Brennan suggested he stick to a story or present his testimony in a particular way. Second, Jackson revisited Nuttall's prior testimony that O'Keefe wore a 'puffy heavy coat,' which was completely wrong — O'Keefe was actually in a short-sleeve t-shirt and thin hoodie with no hat and a missing shoe. Jackson then questioned Nuttall about O'Keefe's injuries, establishing the hematoma, laceration, and parallel scratches on the right arm, before the proceeding broke for lunch during a sidebar over an objection to Jackson's question about whether the injuries were consistent with a physical altercation.

Cross
Tim Nuttall Alan Jackson
310 lines

Alan Jackson resumed cross-examination after lunch by establishing that firefighter-paramedic Katie McLaughlin was also on the call but was not mentioned during direct examination. Jackson then returned to Nuttall's account of hearing Karen Read say 'I hit him,' confronting him with Trooper Proctor's February 8, 2022 report. Nuttall said he did not remember key details in the report and denied its praying detail. Jackson then played a selected dash cam segment showing that, while Flatley was performing CPR, Read was not near Nuttall. Nuttall said that was not when the statement occurred. On redirect, he identified an earlier sequence in which Read was running toward the responder group as the statement moment; on recross, he agreed Flatley was not yet performing CPR at that earlier point despite earlier describing him as giving CPR when the statement was made. Jackson also secured Nuttall's agreement that the hematoma and laceration over O'Keefe's right eye could be consistent with being punched, while Nuttall said the injuries could result from numerous causes.

Tim Nuttall — Redirect/Recross

Nuttall's final redirect and recrosses cover Read's alleged "I hit him" statements, dashcam timing, and prior accounts. Brennan rehabilitates; Jackson challenges consistency. The page then turns to Kerry Roberts after a video clip.

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Redirect
Tim Nuttall Hank Brennan
126 lines

On redirect, ADA Brennan played the timestamped version of the dash cam video (Exhibit 611) to walk Nuttall through the sequence the defense had omitted: Nuttall arriving at 6:10, approaching O'Keefe at 6:11:21, Flatley following, and the defendant running toward the group — the moment Nuttall says she told him 'I hit him.' Brennan then clarified that Nuttall's memory difficulties concerned his interview with Trooper Proctor, not the events of that morning. Brennan highlighted that all visible injuries — hematoma, arm abrasions, blood clotting — were on O'Keefe's right side with none on the left, and that Nuttall's inaccurate clothing description reflected his focus on airway management rather than poor observation. Brennan also addressed the three pre-trial meetings, eliciting that Brennan only told Nuttall to tell the truth and never coached his testimony. Nuttall reaffirmed hearing 'I hit him' three times directed at him and several additional times in the background directed at others.

Recross
Tim Nuttall Alan Jackson
139 lines

On recross, Alan Jackson attacked two areas of Tim Nuttall's testimony. First, Jackson highlighted that Nuttall's claim of hearing 'I hit him' in the background multiple times only emerged during redirect — never mentioned on direct examination — and got Nuttall to agree that he recalled generalized commotion rather than specific words from Karen Read. Nuttall then reasserted that he heard 'I hit him' in the background, although it was not his focus. Second, Jackson methodically walked through the dash cam video timeline, challenging Nuttall's description of when Read approached him while Flatley was giving CPR. Nuttall maintained that the statement occurred before the segment Jackson showed and appeared in the earlier portion Brennan had played. Jackson also established that O'Keefe had a black eye on the left side of his face, which Nuttall explained as swelling that had migrated to both eyes.

Redirect
Tim Nuttall Hank Brennan
6 lines

In a six-utterance redirect, ADA Brennan addressed Jackson's recross suggestion that Nuttall's claim of hearing 'I hit him' in the background was a new addition to his testimony. Brennan asked whether Nuttall had previously testified under oath and in court that he heard the defendant say 'I hit him' separately from when she approached him. Nuttall confirmed he had. The exchange was brief and direct, aimed at neutralizing the defense's implication that the background statements were fabricated during redirect.

Recross
Tim Nuttall Alan Jackson
10 lines

In a brief second recross, Alan Jackson asked Tim Nuttall whether he told Trooper Proctor during his February 8, 2022 interview — just ten days after the incident — that he heard 'I hit him' repeated in the background. Nuttall said he did not recall. Jackson then asked whether Nuttall made that claim during his grand jury testimony. Nuttall again said he did not recall. Jackson closed by noting that Nuttall's memory is supposedly better now than it was closer to the events.

+1 procedural segment

Kerry Roberts — Direct (Part 1)

Kerry Roberts describes Karen Read's early-morning statements and the search with Jennifer McCabe that led them to 34 Fairview Road, where Read identified a snow-covered mound as John's location before Roberts could see it.

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Direct
Kerry Roberts Hank Brennan
549 lines

Kerry Roberts testified about her longtime friendship with John O'Keefe, rooted in their children's shared activities and her role helping him raise his niece and nephew after their parents died. She described being woken at 5:00 a.m. on January 29, 2022, by a screaming call from Karen Read stating 'John's dead,' followed by a second call in which Read said they had drunk heavily and she could not remember anything from the night before. Roberts called the Canton police non-emergency line and two hospitals searching for O'Keefe, then drove through the blizzard to Jennifer McCabe's house, where she noticed a missing piece of Read's Lexus tail light. The three women searched O'Keefe's home without finding him, then drove toward 34 Fairview Road, where Read screamed 'There he is' and ran to a snow-covered mound — which Roberts could not see from the car due to poor visibility. The testimony was interrupted at that point and continued the following day.

Trial 2 Day 2 ▶