Advertisem*nt
On Thursday, defense lawyer Alan Jackson will begin his cross-examination of Colin Albert, Brian Albert’s nephew who was present at the Fairview home on the night of Jan. 28 and who testified Wednesday that he left the residence at 12:10 a.m., some 20 minutes or so before prosecutors say Read dropped O’Keefe off.
The defense has alleged that Colin Albert, a rising college junior, was one of the people involved in the fatal beating of O’Keefe.
On Wednesday, prosecutors displayed a photo of Colin Albert with his aunt at a family gathering on Feb. 11, 2022, about two weeks after O’Keefe’s death, showing him with no discernible injuries.
Jurors also heard from Allison McCabe, a witness who testified that she picked up Colin Albert from the Fairview Road home and dropped him off at his family’s home before returning to her own residence around 12:30 a.m.
On cross-examination, Yannetti referenced phone records indicating she left her home and drove to Canton High School at one point, returning home again at 1:32 a.m., but she told prosecutor Adam Lally that the timestamps on the Life 360 app the defense relied on may not be accurate. Lally noted that the data at one point placed her at home and at Canton High within a two-minute span, a physical impossibility.
Advertisem*nt
Here’s a rundown of the witnesses who has testified so far in the high-profile case.
Here’s how the day’s testimony unfolded.
12:45 p.m. — Matthew McCabe continues his testimony
He said he brushed snow off his vehicle before he and his wife and two of Brian Jr.’s friends left the Canton home. As they drove up the street, he was not looking to the side of the road, he said. He said he did not see anything in the front yard.
One of Brian Jr.’s friends in the car testified previously that she saw a “black blob” five to six feet long on the front lawn as they drove away.
Matt McCabe said he and his wife remained awake for a time when they got home, talking briefly about one of their daughter’s basketball tryouts before he went to bed. In the morning, he said, “I woke up to screams in my bedroom.”
Cannone suspended testimony for the day shortly before 1 p.m. Lally will resume his questioning of Matt McCabe on Friday morning.
12:30 p.m. — “Thought it was weird that they hadn’t come in,” Matthew McCabe testifies of Read and O’Keefe.
Advertisem*nt
He said he and his wife got to the Fairview Road home around 12:20 a.m. They left around 1:45 a.m.
“Everybody was hanging out” at the house, McCabe said. “Normal.”
He said he observed no tension or arguments in the home. Music was playing and people “were just having a good time,” he said.
McCabe said he “never saw” Colin Albert at the house. Asked if he saw anyone go upstairs or down to the basem*nt at any point, McCabe said he did not.
He said he and his wife offered to drive two friends of Brian Jr. home from the party.
At one point, he said, someone mentioned that another vehicle was out in the front of the house. McCabe said he looked out a window and saw “a big SUV parked in front of the house.” Read was driving her dark-colored SUV that night.
“If you came out that front door, pretty much right in front,” McCabe said when asked to locate the SUV in relation to the house.
“I looked out again because it had been a few minutes,” McCabe said. “We thought it was weird they hadn’t come into the house.”
This time, the SUV had moved farther up the road, closer to the flagpole in the front yard, he said.
“Thought it was weird that they hadn’t come in,” he said of Read and O’Keefe.
He said he was “just looking out” and thinking “what the hell are they doing?”
Advertisem*nt
He said he looked out a third time and the SUV “had now proceeded further up the road ... past the Albert’s residence and a little further up.”
The SUV had moved about “30, 40 feet” when he looked out the third time, McCabe said, but he added that “I’d be guessing.”
At some point, he said, he noticed tire marks in a “weird wave in the road.”
“Do you know which vehicle left those abnormal tire marks you saw?” Lally said.
He said his “assumption” would be the SUV based on where the tire marks were but he didn’t know.
11:45 a.m. — The next witness is Matthew McCabe, the husband of Jennifer McCabe, who was with Karen Read when she discovered John O’Keefe’s body in the snow.
Her sister is Nicole Albert, who lived at the Fairview Road home where O’Keefe body was found near the road. Matt and Jennifer McCabe were part of the group of people who were at the Waterfall bar on Jan. 28, 2022, and later came back to the Fairview residence early on Jan. 29.
Matthew McCabe testified he and his wife went to the Waterfall bar, where they met his wife’s sister, niece, and others.
“Everybody at the table to my recollection was drinking” at the Waterfall, he said. “I was drinking vodka with water and a splash of Crystal Light.”
He noticed no signs of intoxication on anyone, he said.
He said he had “at least three” drinks at the bar, where he stayed for “a little over three hours,” before the group left shortly after midnight.
Advertisem*nt
Read and O’Keefe joined the group around 11 p.m., he said.
McCabe said he had met O’Keefe when he “started to be the caretaker for his niece and nephew” after their parents died.
“We had a good relationship,” he said, adding that his wife “was very involved with helping him out,” and he and his wife both coached O’Keefe’s niece in youth sports.
“John was, in essence, acting as a mother and a father,” McCabe said.
McCabe said one of his daughter was very close with O’Keefe’s niece.
McCabe said he first met Read in the summer of 2020.
O’Keefe specifically wanted Jen McCabe to meet Read, since both women have Multiple sclerosis and he thought they would benefit from speaking with each other, Matt McCabe said.
“I would also see her at sporting events” for the kids, he said. “I would see Karen around.”
Prosecutor Adam Lally asked if O’Keefe ever spoke about his relationship with Read. McCabe said it was not something they discussed.
On Jan. 28 at the Waterfall, O’Keefe and Read exchanged “typical” greetings with everyone when they arrived, he said.
O’Keefe was wearing a baseball cap, shirt, and jeans. He observed no injuries to O’Keefe.
“I believe he was drinking Bud Light beer,” McCabe said.
Read was drinking “a clear liquid” he assumed was a vodka beverage.
At some point, McCabe said that he learned Brian Albert Jr. “chose to stay home” on his birthday” and “had a couple friends over at the house” on Fairview Road.
“Everybody was just having a good time” at the Waterfall, McCabe said. “Just a normal evening.”
He said he observed no fighting between Read and O’Keefe at the bar.
McCabe said he spoke with them both at the bar. He said O’Keefe was excited about his niece’s acceptance to Bishop Feehan High School.
Read “made a reference to myself, asking how Jen and I do it, with the four girls.” He said Read told him “you guys look happy” and he joked, “well, we’re at a bar.”
He said Brian Albert Sr. and his wife “extended an invite to the table” to come back to their house to greet his son on his birthday.
There was also discussion about going to a pizza shop owned by Brian Albert’s brother Chris, with Read bringing up the topic multiple times, McCabe said.
As they were leaving the bar, O’Keefe texted his wife asking for directions to Fairview Road, McCabe testified. She called him back.
O’Keefe called again a few minutes later, McCabe said. Read and O’Keefe didn’t know where the right house was on Fairview, so his wife told him it was near the home of another family he knew.
He said O’Keefe replied, “OK, great, we’re on our way.”
McCabe said he didn’t recall hearing Read in the background.
It took just a few minutes to get from the bar to the Alberts’ house, McCabe said. There he saw Caitlin Albert, her brother Brian, Brian Albert and his wife Nicole, Brian Albert’s friend Brian Higgins, and two of Brian Jr.’s friends. Everyone had congregated in the kitchen and dining room area.
11:30 a.m. — Colin Albert testifies on redirect
Albert told prosecutor Adam Lally on redirect that he has seen Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in the Read case, “maybe five, six times” in his life.
”Other than when I got interviewed last time ... other than that, I didn’t see him for years, I wanna say,” Albert said. “I could have seen him at a football game or something.”
He said “we’ve been over the grandmother’s house a couple times,” which is normally where he would see Proctor.
He told Lally he was “8 or 9 maybe” when he was a ring bearer at Michael Proctor’s sister’s wedding.
Asked if he had any memory of the wedding, Albert said “none.”
He said his mother is friendly with Courtney Proctor but “not really close with Michael.”
Albert also told Lally he switches communication platforms with “all my friends,” not just Allison McCabe.
He told Lally it was normal to go a month without texting her via iMessage.
Albert said the Feb. 26 photo in which his knuckles are injured was taken after a Feb. 11 photo in which no injuries are visible. The Feb. 11 photo was taken with his aunt at a family gathering.
Albert also told Lally he does not wrap his hands when he hits a heavy bag.
In the threatening videos, he told Lally that he’s “around” 16.
”Advantage club hockey team,” Albert said when asked to identify who he was addressing in the clips.
He said he wasn’t sure where the team was located. The videos were made during “an argument going back and forth” in which the club hockey players were calling his friends names by text.
He told Lally the argument developed when “the girls in our friend group” hung out with some of the club hockey players and some of his male friends “got a little salty about it.”
Asked if there was ever a physical altercation with the hockey players, Albert said, “nope.”
”You ever threaten John O’Keefe?” Lally asked.
“Never,” Albert said.
He said O’Keefe had never threatened him either and there was no animosity between them. Lally asked Albert to explain what was being written about him online.
Albert said people were “coming at my family, calling us murderers.”
“We couldn’t leave the house without people taking pictures of us, and it’s very terrible,” he said.
Lally asked Albert if he saw O’Keefe go inside the Fairview Road home at any point when he was there on Jan. 28 into the Jan. 29.
“Never,” Albert said.
11:20 a.m. — Jury shown video of Colin Albert threatening others in high school
With jurors back in the courtroom, Albert told Jackson that he has never been in a fight.
Jackson then played the video in which Albert tells the “Advantage” boys that he would “[expletive]” them up.
He told Jackson it was taken his sophom*ore year but Jackson noted he had previously testified it was shot his junior or senior year.
”What did you mean by ‘I’m gonna [expletive] you up?’” Jackson said.
”That I’m going to beat them up,” Albert said.
”But you’ve never been in a fight,” Jackson said.
“Never,” Albert said.
Jackson played the second video where Albert says “you’re a [expletive] bro” and “KO” and “bang bang.”
”What’s KO mean?” Jackson said.
“Knockout,” Albert said.
Jackson asked if he was issuing a threat in that clip and he said “yes.”
Jackson asked if he was threatening to “ball up your fist and beat the heck out of them?“
”Yes,” Albert said.
He told Jackson his knuckles were cut again when he testified in prior proceedings in July 2023. At the time, he indicated the cuts came from hitting a heavy bag.
The lawyers went to sidebar before prosecutor Adam Lally’s redirect.
10:40 a.m. — Colin Albert questioned with jurors out of the courtroom
Videos were played of Colin Albert issuing profane, violent threats. Lawyers for Read want to show the jury the videos to suggest that Albert had a violent streak. Prosecutors are objecting.
Albert said he believed they were shot during his sophom*ore year in high school.
”What did you actually say?” Jackson said.
”That I will [expletive] them up,” Albert said.
”That was a threat, correct?” Jackson asked.
Albert, who says on the same video clip “I will beat your ass,” said he wouldn’t necessarily consider it a threat.
”Were you threatening them with violence?” Jackson said.
”Kind of, yeah,” Albert said.
In a second video, Albert says “pull up, [expletive]” and “bang bang.” He said the remarks were directed to a group identified as the “Advantage” kids. That second video may have been shot the same night, Albert said.
”You do like to fight, don’t you?” Jackson asked.
“Nope,” Albert said.
Jackson asked if Albert’s fist was injured in July 2023 when he testified in prior proceedings.
”You were asked questions by the questioner about the physical condition of your fists weren’t you?” Jackson said.
“Correct,” Albert said.
That’s because “you had open injuries” to the fist “yet again,” Jackson said.
“Correct,” Albert said.
Jackson noted Albert said in that testimony that he probably injured his hand hitting a heavy bag.
”You’re punching the bag with both hands,” Jackson said.
“I’m not sure,” Albert said.
Prosecutor Adam Lally asked Albert how old he was when the videos were shot. Albert said he was 16.
He said the videos were shot a couple years before January 2022. He told Lally the “Advantage” kids were on a “club hockey team” whose members had been “name-calling me and my friends” via text.”
Albert said he did not play hockey at the time. He said he didn’t know where the other group was from and there was “never” a physical or even face-to-face interaction.
Lally asked if Albert or O’Keefe ever exchanged threats and Albert said “never.”
10:30 a.m. — Colin Albert questioned about injury to his hand, asked if had “ever been in a fight before.”
Read lawyer Alan Jackson showed Albert a photo taken at Fenway Johnnie’s on Feb. 26, 2022.
In the photo Colin has his arms around two friends and cuts are visible on his right knuckles.
”It’s cut up,” Colin Albert said of his hand.
”Less than a month after the incident at Fairview, that’s what your right knuckles looked like, correct?” Jackson said.
“Correct,” he said.
Albert said he was walking up an icy driveway at a house party and fell, injuring his hand.
Jackson asked if Albert braced himself by clenching his fist to prepare for the fall on asphalt and he said “Correct.“
”Seriously?” Jackson asked.
“Ever been in a fight before?” he asked.
”Other than with my brothers, no,” Albert said.
”Never hurt your knuckles in a fight,” Jackson said.
“No,” Albert said.
He said he didn’t remember when asked if he suffered any other injuries in the fall.
”Just your right knuckles,” Jackson said.
Yes, Albert replied. He told Jackson he has “never” boxed but “hit the bag for like, cardio.”
“But other than that, no,” he said.
10:15 a.m. — Read lawyer Alan Jackson presses Colin Albert on text messages with Allison McCabe
Jackson asked Albert if Allison McCabe was “one of your best friends,” and Albert said “correct.”
He told Jackson texting is common among him and his friends.
“That’s generally how you like to communicate with Ally,” Jackson said.
“I’d say so, yeah,” Albert said.
Jackson showed a text exchange on the monitor that Albert and McCabe shared late on Jan. 28 and early on Jan. 29 about her giving him a ride home from the Fairview Road home.
Jackson noted a monthlong gap in Albert’s texts to Allison McCabe after Jan. 29, 2022.
“You were aware that you had been at your uncle’s house that night,” Jackson said, referring to Brian Albert.
“Correct,” Albert said.
“You and Ally didn’t text each other ... one time for at least a month” afterward, Jackson said.
“I don’t think that’s correct,” Albert said, noting that he and Allison McCabe communicate on various electronic platforms.
Jackson asked Albert if his Snapchat account was set to “auto delete” after sending messages.
Albert said he wasn’t certain.
Jackson asked if Albert switched platforms or deleted texts to conceal any exchanges he had with Allison McCabe in the weeks after O’Keefe’s death.
Albert said no.
“Michael Proctor [the lead investigator on the case] did not get the actual texts underlying the screenshot” of the texts indicating McCabe picked up Albert at 12:10 a.m., Jackson said.
“No,” Albert said, adding that Proctor did not ask to perform a forensic extraction of the data on his phone.
Jackson said Albert provided “just the screenshot, not the actual texts.”
“Correct,” Albert said.
Jackson asked if he recalled telling State Police last fall that he no longer had the screen shot but had given it to his father.
Albert said he didn’t remember.
“Do you remember anything?” about the case, Jackson asked.
Judge Cannone sustained a prosecution objection.
Albert said “I’m not sure” when Jackson asked why he gave State Police just a screen shot of the text exchange with McCabe rather than the actual phone.
Switching gears, Jackson then asked about a night Colin Albert spent with friends at Fenway Johnnies, a restaurant near the ballpark, in late February 2022.
The lawyers then went to sidebar.
9:50 a.m. — Colin Albert continues to testify
Read lawyer Alan Jackson asked if prosecutor Adam Lally asked Albert in preparation for his testimony about “any fights you’ve ever been in.”
“Nope,” Albert said.
Albert said he has been to the home of Courtney Proctor, whose brother Michael Proctor is the lead investigator on the Read case, a handful of times. Courtney Proctor has close ties to the Albert family, according to previous testimony.
He told Jackson he was the ring bearer in Courtney Proctor’s wedding as a child about 10 years ago.
Jackson presented Albert with a photograph from the wedding that included him and Michael Proctor.
“How long have you known Michael Proctor?” Jackson asked.
“Since I was a little kid,” Albert said.
“You consider the Proctor family close to your family,” Jackson said.
“Yeah,” Albert said.
Jackson asked if he felt it was “a special honor” to be in the wedding party.
“I’d say so, yeah,” Albert said.
He told Jackson that Canton police never interviewed him and State Police interviewed him once. Jackson asked if that was in July 2023, and Albert initially said he didn’t remember before saying the interview occurred “around there.”
He then confirmed the date when Jackson showed him a police report.
“Michael Proctor and one of his partners, I believe” conducted the interview, Albert said.
Jackson asked if he recalled testifying previously that the interview lasted roughly 10 minutes.
“No,” Albert said.
Jackson asked if Proctor was “antagonistic or confrontational” during the interview.
“Can you use different words, please?” Albert said.
Jackson clarified that he was asking if Proctor was being hostile or accusatory or “mean” during the interview.
“You didn’t feel like you were on the hot seat,” Jackson said.
“No,” Albert said.
He told Jackson that Proctor did not look through or take his phone.
“He just let you walk out the door,” Jackson said.
“Correct,” Albert said.
9:30 a.m. — Colin Albert begins testimony under cross-examination
Read attorney Alan Jackson asked Albert, a 20-year-old student at Bridgewater State University, who he spoke with to prepare for his testimony Wednesday.
”My lawyer,” Albert said.
”You didn’t speak to your parents?” Jackson asked.
“No,” Albert said.
Asked if he had spoken with prosecutor Adam Lally before Wednesday, Albert said he had about a month ago.
”I got prepped for this,” Albert said. He said they discussed “the questions I would be asked here.”
He told Jackson he didn’t remember what questions Lally said he would ask at trial and how he indicated he would answer.
Asked how long he’s been thinking about the case, Albert said he had been doing so “since people started writing things about me on the Internet.”
He said the meeting with Lally and a State Police official lasted about 15 minutes.
”Did they give you any instructions about the preparation of your testimony — how they wanted you to answer questions?” Jackson asked.
“No,” Albert said.
He told Jackson he hasn’t watched any coverage of the case online.
”I don’t have social media,” Albert said.
”According to you, you know zero about the media coverage concerning this case,” Jackson said.
“Correct,” Albert said.
He said he doesn’t remember the last time he spoke with Allison McCabe, who testified Wednesday that she picked him up from the Fairview residence around 12:10 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2022. Jackson asked if he was instructed to say “I don’t remember” if he got nervous answering tough questions.
“No,” Albert said.
”You just literally don’t remember,” Jackson said.
“Correct,” Albert said.
But he does remember leaving Fairview at 12:10 a.m. “down to the minute,” Jackson said.
“Correct,” Albert said. He told Jackson he met Lally and the State Police official at the district attorney’s office about a month ago.
Jackson asked if his parents asked how the meeting went afterward. Albert said they did not.
”According to you, this never comes up in the Albert household,” Jackson said.
“No,” Albert said.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.
