In the days following John O’Keefe’s death, Matthew McCabe instructed witnesses among the closest to the Karen Read murder case to tell the media that “the guy never went in the house.”
The revelation came to the forefront at the end of McCabe’s fierce cross-examination from defense attorney David Yannetti on Day 14 of testimony in the Read murder trial.
Going into Friday, witnesses had mentioned they never saw O’Keefe, a 16-year Boston Police officer and Read’s boyfriend of two years, enter 34 Fairview Road in Canton. But screenshots of the message that McCabe sent to witnesses, which Yannetti presented to the jury, turned out to be a bombshell.
McCabe confirmed to Yannetti that “the guy” was O’Keefe.
“When you told the group to tell them the guy never went in the house,” Yannetti said. “That was you talking about how you all should get your stories straight, correct?”
“No,” McCabe said before he added “John never went in the house. It’s not a story. It’s a fact.”
McCabe sent the message to his wife, Jennifer McCabe, Jennifer’s sister, Nicole Albert, and Nicole’s husband, Brian Albert, on Feb. 1, 2022, just three days after O’Keefe died.
Brian Albert is one of the three people who the defense has suggested could have been involved in beating O’Keefe to death inside his house at 34 Fairview Road in Canton.
O’Keefe was found the morning of Jan. 29, 2022, either dead or dying on the front lawn of Albert’s property which he owned at the time with his wife. The defense has developed a third-party killer theory and has alleged a massive frame-up job used to ensnare their client.
The two other targets in the theory are Albert’s nephew, Colin Albert, then a senior in high school who appeared with bruised and cut-up knuckles weeks later, and Brian Higgins, an ATF agent who allegedly had a romantic connection with Read.
Colin and Brian Albert have testified they did not see O’Keefe enter the home that night. Higgins has yet to be called to the stand.
Jurors appeared to zero in on the intense exchange between Matthew McCabe and Yannetti.
In response to McCabe’s instruction, Brian Albert responded, “Exactly.”
“We’re done here,” Yannetti said as he wrapped up the cross-examination
Read, 44, of Mansfield, faces charges of second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter and leaving the scene of a collision causing O’Keefe’s death.
Prosecutors say that after a night out drinking, Read and O’Keefe argued, and she killed him by backing her Lexus SUV into him at high speed, leaving him to die in the cold during a major snowstorm.
Jennifer McCabe, during her testimony after her husband left the stand, reflected on the emotional and vivid moments when she, Read and Kerry Roberts in the back of a Canton police cruiser after O’Keefe’s body was found that cold, snowy January morning.
Yannetti unleashed his anger on Matthew McCabe when the husband tried to explain the location between Read’s SUV and Higgins’ Jeep earlier that morning, when the Alberts hosted an after-party for their son Brian Albert Jr.’s 23rd birthday.
“Is this funny? I’m sorry but we’re laughing,” Yannetti asked McCabe.
“This is not funny, sir,” McCabe said. “Not at all. It’s been two years of misery.”
Earlier this week, McCabe’s daughter Allison McCabe broke down in tears on the stand over “alleged harassment” she and her family have received during the case.
Emotion poured out when she confirmed investigators questioned her last year after the defense and supporters alleged Colin Albert played a part in John O’Keefe’s death.
“Colin wasn’t at the house when John was there … I drove him home,” McCabe said. “People are harassing him saying that he was at the house when it’s not true.”
During the emotional testimony Wednesday, prosecutor Adam Lally asked McCabe, “What if anything else has your family or Colin Albert and his family undergone over the course of … this case.” She responded, “Harassment.”
“Harassment, by whom,” Lally asked. “Bloggers, people online,” she responded.
“People showing up at our house, people emailing my school,” she said as she started to shed tears. “Just like a lot of … harassment.”
