# Killing of John O'Keefe

In the early morning hours of January 29, 2022, Boston Police Department Officer John O'Keefe was found dead outside the home of Boston Police Officer Brian Albert in Canton, Massachusetts. O'Keefe had been dropped off at a party the night before by his girlfriend, Karen Read, who was subsequently arrested and charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide, and leaving the scene of a deadly crash. Prosecutors allege that Read hit Officer O'Keefe with her SUV and left the scene.
Read's criminal trial resulted in a mistrial on July 1, 2024 due to a hung jury; a second trial is set to begin on April 1, 2025.
The case has attracted national attention and significant controversy due to ambiguous evidence at the scene and numerous non-standard methods of evidence collection by Canton police and Massachusetts State Police as well as the involvement of multiple witnesses affiliated with the Boston Police Department. Read's defense team alleges that O'Keefe was beaten to death inside Albert's home by another guest or guests at the party, and that the witnesses have used their resources as police officers to taint the investigation and frame Read.

## Background

John J. O'Keefe, III, nicknamed "JJ" or "Johnny" (born December 8, 1975), grew up in Braintree, Massachusetts and graduated from Braintree High School and Northeastern University. He also earned a master's degree in criminal justice from UMass Lowell and had lived in Canton since 2014, where he was raising his niece and nephew following his sister and brother-in-law's deaths. O'Keefe was a 16-year veteran of the Boston Police Department. John O'Keefe's former partner, the deceased Pat Rogers, was featured on the reality television show, Boston's Finest. Rogers' then-girlfriend Laura Sullivan, who had a child with him, was also long-time friends with John; she met Karen during a trip to Aruba and testified as a witness for the Commonwealth. John's brother Paul, also a witness for the Commonwealth, was Captain and Quarterback of the Stonehill College Football team and teammates with Lieutenant Brian Tully, Michael Proctor's supervisor at the Norfolk Country District Attorney Mass State Police Investigative Unit.
Karen A. Read (born 1980) grew up in Taunton, Massachusetts and also in Blacksburg, Virginia. She graduated from Coyle & Cassidy, a private Catholic school in Taunton, and went to Bentley University where she graduated with a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree in finance. She had been a financial analyst at Fidelity Investments since 2007, and was an adjunct professor at Bentley University. Read lived in Mansfield at the time of O'Keefe's death. O'Keefe and Read began dating in 2020.
Brian Albert, owner of the Canton home outside of which O'Keefe was found dead, is a retired Boston Police Sergeant, last assigned to BPD Fugitive Unit until his retirement on September 4, 2023. He was also featured on 2013 reality television series Boston's Finest. His brothers are Chris Albert, who serves on the Canton Select Board and owns a pizzeria in Canton, and Kevin Albert, who serves in the Canton Police Department as a detective. In June 2024, Kevin was suspended from Canton Police pending an internal investigation based on phone text conversations with Michael Proctor that became public record during the cross-examination of Michael Proctor's testimony. Kevin was alleged by Proctor's text conversations to have lost his badge and gun while on duty after a night out drinking while on duty working a cold case on Cape Cod. Chris and his wife, Julie, and their son Colin, were neighbors with O'Keefe. The Albert family are also long-time friends with Michael Proctor, lead investigator on the case.
Brian Higgins, an ATF agent who was stationed out of the local Canton PD, and the nephew of Brian Albert, Collin Albert (son of Chris and Julie Albert) are also suspected to be involved in the actual murder of John at the Albert home on the night of January 28th 2022. It has been alleged that John's injuries are far more aligned with a fight, being hit in the face and or back of the head. Even the medical examiner has ruled his death undetermined and admitted in court John's body did not have injuries common to being hit by a large SUV. The defense claims that John was lured by Brian Higgins to the home at which time a fight broke out. As it turn out Brian Higgins was having a flirty text exchange with Karen Read up until and including the night of the murder, going back and forth about whether to date as Karen was unhappy with John, unsure whether to stay with him. Brian Higgins does not dispute the two had shared a kiss a week or so earlier and had been in text communication. The defense believes John went into the home on the night in question and was led to the basement where a fight broke out between Brian Higgins, possibly Collin Albert, and Brian Albert's dog Chloe. John also had unexplainable bite and scratch marks on his arm indicative of being attacked by a large dog that can not be accounted for otherwise. The Albert family owned a large German Shepherd named Chloe, who after 7 years with the family was promptly "re-homed" following John's death.
On the night of January 28, 2022, O'Keefe and Read visited two bars in Canton: C.F. McCarthy's and Waterfall Bar & Grille. At the second bar, they met up with several acquaintances including fellow police officer Brian Albert. Shortly after midnight Albert invited a group of people, including the couple, back to his home on Fairview Road in Canton.
The two drove to the home in Read's SUV. Read claims to have dropped O'Keefe off in front of the home and left because she wasn't feeling well.
A snow storm hit Canton in the early morning of January 29. Read reported that when she woke up the next day, O'Keefe had not returned home. After he did not respond to calls or texts, she contacted an acquaintance from that night, Jennifer McCabe, who agreed to join her and another woman, Kerry Roberts, in looking for him. The three women returned to Fairview Road in Roberts's vehicle, where they saw O'Keefe lying unresponsive in the snow. Read exited the car and began CPR. McCabe called 911 at approximately 6:04 am and Canton Police, Fire, and EMS responded to the scene.
O'Keefe was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton, where he was pronounced dead. A medical examiner later reported that O'Keefe had abrasions to his right arm, several lacerations to the face, two black eyes, and skull fractures which would have contributed to brain bleeding. They determined that hypothermia was a contributing factor to O'Keefe's death.
Read theorizes that O'Keefe was beaten inside the home, and his body was then left outside; however, there are 11 witness statements that say O'Keefe never entered the home.

## Investigation

Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael D. Proctor, of the Norfolk State Police Detective Unit, was the lead investigator for this case. He produced a series of written reports (Case # 2022-112-0033) to Detective Lieutenant Brian P. Tully of the Massachusetts State Police.
According to police, pieces of a cocktail glass and patches of blood were found alongside O'Keefe's body. They also found pieces of a broken taillight, said to match a broken light on Read's car.
Read was arrested on February 1, 2022. Her phone was taken into custody. She was charged with manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide, and leaving the scene of a collision in the lower Stoughton District Court on February 2, 2022.
In April 2023, Read's attorneys presented a theory that implicated Brian Albert, who owned the home outside of which O'Keefe was found dead, and his sister-in-law Jennifer McCabe, who had been drinking with Read and O'Keefe on January 28, and helped Read find O'Keefe's body the morning of January 29. Evidence showed that Brian Albert sold his house and got rid of his dog after the incident, and Jennifer McCabe made a Google search "hos[sic] long to die in cold" at 2:27 a.m.
In November 2023, residents of Canton voted to mount an independent investigation into the town's police department.
In January 2024, letters between the General Counsel for the Department of Justice and Norfolk District Attorney, Michael W. Morrissey, were released, confirming a federal investigation was mounted into the Norfolk District Attorney's office.
In March 2024, the Massachusetts State Police launched an internal investigation into the lead investigator in the case, Trooper Michael Proctor, due to potential violation of department policy, but have not said whether that investigation relates to a specific case.

## Court proceedings

On February 2, 2022, Read was arraigned in Stoughton District Court on charges of manslaughter, leaving the scene of a serious accident, and motor vehicle homicide. She pleaded not guilty and was released on $80,000 bail.
In June 2022, a Norfolk County grand jury indicted Read for second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter, and leaving the scene of a collision.
The case is being heard in Norfolk County Superior Court, with Judge Beverly J. Cannone presiding. The prosecution is led by Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey and Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally.
The defense is led by criminal defense attorneys David R. Yannetti, Alan Jackson, and Elizabeth Little. Jackson and Little are partners at a Los Angeles firm.
On March 12, 2024, Read's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case due to alleged conflicts of interest and federal crash reconstruction experts determining that O'Keefe's injuries were "inconsistent" with the damage to Read's car. The judge denied the motion on March 26 due to "extensive evidence supporting the indictments", such as O'Keefe's DNA being found on the broken taillight of Read's car.
In early April 2024, ahead of the trial date, the prosecutors filed a motion requesting special restrictions during the trial to keep demonstrations back at least 500 feet (150 m) from the courthouse to maintain an unbiased jury pool; Judge Cannone ruled that 500 feet was excessive, and ordered a 200-foot (61 m) buffer zone with no protesters allowed. This ruling came after the ACLU filed a memorandum opposing the prosecution's request, citing freedom of speech, and urged the court to consider more narrowly tailored restrictions. Read's attorney said the defense takes no position on the motion. The judge also approved the prosecution's request to prohibit anyone inside the courtroom from wearing any attire that says "Free Karen Read" and also prohibit law enforcement officers, whether they be testifying or attending the trial, from wearing their uniforms. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court approved the judge's ruling, and on May 2 formally approved the buffer zone. The SJC ruled that the Judge "struck a balance between the right to protest or demonstrate and the defendant's right to a fair trial".

## Trial

Read's first trial started on April 16, 2024, with the jury selection, which was completed on April 24. Prosecutors previously asked the Judge to block Read's lawyers from arguing that others are to blame for O'Keefe's death, also known as third-party culprit defense. The judge instead offered the defense a chance to develop their argument through "relevant, competent, admissible evidence", but still barred them from using the third-party culprit defense during opening statements.
On April 28, the prosecutors and the defense presented opening statements. Prosecutors outlined circumstantial evidence that pointed to Read's guilt, while the defense told jurors that Read is being framed and that O'Keefe was beaten and attacked by a dog inside the home of another Boston police officer.
Commonwealth rested the case on June 21, 2024, after eight weeks of testimony from 68 witnesses. Defense completed its list of witnesses and rested the case on June 24. Closing arguments were delivered on June 25 and jury deliberation started on the same day.
On July 1, after 25 hours of deliberation, the jury was unable to come to a unanimous decision. Judge Cannone declared a mistrial.
Read's second trial is scheduled for April 1, 2025. Hank Brennan, Whitey Bulger's former defense lawyer, will lead the prosecution.

### Testimony

* List of witnesses called by the Commonwealth
* Paul O'Keefe, O'Keefe's brother.
* Erin O'Keefe, O'Keefe's sister-in-law.
* Steve Saraf, first police officer on scene, Canton Police Officer.
* Matthew Kelly, Canton firefighter and paramedic.
* Lt. Anthony Flematti, Canton firefighter and EMT.
* Frank Walsh, Canton firefighter
* Katie McLaughlin, Canton firefighter and paramedic, acquaintance of Caitlin Albert
* Paul Gallagher, crime scene officer, Canton Police Lieutenant
* Sean Goode, crime scene officer, Canton Police Sergeant
* Michael Lank, investigating officer, Canton Police Sergeant
* Nicholas Kolokithas, friend of O'Keefe
* Karina Kolokithas, friend of O'Keefe
* Rebecca Trayers, bartender at the Waterfall Bar & Grille
* Curt Roberts, mutual friend of Read and O'Keefe
* Michael Camerano, friend of O'Keefe
* Katherine Camerano, friend of O'Keefe
* Brian Albert Jr., son of Brian Albert, celebrated birthday at house party
* Julianna "Julie" Nagel, friend of Brian Albert Jr.
* Sara Levinson, friend of Brian Albert Jr.
* Ryan Nagel, brother of Julianna Nagel
* Heather Maxon, Ryan Nagel's girlfriend
* Richard D'Antuono, driver of Ryan and Heather on the night of the incident
* Tristin Morris, Caitlin Albert's boyfriend
* Caitlin Albert, daughter of Brian Albert
* Brian Albert, owner of house
* Nicole Albert, wife of Brian Albert
* Chris Albert, brother of Brian Albert, Canton Select Board member, neighbor of John O’Keefe
* Julie Albert, wife of Chris Albert
* Colin Albert, son of Chris and Julie Albert
* Allison McCabe, daughter of Jen McCabe
* Matt McCabe, brother-in-law of Brian Albert, husband of Jen McCabe
* Jen McCabe, sister-in-law of Brian Albert, wife of Matt McCabe
* Brian Higgins, ATF agent, friend of Brian Albert
* Kerry Roberts, friend of O'Keefe
* Laura Sullivan, O'Keefe's friend who were on the Aruba trip in December 2021 with Read and O'Keefe
* Marietta Sullivan, Laura's sister, who were on the same trip to Aruba
* O'Keefe's niece and nephew, who were on the Aruba trip
* Trooper Michael Proctor, Massachusetts State Police trooper, acquaintance of the Albert family
* Yuri Bukhenik, Massachusetts State Police trooper
* Jessica Hyde, digital forensics examiner
* Ian Whiffin, forensics software expert from Cellebrite
* Detective Lt. Brian Tully, State Police Detective Supervisor
* Lt. Kevin O'Hara, Team Commander, Massachusetts State Police SERT
* Sgt. Brian Gallerani, Needham Police Sergeant, DNA Sample Collector
* Nicholas Bradford, DNA Analyst, Bode Technology
* Tess Chart, DNA Analyst, Bode Technology
* Andre Porto, Forensic Scientist, Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab
* Maureen Hartnett, Forensic Scientist, Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab She also testified that no DNA testing was ever done on the two swabs taken from the Solo cups.
* Ashley Vallier, Forensic Scientist, Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab
* Sgt. Nicholas Barros, Dighton Police Sergeant
* Sgt. Yuriy Bukhenik, Massachusetts State Police
* Trooper Michael Proctor, Massachusetts State Police
* Trooper Joseph Paul, Crash Analyst, Massachusetts State Police
* Trooper Nicholas Guarino, Cellphone Data Analyst, Massachusetts State Police
* Justin Rice, Emergency Room Doctor, Good Samaritan Hospital
* Nicholas Roberts, Alcohol Testing Member, Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab
* Dr. Renee Stonebridge, Medical Examiner
* Dr. Irini Scordi-Bello, Medical Examiner
* List of witnesses called by the Defense
* Brian (Lucky) Loughran, Snow Plow Driver
* Richard Green, Forensic Expert
* Dr. Frank Sheridan, Retired Forensic Pathologist and Former Chief Medical Examiner
* Dr. Marie Russell, Retired Emergency Room Physician and Forensic Pathologist
* Dr. Daniel Wolfe, Accident Reconstruction Expert, ARCCA
* Dr. Andrew Rentschler, Biomechanics Expert, ARCCA
The prosecution argued that Karen Read intentionally ran over her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, with her SUV after a night of heavy drinking on January 29, 2022. They presented the pieces of Read’s broken taillight were found at the scene, suggesting her vehicle was involved in the incident, and a hair from O’Keefe was found on Read’s car, indicating contact between her car and O’Keefe. Multiple witnesses reported hearing Read say “I hit him” several times after O’Keefe was discovered. Testimonies highlighted the couple’s troubled relationship, including an argument during the couple’s trip to Aruba in December 2021, and angry texts and voicemails on the night of January 29. The prosecution noted Read’s behavior on the morning O’Keefe’s body was found, and the Commonwealth’s experts testified about the injuries sustained by O’Keefe, which were consistent with being struck by a vehicle.
The defense argued that Karen Read was being framed as part of a law enforcement coverup to protect the real perpetrators, suggesting that O’Keefe was beaten inside the house of another Boston police officer, Brian Albert, and then left outside to die in the snow. The defense highlighted the close relationships between the lead investigator, Trooper Michael Proctor, and the Albert family, suggesting bias and a conflict of interest and arguing that these relationships compromised the investigation. The defense exposed the lack of integrity of the investigation, highlighting the use of Solo cups and Stop & Shop grocery bags during evidence collection and the inappropriate text messages about Read between Trooper Proctor and his coworkers. The defense showed Read’s taillight intact after midnight on January 29, in contrast to the evidence of shattered taillight, accusing the investigators of planting evidence. The defense argued that the injuries on O’Keefe’s body was not consistent with a car collision, which was confirmed by a number of experts.
A mistrial was declared by the judge on July 1, 2024, due to the jury being deadlocked after several days of deliberations. After writing twice to the Judge that they could not reach a verdict, the jury sent a final note, writing that "fundamental differences" in their beliefs made it impossible to reach a unanimous verdict.

### Post-trial motions

Read's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss two of the charges, second-degree murder and leaving the scene of an accident, saying that several jurors have reached out after the mistrial was declared. They indicated that the jury found Read not guilty on both of these charges. Martin G. Weinberg, a new attorney for the defense, argued for dismissal of the charges. On August 23, Judge Beverly Cannone denied the motion to dismiss the charges. Read's attorneys have filed an appeal to Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and also requested the federal court to drop two of the charges. Both requests were denied.

## Civil lawsuit

On August 23, 2024, the O'Keefe family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Read and two bars in Canton, Massachusetts. They accused Read of hitting and killing O'Keefe and alleged the bars overserved her. In the civil case, Read is represented by three civil lawyers from the Boston law firm Melick & Porter, LLP.

## Impact

In August 2023, a Massachusetts citizen ballot initiative was proposed to add recall elections to the Massachusetts Constitution in response to Norfolk County District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey's perceived corruption in the case.
The case has caused divisions in Canton, as town residents have debated whether O'Keefe was killed by Read, or whether Read was framed by the police. Social tensions and old family feuds have reportedly been inflamed by the case.
In July 2023, a "rolling rally" of around 50 cars in support of the coverup theory drove through Canton, stopping at the homes of key figures relating to the case and protesting with a bullhorn.
In November 2023, Canton held a Special Town Meeting where residents voted in favor (903–800) of an independent audit of the Canton Police Department due to the ongoing investigation of this case.

### Impact on Read's supporters

Local blogger Aidan Kearney, nicknamed Turtleboy, has covered the case extensively on his website under the headline "Canton Coverup" since the defense released their affidavit in April 2023. The case had received little media attention until Kearney started covering the case. Kearney would go to Canton and film himself confronting witnesses, and post the videos on YouTube. Kearney was indicted on "eight counts of witness intimidation, three counts of conspiracy to intimidate witnesses, and five counts of picketing a witness" in December 2023. In February 2024, he was also indicted on two new charges of harassing a witness and intercepting wire or oral communication. Kearney pleaded not guilty to all those charges, citing freedom of speech.
Before the last week of the trial, Kearney was dining with his girlfriend at C.F. McCarthy’s, one of the bars O’Keefe and Read went to. He got into a heated confrontation outside with a few people, one of them was close to the Alberts and the Proctors. Two were charged with assault and battery of the blogger. Shortly after the trial ended, Kearney also found a dead turtle hanging outside his parents' home in Worcester, and the local police are investigating the incident as harassment and animal cruelty.
Three Canton residents and Read’s supporters, who have spoken at Canton select board meetings calling for accountability, saw their lawn vandalized with bleach-filled balloons.

### Repercussions for witnesses

Following the mistrial declared on July 1, 2024, Trooper Proctor was relieved of duty and formally transferred out of the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office State Police Detective's Unit due to sending inappropriate and offensive text messages about Read to family and friends. Trooper Proctor was suspended without pay on July 8, 2024. In March 2025, he was fired by Massachusetts State Police after being found guilty of unsatisfactory performance and violating policy on alcoholic beverages by a state police trial board.
On July 10, 2024, Canton Police placed Det. Kevin Albert on leave based on testimony from the trial.

## In popular media

In July 2024, Netflix announced a new three-part documentary is currently in production. 20/20 released an episode about the case in September 2024. Dateline NBC aired an episode on the case on October 18, 2024. A ten-part narrative podcast series, 34 Fairview Road, was released October 17, 2024.

## Connection to other cases

Lawyer of Brian Walshe, the Cohasset man accused of murdering his wife Ana, said he would file a motion naming Proctor, suspecting that Proctor's bias played a role in his client's case.
Sandra Birchmore, a 23-year-old woman from Stoughton, was found dead in her Canton apartment in February 2021. Her death was initially ruled a suicide, but later federal prosecutors contradicted initial findings by local authorities, alleging foul play was involved. Matthew Farwell, detective with the Stoughton Police Department, allegedly groomed her and had a sexual relationship with her when she was underage, and eventually impregnated her in 2020; Farwell then tried to silence her by strangling her to death and staged her death as a suicide while a snow storm hit the area. Birchmore's case draws parallel to O'Keefe's death investigation as federal intervention in both cases led to different conclusions from state prosecutors.