A full day of testimony is expected Friday in the Karen Read murder trial after there was no court Thursday.
Murderous romance or frame job? Things to know so far in Karen Read murder trial
Brian Higgins, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent is expected to take the stand. He traveled back from a funeral with former Boston Police officer Brian Albert before going out together the night before John O’Keefe died.
In the final pretrial hearing, Defense attorney David Yannetti claimed Higgins “coaxed” O’Keefe to the Albert’s house. Yannetti also said Higgins destroyed his phone by changing his number and cell carrier after O’Keefe’s death, which Albert confirmed on the stand.
Higgins has already been seen in this trial at least once when a video from inside the Waterfall bar in Canton appeared to show Higgins and Albert getting into fighting stances. Albert testified that they were playing around.
Higgins was also the first person Albert called after learning of O’Keefe’s death but cell phone data presented as evidence showed Albert also called Higgins at 2:22 a.m. hours before O’Keefe’s body was found. Albert said he “inadvertently” made that call to Higgins during an “intimate situation” with his wife.
The Boston Herald is reporting the prosecution has put Higgins’ medical records on file in a notice of discovery. The report indicates it’s a five-page copy of his medical records but it’s unclear what they show or why they have been added to this case.
After a night out drinking at several bars, prosecutors say Read dropped O’Keefe off at a party at the Albert family’s home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton just after midnight and intentionally backed over him with her SUV in January 2022. It’s alleged that she drove away and returned hours later to find him in a snowbank.
The defense’s theory is that O’Keefe was actually beaten up inside the Albert home and dragged outside in a snowstorm and that the Albert family is at the center of an effort to frame Read.
Read, 44, of Mansfield, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder in O’Keefe’s death.
The trial resumes at 9 a.m.
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