MA - Professor Karen Read, 43, charged with murdering police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe by hitting him with car, Canton, 14 Apr 2023 #5

[housewife]

The snow plow time is approximate. I'm not sure if the police ever checked GPS for the plow, but my guess is they did not. Because that would have been a normal investigative thing to do.

But I think it's safe to say whenever Lucky the Plow Guy first went by, John was still in the house, as Lucky has been emphatic he would have seen a body. The McCabes left Fairview at around 1:30 am and dropped off their two passengers locally, so Jen was home before 2:27. As far as we know, Jen didn't have further communication with anyone in the house, so her googling would have been in anticipation of the plan to dump him that had been discussed before she left Fairview.

To your point, did she have had some concerns that this plan might not work? That John might not die quickly, or be found too soon and somehow survive and tell? Was it her anxiety over this what caused her to stupidly google "hos long to die in the cold"?

After Matt McCabe left, the only other man in the house aside from BH was BH Jr., who suffers from severe anxiety (testimony). Colin and Higgins were already gone. I think this is why young and able-bodied Tristan Morris (now Caitlyn Albert's fiancé) was called to come to the house around 3 am, despite the fact that he'd gone home early in anticipation of working soon. Not only could he help BH move a heavy body out of the basement through the bulkhead, past the gate and to the front yard, but his vehicle could be used to block anyone from seeing what was going on from the road. This is the vehicle Lucky saw on his second pass. Even if Tristan had opted to not park in the driveway, there was zero reason for any vehicle to be parked in front of the area of the flag pole.

I also think he and Caitlyn Albert took Chloe home with them when they left to return to Easton.

Was Brian Albert still in the house, also? After Matt McCabe left?

 

[Wishbone]

Keep in mind that the defense doesn't have investigatory power. They can't call witnesses in and question them. Nor can they subpoena phones and other records without the judge's approval. And in this case, the judge denied pretty much every one of their motions to gather more evidence. (Usually it's the prosecution which wants all the evidence they can gather, but in this case the DA was opposed to that.) Without being able to investigate the crime fully, it's impossible for the defense to present a fully-formed theory complete with evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that someone else did it.

The only reason we know as much as we do is because the Feds became interested. And the Feds couldn't care less about what some state judge thinks is relevant. They have their own subpoena power. Unfortunately by that time a lot of records were deleted or destroyed.

As an aside, I always wondered why the two Brians gave that ridiculous excuse about near-simultaneous butt-dials. Why not just say that BA called BH to see he got home safely. Or that BA thought he had left his water bottle in BH's car during the drive home from NYC. I only realized why during this week's testimony. The Feds had obtained their phone records without their knowledge and surprised them by asking about the calls during the Federal grand jury. So they panicked and claimed it was a butt dial.

You really did your homework. Great post.

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

No, defense has to prove that the prosecution can’t get their story straight, that’s enough for reasonable doubt.
Not the other way around.

And if they want to prove that, they should get their story straight.

 

[LvsAMystry]

It was mentioned during testimony yesterday, when A Jackson questioned Higgins on the first legit interview with him conducted by Proctor and Bukenick...which happened on Feb 3rd, 2022. Q: 'Where was that interview held?" A : "Sharon MA''. Q: " It wasn't at any Legal Office or Police station, was it?". A: "No"

Now, in re-watching testimony, and realizing that some Medical Records of B Higgins were recently obtained, it is my opinion that Higgins planted himself in a Rehab facility in Sharon. Obviously, after his drinking issues/ black out history/ anger issues with a 10 year old nephew over a video game..noted . But, to me? This guy had some serious guilt issues when it came to reality smacking him in the face. What did he do on the early morning hours of Jan 29th? ( After drinking the whole day and night) He went to rehab to hide. And Proctor knew it as well.

MOO

I’m not sure, it’s possible, but my thoughts is it could have been at the police chiefs house (former chief now) Berkowitz, who at trial has been indicated as a very close friend of Higgins

 

[turaj]

They're going with 'throw everything and see what sticks'. Unfortunately I think it backfires on them to have the culprit being CA no wait it's BH or could it be the plow driver...wait it's BA....now it's the dog! It's ridiculous but will be enough for reasonable doubt and KR will walk free.

there is so much reasonable doubt and I don't think state can undo it all at this point.

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

this stuff is all too technical for me (I glaze over at some of the experts) but Vinnie P. had a guest on ...an expert of sorts on phone records. She said when you. open a window on your phone and google such as what Jen did that night in bed..something about sports and then she put the phone down..left window open and when Karen asked her in the morning to do the search it reverts back to the time the "window" was open. I am sure there are experts that will debunk this. This search is a real smoking gun for the defense.

There could be a technical explanation for it, but it has to be definitive, not just a maybe. Because it sill would leave the question of why she deleted it.

 

[HarmonyE.]

This is my theory about what might have happened: JO was there at the house, downcellar with the men in the "home gym". BH maybe asked JO where KR was (after all, he did text JO to see if they were coming to BA's house), causing an argument between the two that then became a physical fight. As the fight became violent, the other men there tried to break up the fight with someone possibly hitting JO with a barbell on the back of the head, causing the cut there and knocking him out (wondering about the "crescent shape" there), and the dog might've joined in the fray causing the bites and scratches on his arm. The swollen right eye was possibly caused by a left-handed person hitting him hard. JO was beaten to unconsciousness, so then he was disposed of through the basement doors into the yard, eventually ending up on the front lawn. OR a badly beaten, but conscious JO was thrown out the door into the yard, and he might've stumbled onto the ground near the flagpole and passed out, or possibly hit by a plow. (maybe even BH's plow) Hmmm...

Agree. It's been speculated that it was a free weight that was used. I lean towards Colin, as BH wasn't family and Colin's an idiot. But BH may well have been the catalyst for the fight. BA was likely involved, maybe trying to break it up, and Chloe came in to help her master. Had BH done this on his own, I don't think for a moment the Alberts would have protected him.

If this is correct, BH had a decision to make. Get out of the house immediately, call 911 and rat out the Alberts. Possibly catching some deadly assault charges himself. Instead, he decides to drive to Canton PD, not report anything but potentially try to establish an alibi with his access card.

If this is what happened, BH made a very bad choice. So why did he do it? My best guess is because he was afraid the Alberts would all clan-up and point the finger at him and only him. He knew the texts with Karen would all be discovered and possibly appear as if he had an axe to grind with John. He knew BA barely knew John, and at this time he knew nothing about Colin and his possible bad blood with John.

We haven't heard from Kevin Albert yet. He's a Canton cop who also happens to be an Albert brother. At some point prior to the federal grand jury, Kevin reached out to BH, asking why he (BH) hadn't received a grand jury subpoena (yet?) and indicating BA was concerned that BH had "gone off the grid". To me, this sounds like fear that Higgins may have flipped on them. More to come!

 

[HarmonyE.]

Was Brian Albert still in the house, also? After Matt McCabe left?

Yes! Thanks, I've corrected my post. BH was gone. BA and BA Jr. were there. Too many Brians and Ryans and Alberts to keep straight.

 

[nodamselindistress]

Love all the different theories! The answer is probably a combination of bits and pieces of all of them. I just can't see Higgins as the solo guilty one and then the McCabes and the Alberts all decide to cover for him. It does not make much sense to me at this point, but perhaps he had something on them so who really knows? Dirty cop town.

 

[shotgun09]

I’m not sure, it’s possible, but my thoughts is it could have been at the police chiefs house (former chief now) Berkowitz, who at trial has been indicated as a very close friend of Higgins

Do you know that Berkowitz lived/ lives in Sharon, MA ? Curiouser and curiouser....

 

[nodamselindistress]

Do you know that Berkowitz lived/ lives in Sharon, MA ? Curiouser and curiouser....

One would think the police chief would need to live in the same city he polices, but maybe that is just where I have lived.

 

[Wishbone]

Love all the different theories! The answer is probably a combination of bits and pieces of all of them. I just can't see Higgins as the solo guilty one and then the McCabes and the Alberts all decide to cover for him. It does not make much sense to me at this point, but perhaps he had something on them so who really knows? Dirty cop town.

I can't see a planned murder happening there. Too many witnesses and what to do with a body that wouldn't lead back to the house and then replacing basement floors and arranging for entries and exits for those involved and not involved.But I do believe JO was lured there for some nefarious reason.Whatever it was, it lead to murder, pure and simple. Then came the scramble on how to cover it up and here we are. The cover up evolved as various opportunities arose to blame KR. But, those involved in the cover up missed a few things when devising their plan of action.Instead of taking a drunken manslaughter charge Karen decided to fight. She hired very competent attorneys. And an investigative blogger that had amassed a huge following took up her cause. Plus they also caught the attention of the FBI for one reason or another. JMO

 

[Charlot123]

BBM - i think most of these people are/were functioning alcoholics imo.
the rest - i wont lie i am confused by what you're trying to say regarding BH's military service/AJ's lack of??

During the cross, at one point AJ mentioned that BH had a military background. About AJ himself, I don’t know but if I were to make a guess, I assumed, he did not. (Didn’t look so to me, but apparently I was wrong).

People who served in the military often have a more precise and laconic way of formulating their answers. Definitely, not everyone, but BH has good vocabulary and probably higher-than-average IQ.

About functional alcoholics…many do fit the description. However, there exist people with unusually good processing of alcohol. It is a separate group. They might be on the way to functional alcoholism, but not yet there.

 

[Charlot123]

snipped.

Alan Jackson | Werksman Jackson & Quinn LLP

Alan Jackson is a partner at Werksman Jackson & Quinn LLP and a legal analyst. Call Mr. Jackson at (213) 688-0460 to discuss your criminal matter.

werksmanjackson.com

Alan is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, where he served honorably as a jet engine mechanic.

Thanks for this. I found a different website. (Tons of respect to Air Force!)

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

So the preservation order was issued
Sept 23. They destroyed their phones the 29th, and claim they didn't get the order until Sept 30.

That's what I don't understand. Lally should have immediately notified everyone Sept 23.

Yikes…. so was that apparent delay perhaps a ‘gift’? A timing delay? An opportunity? For avoidance? Makes me wonder if perhaps the ‘dates’ were ‘adjusted’? I won’t comment here on the investigative, prosecution witnesses, or prosecution’s tactics. Suffice to say - Quite amazing. Yet again. MOO

 

[turaj]

I can't see a planned murder happening there. Too many witnesses and what to do with a body that wouldn't lead back to the house and then replacing basement floors and arranging for entries and exits for those involved and not involved.But I do believe JO was lured there for some nefarious reason.Whatever it was, it lead to murder, pure and simple. Then came the scramble on how to cover it up and here we are. The cover up evolved as various opportunities arose to blame KR. But, those involved in the cover up missed a few things when devising their plan of action.Instead of taking a drunken manslaughter charge Karen decided to fight. She hired very competent attorneys. And an investigative blogger that had amassed a huge following took up her cause. Plus they also caught the attention of the FBI for one reason or another. JMO

there are few facts in this case that are certain in my mind but one is that no way was this murder planned by anyone...a bad situation evolved with a bunch of drunk people and before you know it the cover up was born.

 

[waldojabba]

I find this very believable, the good old Murdaugh way out of trouble! It totally makes sense to me. I found that line of questioning strange at the time, when he answered Sharon, I was wondering if that means something to locals which of course I am not. I expected a follow-up question "Where in Sharon" but none came.

This is also my speculation. Mental Health facility/ rehab - checked himself in to buy some time and get his head squared away /hide out. Maybe he called the reason ptsd - there has to be a whole policy on this in his line of work.
But maybe said it was booze due to ptsd. The way he so cavalierly talked about his Jamison and ginger and how he even probably knocked back a few after getting home that late night/ early morn.
Unabashedly. That just further under scores why he went if he went. Hard to say.
I also suspect he drank the whole way back from NYC to Boston. What no road beers? He went out of his way to say he could not drink and drive in a company vehicle (And then moved his company vehicles that night after drinking ).
I know he said he does not drink beer but maybe he had a few Jamison nips. Or poured it into his can of Canada Dry while perhaps the others had beer. Easy enough to flash your shield if you get pulled over.
There is a place in Sharon
Rockland Recovery Behavioral Health
It would make sense that LE went there bc he checked in as an inpatient.
Lots of demons strolling in that man’s psyche.
All just my Opinion

 

[Hope4More]

rsbm.

It is a curious thing. And in my opinion it presents a big problem for the prosecution. What was Karen Read's motive? Now, I know that technically the commonwealth doesn't need a motive. But I think jurors are going to want to understand why Karen committed the act she is accused of "with malice aforethought" as the lawbooks say. Murders of one's partner usually don't happen on a whim. In every case I can think of, there's always been a reason.

Sometimes it's because of a history of domestic violence in the relationship. But there's none of that here from either Karen or from John.

Sometimes religious issues preclude a divorce. But these were both single people with a long history of dating relationships. They had both been through break-ups many times in the past.

Sometimes it's because of money or because one partner wants full custody of the kids. Again neither applies here. Karen's finances were separate and she was self-reliant. She wasn't entitled to any insurance money or to John's benefits. And the kids would have always gone to one of John's family members.

Until we heard the texts, the operating theory expressed in this thread and on social media was the "Jodi Arias motive". Seething jealousy, anger and hatred after she was rejected by her boyfriend. But that certainly wasn't the woman in the texts. Karen seemed fully ready to move on and likely would have had no shortage of male attention.

Now the kids still have to testify, so maybe we'll hear something that will shed light on the situation. But right now, after four weeks of testimony, I still don't know what the commonwealth believes. Do they think she just snapped because she heard Jenn McCabe mention "Bella's mom"? Was this all planned out and she was faking being "lovey-dovey" with John that evening? Is she some kind of late-blooming thrill killer?

As you say, it's very curious.

The State has consistently suggested, from opening statement on, that yep, KR "snapped" when she heard Jen mention Bella's mom, a previous love interest of JO. Snapped as in her switch flipped to (wildly off-base & inappropriate) intense anger, jealousy, distrust & paranoia, just as she had gone off in Aruba.

And based on her texts with Higgins, she never let go of her anger & still believed JO had "cheated" on her there. (Despite dodging Higgins asking her twice if JO had "banged" the gal). Higgins was absolutely on target to suspect KR wasn't interested in him, but instead wanted to "weaponize" him against JO.

And BTW, KR didn't seem in the slightest like she was prepared to move on. JO apparently told her twice to git out & she refused both times.

(And to add my 2 cents, I don't believe JO ever went into the house, much less that most of the peeps in the house didn't hear a sound as JO was beaten to death for absolutely no reason at all, & that afterwards they & dozens of others the concocted a huge coverup. Minus KR colluding with TB, her pit bull defense attys, & the worst aspects of social media, imo few others would buy into that fairy tale either.

The simpler & more believable narrative is that KR was drunk, again, & in the time between leaving Waterfall & arriving at the house had gone into rage & resentment mode. I have little to no doubt she hit him on purpose & knew that she had, but not that she had killed him. The defense has done an excellent job of diverting attention away from the fact that from the get go at 5AM the next morning, KR's most consistent explanation for what happened to JO was that she might have/did hit JO with her SUV. Now *that* is curious, given both her story #1, that she was so drunk she didn't remember anything after being at the Waterfall, and her story #2, that she dropped him off at the Alberts' house & left.

 

[HanniBJeter]

What was her plan with Brian Higgins? It’s a very curious thing. She just out of the blue starts texting him days before she killed John. Calling him “hot” repeatedly and planting a kiss on him. She wasn’t interested in him romantically because he made sure to ask her what she wanted repeatedly and she was quite vague. He was on to her manipulation but was also flattered and curious.

JMO

How did KR kill him? It’s been stated multiple times that his injuries weren’t from being hit by a car, so do you think she clunked him with a glass on the head then dug her “claws” into his arm? How?

 

[Wishbone]

This is a big read but has lots and lots of info from the defense. Well worth reading. The collusion is massive. Here's a sample....JMOO

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT FOR SUFFOLK COUNTY
SUFFOLK, ss. NO. SJ-2023-______
NORFOLK SUPERIOR COURT
NO. 2282-CR-00117
KAREN READ,
Petitioner
v.
THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS,
Respondent

snipped
According to Detective Michael
Lank’s testimony before the Grand Jury, on February 4, 2022
(one full week after Mr. O’Keefe’s passing), Ken Berkowitz
(“Chief Berkowitz”), the Chief of the Canton Police
Department, purportedly drove by the Fairview Residence and
saw — from his moving vehicle — an additional piece of red
plastic that was consistent with the taillight of Ms.
Read’s vehicle. R.A. 149; R.A. 448.It is worth noting that
this was a scene that had been searched, re-searched, and
searched again by no fewer than three sets of police
officials. Id. Yet Chief Berkowitz claims that he glanced
from his moving car while driving, saw a shard of lens
material on the ground many yards away and — at speed —
recognized the shard’s evidentiary value, and stopped his
car to report the finding. R.A. 448;R.A. 511-512. One of
the officers under the Chief’s command, Kevin Albert, is 34
Fairview Road homeowner Brian Albert’s brother. R.A. 448.

https://elderlaw.info/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/sj-2023-0343-petition.pdf