The long-awaited trial of the Karen Read murder case began Monday with opening statements and the first witness testimony.
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Watch Day 1 opening statements and testimony
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Twelve jurors and four alternates, picked over a five-day process, will help decide the fate of Read, who's facing several charges for allegedly killing her boyfriend, Boston police Officer John O'Keefe, in 2022 after a night out at two separate bars in Canton, Massachusetts. She's pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors and the defense each had about 45 minutes Monday morning to deliver their opening statements.
Norfolk Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally outlined the Commonwealth's case, saying that Read even said "I hit him, I hit him, I hit him," in the hours after O'Keefe's death. He indicated that jurors will hear from some of the people who were inside the house where O'Keefe was found and from investigators involved with the case.
Lally also referenced a 20-minute shouting match that Read and O'Keefe reportedly had during a vacation in Aruba about a month before O'Keefe's death.
The defense argued that Read is being framed and someone else is responsible for O'Keefe's death. But they didn't say specifically who they think that person is.
The judge had previously ordered that the defense can't make its third party culprit argument during opening statements. Instead, they have to "develop their argument, through relevant, competent, and admissible evidence over the course of the trial."
"Karen Read was framed," defense attorney David Yannetti said in his opening. "Her car never struck John O'Keefe, she did not cause his death, and that means someone else did."
He argued that the lead investigator on the case, Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, had "deep ties" to the Albert family, the owners of the home outside which O'Keefe's body was found, and that the investigation into O'Keefe's death was not conducted properly.
"Michael Proctor never stepped foot inside the Albert home on Jan. 29 of 2022, never checked out whether there were any signs of struggle inside that home, never called for crime scene technicians and other specialists to look out for blood or other trace evidence in the home. He never asked Brian Albert for permission to go inside the home... never applied for a search warrant to go in that home. Instead, he focused immediately and exclusively on Karen Read, the outsider."
Yannetti said on the day that O'Keefe was found dead, Proctor was texting with his high school friends, revealing information about the investigation and his "true thoughts" about Read.
"He called Karen Read names you would reserve only for your worst enemies. He told his friends that he hoped she would kill herself, he told his friends he had seized her cellphone." He said Proctor even told his friends that he was "searching her phone for nude photos of Karen Read."
Yannetti said Proctor also texted his friends that the Alberts wouldn't face any issues despite the fact that O'Keefe had died on the lawn, because "the homeowner is a Boston cop too."
Proctor is currently the subject of an internal investigation by Massachusetts State Police that sources have confirmed is connected to the Read case.
Yannetti also alleged that O'Keefe's injuries were not consistent with being hit by a vehicle, but rather an attack by an animal. And he said the Alberts owned a German Shepherd that was known to be "not great around strangers." He also said the dog, named Chloe, was rehomed several months after O'Keefe's death.
First witnesses: John O'Keefe's brother, sister-in-law
The first prosecution witness in the case, O'Keefe's brother Paul, was called to testify shortly after noon on Monday.
He became emotional as he described how his brother took custody of their niece and nephew in 2013 after their sister and brother-in-law died.
Paul O'Keefe also testified about how his brother sometimes talked about his arguments with Read.
"He didn't say too much. If they were arguing, he may give reference that they were arguing. He didn't really tell me what they were arguing about. He mostly kept that to himself."
He said the arguments would sometimes have to do with Read spending too much money on the kids for gifts.
"I know there was some arguments over, you know, what she fed them, whether it's, you know, Dunkin' Donuts or whatnot. But it was things along those lines."
One one occasion he said he witnessed "one intense fight" between the two of them during a trip to Cape Cod. He said it was a verbal argument, John O'Keefe and Read had been drinking alcohol, and Read complained that John wasn't nice to her.
"I was kind of the referee in that situation," Paul O'Keefe said.
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He also described receiving a phone call from his mother at 6:40 a.m. on the day of John O'Keefe's death.
"She called and said, 'Something happened to your brother, they found him in the snow and they took him to the hospital,'" Paul O'Keefe said.
He testified about seeing Read at the hospital, being restrained by staff, screaming, "Is he alive? Is he alive? Is he alive?"
Paul O'Keefe also described his relationship with Read as a good one, and said he thought she was a good influence on his niece and nephew. He said Read also became very friendly with his wife.
The second witness to take the stand for the defense was Paul O'Keefe's wife, Erin. She testified about the Aruba trip, saying that Read had reached out to her to say that she had seen John O'Keefe kissing someone else in the lobby of the hotel they were staying at.
She also testified about speaking to Read by phone soon after the body was discovered: "she just yelled back in the phone, 'John's dead!'"
Canton police officer testifies
The third and final witness of the day was Canton Police Officer Steven Saraf, a 27-year veteran of the department who was the first officer to respond to the 911 call reporting O'Keefe's body in the snow.
He recalled finding Read "visibly upset" and saying, "This is all my fault, my fault. I did this."
He added, "She kept asking, 'He's dead. Is he dead? Is he dead?'" and confirmed that she said the phrase several times, yelling.
Prosecutors showed dashcam video of Saraf pulling up to the scene on Fairview Road in the snow that morning.
It showed the officer jump out of his cruiser and say, "What happened?" After several moments, the sound of yelling can be heard, then three women come into view. One appears frantic.
Lally had no further questions for Saraf, but Read's lawyers did. Their cross-examination of the officer should be how Tuesday's day in court begins.
The scene outside Norfolk Superior Court Monday
With no room inside the courtroom for the public, supporters of Read gathered outside to listen to opening statements on Monday.
The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks, with full days on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and half days on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
