Karen Read and John O'Keefe were 'lovey-dovey' just before he died, witness says

On the stand Wednesday:

• Karina Kolokithas, Canton, MA
• Nicholas Kolokithas, Canton, MA
• Rebecca Trayers, Canton, MA
• Curt Roberts, Canton, MA
• Katherine Camerano, Canton, MA
• Michael Camerano, Canton, MA
• Lt. Charles Rae, Canton Police Department

4 p.m. update: Read and O'Keefe were 'lovey-dovey' the night before O'Keefe died, according to witness 

John O'Keefe and Karen Read appeared "quite lovey-dovey" at a bar the night before O'Keefe died, according to Canton resident Karina Kolokithas.

Kolokithas and her husband were at the Waterfall Bar & Grille in Canton on Jan. 28, 2022, with Read, O'Keefe, Jennifer and Matt McCabe, and several others. 

"Everybody was happy, having a good time," Kolokithas testified, adding that she saw "no issues" the entire time she was at the bar.

She said she was about to leave the Waterfall when O'Keefe and Read arrived from C.F. McCarthy's, another bar located across the street. Kolokithas said Jan. 28, 2022, marked the first time she'd been out socially with Read, who spoke glowingly of O'Keefe that night. 

"She started by saying how much she admired him, how much he did for the children, just how she looked up to him for that," Kolokithas recalled. 

O'Keefe took custody of his young niece and nephew after their parents died, and Kolokithas said Read spoke about how much O'Keefe sacrificed for his family.

"How he unconditionally puts all his time and effort into the kids, how she admired him for that, and how she also wished that some of the family members would step up and help out a little bit more, because he took all the burden on himself," she explained. 

While Read seemed to wish she and O'Keefe had more time to go on dates or vacations, she mentioned an upcoming trip she was excited about, Kolokithas testified.

The bar outing began to wrap up around midnight, she said. According to prosecutors, some group members continued on to an afterparty at 34 Fairview Road in Canton. 

"Karen went over to John, something like that," Kolokithas said. "He, like, put his arm around her. I don't know if they had a conversation, they talked. It seemed like they were quite lovey-dovey at that point."

Then, she continued, "Jennifer McCabe went up to Karen and said, 'You're coming with me.' And she, like, grabbed her. She put her arm around her and said in front of me, she's like, 'You're coming with me. You're coming with me.'"

Kolokithas clarified that McCabe was speaking in a joking manner.

"And Karen said, 'Where are we going?'" she recalled. "And Jen said, 'It doesn't matter; it'll be a surprise.' It was something like that."

3 p.m. update: Friend testifies about atmosphere inside Canton bar the night before O'Keefe died

There was a "fun atmosphere" inside the Waterfall Bar & Grille in Canton on Jan. 28, 2022, Canton resident Nicholas Kolokithas testified.

He said he attended his daughter's high school basketball game that night and sat, as he often did, with Jennifer and Matt McCabe, the parents of another player. When the game ended, Kolokithas and his wife joined the McCabes at the Waterfall.

Kolokithas testified he arrived at the bar around 9 p.m. and spotted Jennifer McCabe's sister and brother-in-law, Nicole and Brian Albert. Brian Albert's brother Chris and Chris's wife Julie were also present, he said. 

Around 11 p.m., John O'Keefe and Karen Read entered the bar and joined the group, according to Kolokithas. He said he knew O'Keefe because O'Keefe's niece is the same age as Kolokithas's younger daughter, and the two girls played basketball together. 

Kolokithas said he was drinking "captain and Coke," O'Keefe was drinking beer, and Read "was holding a cup, a glass, with a clear liquid," though he wasn't sure what was inside. 

"Generally, it was a fun atmosphere," Kolokithas said. "There was a live band. Everybody was in a good mood. I think people were singing to some of the music."

He denied seeing an argument between O'Keefe and Read, nor among anyone in the bar that night. During cross-examination, defense attorney Alan Jackson pressed Kolokithas on the bar's atmosphere. 

"There was nothing eventful while you were at the bar with Mr. O'Keefe and Ms. Read that comes to mind in terms of any kind of tension or fight that night?" Jackson asked.

"Tension or fight? Absolutely not," Kolokithas answered. 

"No argument that was audible to you?" Jackson continued. 

"Absolutely not," Kolokithas responded. 

"You didn't see any body language between the two of them that would suggest an argument or a fight or tension?" Jackson asked. 

"In fact, I noticed the opposite," Kolokithas replied. "They were affectionate toward each other, loving toward each other, to the point where my wife even made a comment, 'Why are you not like that with me?'" 

Responding to a later question from Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally, he clarified that his observations were based on the couple's public presentation that night. He said he didn't discuss Read and O'Keefe's relationship with them.

Kolokithas also denied seeing anyone sparring or wrestling in the bar, though Jackson later played surveillance footage from the Waterfall showing two men in what appeared to be lighthearted fighting stances.

Kolokithas identified the men as Brian Albert and Brian Higgins but added, "I honestly don't remember … what appears to be play fighting. I don't remember that."

He testified that the group discussed going somewhere else after the Waterfall, including Chris Albert's nearby restaurant, D&E Pizza & Subs, or Brian Albert's home at 34 Fairview Road.

He said Brian Albert issued an open invitation to continue the evening back at Fairview Road, but Kolokithas and his wife decided to call it a night and left the bar shortly after midnight.

1 p.m. update: The Alberts are a 'well-known' family in Canton, bartender confirms

Rebecca Trayers, a bartender at the Waterfall Bar & Grille in Canton, said she knew of John O'Keefe and had seen him at the bar a couple of times prior to Jan. 28, 2022. According to prosecutors, the Waterfall was one of two bars O'Keefe visited with friends the night before he died. 

Trayers testified that she grew up in Canton and worked at other bars in town before starting her job at the Waterfall. On cross-examination, defense attorney David Yannetti noted that several members of the Albert family were among the group with O'Keefe at the Waterfall that night. 

According to prosecutors, Brian Albert invited the group back to his home for an afterparty when the Waterfall closed for the night. The next morning, O'Keefe was found unresponsive in the snow outside Albert's house on Fairview Road. 

"You would agree with me that they [the Alberts] are a well-known family in the town of Canton?" Yannetti asked.

"I would say yes," Trayers replied. 

Yannetti asked her how many members of the Albert family she knows, either personally or professionally. 

"It would only be professionally," she answered, offering five names: Brothers Brian and Chris Albert, their wives, and Brian Albert's daughter Caitlin. 

Trayers said she saw Caitlin Albert at the Waterfall on Jan. 28, 2022, and also recognized another person who was with O'Keefe: Brian Higgins.

12:30 p.m. update: O'Keefe didn't appear to have a heavy winter jacket with him, friend testifies

Canton resident Curt Roberts testified that he didn't see any arguments or bickering between Karen Read and John O'Keefe while the three of them were drinking with mutual friend Michael Camerano at C.F. McCarthy's in Canton on Jan. 28, 2022. 

"I wanted to stay in, because there was a storm coming," Roberts said of the outing. "And then [Camerano] … called me a 'p***y,' and I can't let that happen."

"Fair enough," Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally replied as the courtroom broke out in chuckles.  

Roberts testified that he stayed at the bar for about an hour and drank three or four beers. He said Read had a drink as well.

"It was a clear glass with probably a lime in it, I'm assuming a vodka tonic, maybe," he said. "I'm not positive what it was."

Roberts testified that he and Camerano left around the same time. He said he awoke the next morning after his wife, Kerry, received a phone call. He said he couldn't make out the words.

"A voice on my wife's phone was yelling, like screaming, frantic," Roberts testified. "And that woke me up." 

It was Karen Read on the line, he said. 

Roberts said his wife threw on some clothes and ran out, telling him, "John's missing." 

She later called to say O'Keefe had been found and was being taken to a hospital in an ambulance, Roberts recalled. 

On cross-examination, defense attorney David Yannetti asked whether Roberts recalled seeing O'Keefe wearing or holding a puffy jacket. He said he didn't. 

Read, meanwhile, didn't appear to be slurring her words, swaying, or experiencing confusion, Roberts testified.

Noon update: Read called around frantically before setting out to search for O'Keefe, according to friend

Karen Read was "frantically screaming" as she called around looking for John O'Keefe the morning of Jan. 29, 2022, Canton resident Katherine Camerano testified.

Camerano and her husband lived near O'Keefe, who had custody of his young niece and nephew, and the two families were close.

"He was our friend," Camerano said of O'Keefe. "He was really good to me and my kids."

She said she worked weekends, and O'Keefe would often take the kids to sporting events alongside Camerano's husband, Michael.

"The kids used to call them, 'My two dads,'" Katherine Camerano said. "They had a lot of fun together. It was like a well-oiled machine."

Michael Camerano had gone out drinking with O'Keefe the night before, and Katherine Camerano said she received a call from Read early the next morning saying O'Keefe hadn't come home.

Stuck at work, Camerano said she called her husband several times with no answer and fired off two texts to O'Keefe. She then called either Read or O'Keefe's niece and heard Jennifer McCabe, one of her daughter's basketball coaches, in the background.

Camerano said she asked if everyone was alright and learned that Read and McCabe were heading out to search for O'Keefe. She said she sent her husband over to pick up O'Keefe's niece.

Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally showed a series of texts between Read and Katherine Camerano from that morning. In one message, Camerano advised Read to return home and said O'Keefe was probably asleep on someone's couch. 

Becoming emotional, she testified that she received a text at 6:34 a.m. saying, "He's dead."

"What? Karen, are you serious?" she said she responded. "Karen, do you have any idea where he is or did you find him?"

According to Camerano, another text at 6:36 a.m. read: "He was in the snow."

11 a.m. update: Despite some chafing, Read and O'Keefe's relationship seemed normal, friend testifies

While there was occasionally some tension in John O'Keefe and Karen Read's relationship over their differing approaches to childrearing, the couple's relationship seemed normal in the month prior to O'Keefe's death, Michael Camerano testified Wednesday.

The Canton resident said he considered O'Keefe "a good friend" and that his children were friendly with O'Keefe's niece and nephew, who lived with their uncle.

"We were close," Camerano said of O'Keefe. "We did a lot of stuff together. Pick up the kids, drop the kids off. We coordinated a lot of stuff together. We were friends."

Camerano said his daughter and O'Keefe's niece both received acceptance letters to Bishop Feehan High School, a Catholic school, on Jan. 28, 2022. Prosecutors displayed text messages between Camerano, his wife, and O'Keefe discussing the news and making plans to socialize. 

Camerano said he brought his daughter over to O'Keefe's house that night, and he and O'Keefe went out for drinks at C.F. McCarthy's in Canton while Camerano's daughter and O'Keefe's niece stayed behind. 

Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally showed surveillance footage of the pair drinking at C.F. McCarthy's and meeting up with Curt Roberts, a mutual friend. Read also joined the group later on, and Camerano testified that she was drinking something clear out of a glass, possibly vodka.

Camerano denied there were any arguments or fighting among the group that night. He said Roberts left at some point in an "Irish goodbye," and Camerano himself left the bar after receiving a call that his son had been hit in the face with a hockey stick. 

The next morning, Camerano said he awoke to several missed calls from Read and from his wife, who was at work. He said he called his wife back and learned that Read had called and told her O'Keefe didn't come home the night before. Camerano said his wife sent him to go pick up O'Keefe's niece, who was home alone after Read went out to search for O'Keefe. 

He testified that the couple's cars were both in the driveway when he arrived at O'Keefe's home, and that the garage door was left open and would not close. Camerano shut the door manually, he said, knowing that O'Keefe "would go crazy" if he returned to find his garage filled with snow. 

On cross-examination, Camerano confirmed there was some chafing in O'Keefe and Read's relationship because O'Keefe felt his girlfriend sometimes spoiled his niece and nephew. 

"When Karen would buy very nice things for the kids, he wouldn't like that," Camerano testified. "Stuff like that. Or take the kids to get their nails done, or something like that."

"There didn't seem to be any tension between them at C.F. McCarthy's, is that right?" defense attorney Alan Jackson asked. 

"Not that I recall," Camerano replied, later confirming the couple's relationship seemed normal in the month before O'Keefe died. 

"And on the day before Mr. O'Keefe's passing, would you describe their interactions to be normal and caring and affectionate?" Jackson asked. 

Yes, Camerano answered. 

9:30 a.m. update: No one was at O'Keefe's home when Canton police stopped by for a wellness check, according to Lt.

Upon arriving at John O'Keefe's home on Jan. 29, 2022, Canton Police Lt. Charles Rae said he rang the doorbell, knocked on the door, and waited around for several minutes to see if anyone would answer.

No one did, and Rae said he later learned O'Keefe's niece and nephew were out of the house and staying with friends or family at the time. 

Rae denied seeing anything on the ground at the home beyond snow.

Livestream via NBC10 Boston.

Another full day of witness testimony is expected Wednesday in the Karen Read murder trial, now in its second week.

Several first responders have taken the stand so far, reflecting back on Jan. 29, 2022, and sharing details from the crime scene at 34 Fairview Road in Canton.

That's where prosecutors say Read, 44, struck Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe — her boyfriend of two years — with her SUV and left him to die in the snow outside a fellow Boston officer's home. However, lawyers for the Mansfield woman say she was framed in a coverup meant to protect a well-connected group of locals. O'Keefe, they argue, was actually beaten inside the home.

With the exception of early testimony from Paul and Erin O'Keefe, the victim's brother and sister-in-law, witness testimony thus far has largely focused on what first responders saw and heard at the scene the morning John O'Keefe died. Earlier this week, Canton police officers also shared details of their early investigation, from improvised evidence collection techniques to the alleged discovery of broken plastic in the melting snow outside 34 Fairview Road days later. 

Read's lawyers also spent much of Tuesday grilling Canton Police Lt. Michael Lank on his relationship with homeowner Brian Albert's family, given Lank was once "pretty good friends" with one of Albert's brothers and intervened on the brother's behalf in a 2002 bar fight. 

Lank testified that he never notified his law enforcement superiors about his personal relationship with the Albert family. 

Tuesday's court session left off with testimony from Canton Police Lt. Charles Rae, who spoke briefly about performing a wellness check on O'Keefe's young niece and nephew, who lived with their uncle after their parents died. 

Prosecutors played police dash cam video showing Rae pulling up to O'Keefe's home the morning of Jan. 29, 2022. Read's SUV is shown parked in the driveway.

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