Shocking testimony in the Karen Read trial is revealing new details from the night that Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe died. One witness claimed that they did in fact see something that night.
The witness, Julie Nagel, a friend of Caitlin Albert’s brother Brian Albert Jr., was one of four people that took the stand Tuesday. She was at Brian Albert’s home until 1:45 a.m. the day O’Keefe’s body was found out in front of lawn.
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Caitlin, daughter of Brian Albert, led off Tuesday morning, took the stand for the second day in a row. She allegedly was the last person to leave her dad’s Fairview Road home in Canton, Massachusetts, the morning of Jan. 29, 2022. O’Keefe was found dead outside that home later that morning.
The final witness of the day was Nagel, who testified that she saw a black SUV similar to the one Read drives outside the home that morning, and a “black blob” in the front yard, when she left.
Witness testimonies continued in the Karen Read murder trial Tuesday, with members of the Albert family and friends giving their accounts of what happened the night of John O’Keefe’s death.
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Read is charged with second-degree murder in the 2022 death of O’Keefe, her boyfriend. He was found in the snow outside retired Boston Police Officer Brian Albert’s home in Canton. Prosecutors say Read hit O’Keefe with her SUV, while Read says she has been framed in a wide-ranging coverup, claiming the Albert family — which includes a Canton police officer and current selectman — and the state’s lead investigator, a family friend, put the blame on Read.
Read has pleaded not guilty and is free on bond.
Julie Nagel returns to the stand
Nagel returned to the stand Wednesday morning, a day after testifying that she saw a black SUV outside the Albert home and a “black blob” on the lawn as she left the house on Jan. 29, 2022, the day of O’Keefe’s death.
But she only wound up testifying for a few minutes, answering questions on redirect from Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally. She spoke again about the dark object she saw on the front lawn, again describing it as 5-6 feet long, and said she wasn’t expecting to see anything in that part of the yard.
She said if she had realized the object was a body, she would have called 911 and told everyone else in the car as well.
Nagel said she only realized the next day that it might have been a body.
Defense attorney David Yannetti followed up by asking why, if Nagel realized that it might have been a body the next day, she didn’t call 911 or police at that point. And she also acknowledged that her testimony Tuesday — 2-1/2 years after she saw it — was the first time she ever mentioned that the object she saw was 5-6 feet long.
Forensic scientist Teri Kun takes the stand
Wednesday’s second witness was Teri Kun, a forensic scientist with the University of California, Davis. She testified about how DNA samples are collected and stored and explained that she worked on the Read case. She also testified about a DNA sample that Lally said was taken from O’Keefe’s shirt.
She said the only DNA result that was positive was for pig, and mentioned that could have come from food, like cooked bacon. There was no dog DNA on the samples she tested.
On cross-examination, defense attorney Alan Jackson asked if Kun got any clothing or other items to test, only the two swabs sent to her by Massachusetts State Police. Jackson said the quality of the testing is only as good as the swabs sent to her.
“I only have the swabs to test. That’s the only thing I can talk about,” Kun acknowledged. “It’s dependent on the agency sending it in… I wasn’t there to see the swabs being collected, so I have no idea.”
Jackson also asked Kun if blood evidence should be stored in plastic cups, since previous police testimony had showed that frozen blood samples retrieved from the scene where O’Keefe was found were kept in red plastic Solo cups in a paper Stop & Shop bag.
“Would you put biological material in plastic containers?” Jackson asked.
“No,” Kun replied.
“You wouldn’t use a Solo cup?” Jackson said.
“What?” Kun responded, before Lally objected.
Jackson also asked Kun if the pig DNA could have come from a dog treat, and Kun said that is possible.
Ryan Nagel testifies
The third witness of the day was Ryan Nagel, Julie’s brother. Lally asked where Nagel was on Jan. 28, 2022.
Nagel said he went to C.F. McCarthy’s bar in Canton with his now ex-girlfriend and another friend that night to meet up with his sister Julie.
Later that night, he said he was at the Hillside Pub in Canton when he got a text from his sister asking him to pick her up at the Albert home on Fairview Road.
He said his friend drove them to the Albert home, and while they were in front of the house he said he saw a black SUV pull up to the house. But he said he didn’t see anyone get out of it at any point.
Nagel said he waited for his sister for a couple minutes, at which time she came out of the house from a side door near the garage, crossing the lawn on the way.
He said he opened the door of the truck to let his sister in. She invited the group into the house, but they declined because they had already been out for a long time and were ready to call it a night.
Julie Nagel told her brother that she wanted to stay a little longer, and she went back into the house.
Lally then asked Ryan Nagel about the black SUV again. Nagel said he noticed the brake lights were on, and saw the vehicle move up at one point. He said he didn’t notice any damage on the vehicle.
As they left the home, Nagel said they drove around the black SUV and he saw a person in the vehicle.
“I observed that there was a person inside the car with a interior light on,” he said. “They were in the driver’s seat. It was a woman. She had long hair.”
Nagel said it seemed like the woman was looking straight ahead with her hands at “10 and 2 on the steering wheel.”
He said he didn’t see anyone else in the vehicle at the time.
During cross-examination, Jackson established that Nagel had an interview with state police. During that interview, Nagel said he told investigators that two other people were in the truck with him on that night.
Jackson also asked about Nagel’s sister, and when she came out the side door of the home. He also had Nagel go over the conversation with his sister, and her decision to ultimately stay at the house. Nagel said he watched his sister return to the house as the truck he was in pulled away from the house.
Jackson asked if all of the taillights on the black SUV he saw were intact.
Nagel said he did notice the brake lights were on, and he didn’t notice any damage. But he also said he had had several drinks at that point.
Jackson also asked if Nagel noticed the SUV reverse and back up, and if he saw it hit a pedestrian, or if he saw anyone standing or lying on the lawn. Nagel said he did not.
Heather Maxon testifies
The day’s fourth witness was Heather Maxon, Ryan Nagel’s ex-girlfriend. She was in the vehicle with Nagel when they went to the Alberts’ home on Fairview Road on the night of Jan. 28, 2022.
She testified to many of the same details that Nagel had earlier in the day.
Maxon testified that as they approached the Albert home, they saw a black SUV in front of them with a female driving and a male in the passenger’s seat. She is now the third person to testify about seeing the black SUV, but the first to say that she saw a man in the vehicle.
She also said that when they arrived at the Albert home, the black SUV was parked outside the house, just a couple feet in front of where they parked their vehicle. But she said she never saw anyone get out of the SUV.
When they left the house, Maxon said the black SUV was still in front of the house, and was running, with its exterior and interior lights on. She also testified that she saw a woman in the driver’s seat of the SUV. She said she did not see anyone else in the vehicle.
After they left the house, Maxon said they went back to Ryan Nagel’s house, where she spent the night. She said she didn’t remember what time they arrived back at Nagel’s residence.
Jackson then cross-examined Maxon about when she was first contacted by investigators in the Read case — approximately 18 months after O’Keefe’s death.
Richard “Ricky” D’Antuono testifies
The next witness up was Richard “Ricky” D’Antuono. He was the driver of the truck that Ryan Nagel and Heather Maxon were riding in on the night on Jan. 28, 2022, when they went to the Albert house.
He also testified about the two Canton bars the trio went to that night before getting the call from Julie Nagel to come pick her up at the Albert home on Fairview Road.
D’Antuono said when he arrived at the Albert home, there was a black SUV parked about 10-20 yards in front of him. He said he observed no damage to the vehicle.
He said he never saw anyone get out of the vehicle or saw the vehicle move.
Under cross-examination, Yannetti asked if D’Antuono saw the black SUV strike anyone or if he heard anyone arguing. D’Antuono said he did not.
D’Antuono also said he was not interviewed by investigators until the following year. The first statement he gave in the case was about a year ago, on May 16, 2023, and it was not to the district attorney’s office or state police who were investigating the Read case. He didn’t say who interviewed him.
Yannetti appeared to be trying to show that by the time D’Antuono was interviewed, his recollection might not have been as fresh as if he were interviewed in the immediate aftermath of O’Keefe’s death.