Karen Read murder case: A timeline of events

Karen Read faces up to life in prison for the death of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, whose bruised and frozen body was found outside the Canton home of a fellow officer the morning of January 29, 2022.

Norfolk County prosecutors allege Read backed her Lexus SUV into O’Keefe the night before and left him for dead. Read claims she dropped off O’Keefe at the Albert family residence and never heard from him again.

Karen Read appears in court Monday, April 22, 2024. (Court TV)

The Commonwealth claims forensic evidence from Read’s car and O’Keefe’s body proves she hit him. Read’s defense has fired back with stunning allegations of a law enforcement conspiracy to frame her for O’Keefe’s death and protect the real killers who were inside the house.

The following information comes from court documents and police reports obtained by Court TV.

TIMELINE OF EVENTS IN THE KAREN READ MURDER CASE

2021

December 31: O’Keefe and Read fight during a trip to Aruba with friends. The presiding judge will decide during the trial whether to let the jury hear about the fight as “character” evidence.

2022

JANUARY 28

7:30 p.m. Nicole Albert arrives at Waterfall Bar & Grille to meet relatives for dinner.
9:00 p.m. Jennifer and Matt McCabe arrive at the Waterfall Bar & Grille.
- Read meets O’Keefe at C.F. McCarthy’s in downtown Canton.
10:00 p.m. Brian Albert arrives at the Waterfall Bar & Grille.
10:54 p.m. Read and O’Keefe arrive at the Waterfall Bar & Grille.

JANUARY 29

12:00 a.m. The Waterfall Bar & Grille closes. The Alberts invite everyone to their house on Fairview Rd.
12:14 a.m. Jennifer McCabe calls John O’Keefe to give him directions to the Albert home.
12:15 a.m. Jennifer and Matthew McCabe and Ryan Nagel say they see Read’s car outside the home.
12:27 a.m. Jennifer McCabe texts O’Keefe: “Here?!”
12:29 a.m. O’Keefe answers a call from Jennifer McCabe.
12:30 a.m. Witnesses say Colin Albert leaves the Albert residence.
12:31 a.m. Jennifer McCabe texts O”Keefe: “Pull behind me”
12:40 a.m. Jennifer McCabe texts O’Keefe: “Hello”
12:42 a.m. Jennifer McCabe texts O’Keefe: “Where are u”
12:45 a.m. Jennifer McCabe texts O’Keefe: “Hello”
1:30 a.m. The McCabes leave the Albert residence with Julie Nagel and another friend of Brian Albert, Jr. and drop off the women home before returning to their home.
Between 1:30 a.m. and 2 a.m. According to testimony, Caitlin Albert leaves the Albert home for the night.
2:27 a.m. Jennifer McCabe used her phone to Google “how long to die in cold,” according to the defense.
4:53 a.m. Read calls Jennifer McCabe using O’Keefe’s niece’s phone looking for O’Keefe. Read also calls O’Keefe’s friend, Kerry Roberts.
5:00 a.m. Julie Albert told investigators she missed a call from Jennifer McCabe at this time but that it was through the call she learned that O’Keefe was dead. She later told a grand jury she learned he was dead.
5:07 a.m. O’Keefe’s driveway camera shows Read’s car backing out of the driveway. Read meets Jennifer McCabe and Roberts at McCabe’s house. Roberts drives Read and Jennifer McCabe to the Albert residence.
6:00 a.m. Read, Jennifer McCabe and Roberts arrive at the Albert residence.
6:04 a.m. Read calls 911. Canton Police Officers Saraf and Mullaney arrive within minutes, followed by emergency services.
6:07 a.m. Jennifer McCabe calls Nicole Albert twice.
6:23 a.m. Jennifer McCabe calls Brian Albert.
- Jennifer McCabe used her phone to search Google for “how long to die in the cold,” according to state police and the Commonwealth.
6:24 a.m. Sgt. Michael Lank arrives.
7:59 a.m. O’Keefe is pronounced dead at Good Samaritan Hospital.
8:30 a.m. Julie Albert tells a grand jury she arrived at Fairview Rd residence at this time to drop off a birthday dessert for Brian Jr. and learns that O’Keefe is dead.
9:00 a.m. Jennifer McCabe calls Sgt. Lank and asks him to return to the Fairview Rd residence so she can add information to her statement. Lank returned, and McCabe tells him she recalls Read saying, “I hope I didn’t hit him,” while she was driving around with Roberts looking for O’Keefe.
9:08 a.m. Read’s blood is drawn at the hospital and shows an ethanol reading of 93mg/dl. A forensic toxicologist later opines the reading suggests her BAC that morning was .07-.08% and anywhere from .13-.29% around 12:45 a.m.
11:00 a.m. Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor and Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik arrived at the Fairview Rd residence and interviewed witnesses.
4:30 p.m. Trooper Proctor and Sgt. Bukhenik interview Read in her parents’ home. Her car is impounded.
5:30 p.m. The Massachusetts State Police Special Emergency Response Team arrives at the scene and collects two red plastic taillight pieces, one clear plastic tail light, and a Nike shoe matching the one O’Keefe was wearing.

FEBRUARY

Feb. 1: Jennifer McCabe tells police for the first time that Read asked her to Google “how long do you have to be left outside to die from hypothermia.”
Feb. 2: Read pleads not guilty in Stoughton District Court to charges of manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide and leaving the scene of a vehicle homicide. She posts $50,000 bond.
- Jennifer McCabe turns over her phone to law enforcement.
Feb. 3: Trooper Proctor allegedly finds more plastic pieces at the scene.
Feb. 4: Former Canton Police Chief Kenneth Berkowitz allegedly finds more plastic pieces resembling tail lights on the street outside the Fairview Rd residence.

JUNE

June 9: A state grand jury indicts Read on upgraded charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter, and leaving the scene. The judge raises her bond to $100,000, which she posts.