Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey, in “the first statement of its kind” in his tenure, is blasting internet trolls for spreading “baseless” theories in the Karen Read murder case.
He issued a lengthy statement Friday that challenges the defense theory in the case of Read, who is charged with the murder of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe.
“False narratives are not evidence,” Morrissey said in the statement released late Friday afternoon. “However, what evidence does show is that John O’Keefe never entered the
home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton on the night he died. Location data from his
phone – recovered from the lawn beneath his body when he was transported to
the hospital – shows that his phone did not enter that home.”
Read, 43, of Mansfield, faces charges in Norfolk Superior Court of second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of a collision causing the death, on Jan. 29, 2022, of O’Keefe, 46, of Canton.
Prosecutors have said she backed into him with her Lexus SUV early in that morning while dropping him off for a get-together in the home of BPD Sgt. Brian Albert, to which they were purportedly invited by Jennifer McCabe, who was also in the home.
Defense attorneys have fired back, calling the whole prosecution narrative a rush-job, with the defendant herself calling it a “coverup” and have posited their own theory that “significant and reliable evidence … not only exculpates Ms. Read, but … inculpates Jennifer McCabe and Brian Albert.”
The case has attracted third-party narratives that further suggest another responsible party, which is the particular line Morrissey appears to address in his statement.
“Some have, without any evidence, pointed to 18-year-old Colin Albert, a nephew of the homeowner, and accused him of attacking John O’Keefe as he entered the home. But phone evidence shows O’Keefe never entered the home at all,” Morrissey said in the statement, adding later that “Colin Albert, the young man being vilified, was not present when Read’s vehicle and John O’Keefe arrived on the street. That is a false narrative.”
“Colin Albert did not commit murder. Jennifer McCabe, Matthew McCabe, Brian Albert…these people were not part of a conspiracy and certainly did not commit murder or any crime that night. They have been forthcoming with authorities, provided statements, and have not engaged in any cover-up. They are not suspects in any crime — they are merely witnesses in the case,” Morrissey continued.
“To have them accused of murder is outrageous. To have them harassed and intimidated based on false narratives and accusations is wrong. They are witnesses doing what our justice system asks of them.”
This is a developing story.
