Jennifer McCabe, a central figure in the Karen Read case, finished testifying Friday, after spending the better part of three days in court testifying. Two of those days included cross-examination by the defense, some of it impassioned. Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are.
WATCH HERE WATCH HERE "I'm just trying answer the questions and be as truthful as I can," McCabe said Friday. The friend of John O'Keefe's said she Googled "hos long to die in cold" at Read's request, after they found his body in snow. The defense insists she did the search on her own, hours earlier, as part of an effort to frame Read.
Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox with our News Headlines newsletter. SIGN UP SIGN UP Karen Read's defense team hammered the same witness for days. We break down the last day of Jennifer McCabe's testimony and ask our experts — including a juror from the first trial — about how credible she seemed, as well as if Alan Jackson's questioning went too far.
Read has pleaded not guilty to hitting O'Keefe with her SUV and leaving him to die. "You're the only person saying that, then?" Jackson asked, of McCabe's claim that Read affirmatively acknowledged hitting O'Keefe at the scene of the crime.
McCabe said, "Yes, and I stand by that 110%." That night, records show McCabe made seven missed calls to O'Keefe. She said she doesn't remember making them, that they must've been butt dials.
"Seven butt dials in the course of 19 minutes, less than 20 minutes, correct?" Jackson said. "That evening I wasn't paying attention to butt dials or calls," McCabe responded.
She was asked to read a series of text messages between herself and family members about early stages of the investigation, including Brian Albert, her brother-in-law and the owner of the home where O'Keefe's body was found. "That is a textbook example of what we've just seen of witnesses colluding with one another about a subject matter that's under investigation, correct?" Jackson said, in a comment that was immediately objected to and struck from the record.
After McCabe, a toxicologist from the state police crime lab testified about Read's blood alcohol level, saying nearly eight hours after she allegedly hit O'Keefe, the defendant was right around the legal limit. At the time of the incident, she was between two and three times that number. Read dismissed the finding outside court, since, as one of her lawyers pointed out in court, the hospital that took her blood, which was the basis for the test, wasn't accredited at the same level as the crime lab.
"I think it's garbage in, garbage out, and it depends on their assumption of when I last consumed alcohol. It's an assumption," Read told reporters. Testimony resumes Monday with the state toxicologist.
There was no testimony this Thursday, but Judge Beverly Cannone told the jury to be prepared for a full week when they return on Monday. With the Karen Read retrial on a one-day break, we're getting you up to speed on everything that's happened and the biggest surprises so far in the high-profile case, plus, answering questions about everything you want to know about it, giving you an insider's view of what it's like inside the courtroom and more.
