Norfolk DA Address Unruly and Threatening Public Behavior

In an unusual move, our  Norfolk County District Attorney released a video statement (transcription below) with reference to an ongoing trial, Commonwealth v. Karen Read:

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This will be the first statement of its kind in my dozen years as Norfolk District Attorney.
The harassment of witnesses in the murder prosecution of Karen Read is absolutely baseless.
It should be an outrage to any decent person - and it needs to stop.

Innuendo is not evidence.

False narratives are not evidence.

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.

Eleven people have given statements that they did not see John O’Keefe enter the home at 34 Fairview that night. Zero people have said that they saw him enter the home. Zero. No one.

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.

Testimony from witnesses tells us that 18-year old Colin Albert had left his uncle’s home before John O’Keefe and Karen Read had arrived outside the residence.

There was no fight inside that home.

John O’Keefe did not enter the home.

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.

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.

The autopsy of John O’Keefe was conducted by a forensic pathologist from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The doctor found that the injuries that left John helpless in the cold were not the result of a fight. She further found that the line of abrasions on his arm was consistent with blunt trauma – not an animal attack.

A grand jury of everyday citizens heard the documented evidence and testimony before making its decision. The subject of that murder indictment enjoys the Constitutional presumption of innocence.

Why should the witnesses, who have committed no crime, be afforded less by members of the community? They should not be harassed for telling the government what they heard or saw.
I am asking the Canton community and everyone who feels invested in this case to hear all of the actual evidence at trial before assigning guilt to people who have done nothing wrong. And certainly before taking it upon yourself to harass citizens who, evidence shows, have done nothing in this matter but come forward and bear witness.

We try people in the court and not on the internet for a reason. The internet has no rules of evidence. The internet has no punishment for perjury. And the internet does not know all the facts.

Conspiracy theories are not evidence. The idea that multiple police departments, EMTs, Fire personnel, the medical examiner, and the prosecuting agency are joined in, or taken-in by, a vast conspiracy should be seen for what it is– completely contrary to the evidence and a desperate attempt to re-assign guilt.

Michael Proctor, the State Police trooper being accused of planting evidence outside 34 Fairview Road, was never at Fairview Road on the day of the incident. Proctor and his State Police partner traveled together the entire day, while other officers were processing 34 Fairview. Trooper Proctor was not thereand did not plant evidence at 34 Fairview Road.

In addition to having no opportunity to plant evidence as has been suggested, Trooper Proctor would have no motive to do so: Trooper Proctor had no close personal relationship with any of the parties involved in the investigation, had no conflict, and had no reason to step out of the investigation.

Every suggestion to the contrary is a lie.

This should all be seen for what it is – and not used as a pretext to attack and harass others.
What is happening to the witnesses – some with no actual involvement in the case - is wrong.
It is contrary to the American values of fairness, and the Constitutional value of a fair trial.
It needs to stop now.
I am releasing this as a recorded statement rather than holding a news conference because my remarks need to be so narrowly tailored to the issue a hand while the prosecution is pending in Superior Court.
But the message is the same.
What is happening to these innocent people, these witnesses, is wrong and it needs to stop.