Snowplow driver testifies in Karen Read case that he saw no body on yard

DEDHAM, Mass. — A snowplow driver in the Karen Read retrial testified he didn’t see a body outside 34 Fairview Road — but a prosecutor suggested a blogger may have “pressured” him into saying so.

Canton public works snowplow driver Brian “Lucky” Loughran said that he began his overnight plow shift at 2:15 the morning John O’Keefe died. He said he made multiple passes of Fairview Road during the major snowstorm in the hours O’Keefe should have been unconscious on the front yard of 34 Fairview Road in the prosecution’s timeline of events.

Prosecutors say that Read, 45, of Mansfield, struck her boyfriend O’Keefe, a Boston cop, with her Lexus LX570 and left him to freeze and die on that front yard on Jan. 29, 2022. They say she was bitter with jealousy in the deteriorating relationship and lost it after yet another fight.

The defense brought out another witness Wednesday who hung out with Read and O’Keefe at a bar that evening before his death to cast doubt on Read being angry that night.

Read faces charges including second-degree murder. She was tried last year but that ended in mistrial.

‘Lucky’ Loughran

Loughran’s testimony was basically the same as it was when he served as the defense’s first witness last year. It boils down to two things: he never saw a body in the front yard after it should have already been there and he did see a dark-colored Ford Edge parked in the area where O’Keefe’s body would be found at around 6 a.m.

He said he drove the “Frankentruck” that shift, a nickname for the truck he described as “very uncomfortable” and cobbled together from “a lot of mismatched parts.”

Defense attorney David Yannetti directed Loughran through describing the visibility he had despite the heavy snow.

Loughran described over-cab lights, regular headlights as well as plow lights that jutted out over the fenders of the vehicle. Loughran said he had elevated seating with great visibility — “as far as my eyes could see.” Plus, he said, there were streetlights on either side of 34 Fairview Road and he could see the whole yard “right up to the front door.

On the first pass, he said, he saw nothing. On a second pass 45 minutes later, he said, he saw a Ford Edge. He was supposed to report vehicles parked on the road during a snow emergency but skipped protocol out of “respect” for the Albert family, particularly homeowner Boston Police Sgt. Brian Albert.

Loughran said that no law enforcement reached out to him in the investigation before a defense private investigator contacted him and met up with him the summer of 2023, some 16 months after O’Keefe’s death.

The blogger

It was around that same time, prosecutor Hank Brennan said during cross examination, that Loughran was made a target by a blogger who may have “pressured” Loughran into providing this testimony helpful to the defense.

Brennan didn’t name the blogger, but case followers knew he meant Aidan “Turtleboy” Kearney, a strongly pro-Read writer who happened to be a chosen media member this week and was inside the courtroom. He’s controversial because he faces a slew of witness intimidation charges related to this case.

Kearney has a post about Loughran on his blog dated June 5, 2023.

The post says that “sources” indicated that Loughran was the driver of the plow truck and makes note of the fact that Loughran’s brother was a member of the town selectboard, as was Chris Albert, the brother of homeowner Brian Albert and a former employer of Loughran. The post also dug into some civil judgements against Loughran.

Loughran testified that he didn’t give permission for his private pictures to be spread by the blog and the blog’s followers. But he said he wasn’t “embarrassed” by the unwanted attention, but “more aggravated.” Brennan also revealed that people were calling his boss, which could have affected his livelihood.

Brennan asked if being celebrated by Read supporters last year was encouraging. Loughran said it was, but that he was only “telling the truth.” Brennan displayed one of the photos in court.

Brennan also highlighted discrepancies in the times he drove by 34 Fairview Road, but Loughran said they were just his best guesses as he wasn’t monitoring a clock.

The bar

Finally, the defense called Karina Kolokithas, who met up with O’Keefe and Read and others involved in the case at Canton’s Waterfall Bar and Grille — the last place O’Keefe went to before his death.

She said she wasn’t going to stay out but changed her mind when O’Keefe and Read arrived.

“I was excited to see them,” Kolokithas, who along with her husband also testified last year, said.

She talked with Read maybe 50 minutes out of the hour. She said both O’Keefe and Read were very excited that O’Keefe’s niece, who he was the guardian of, had gotten accepted into a private school.

She also testified that O’Keefe at one point kissed Read on the forehead, which “stood out” to her as it was “the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Court is taking Thursday off because temperatures are expected to be very high and it is hard to hear testimony with the fans and portable air conditioning running. Judge Beverly Cannone told jurors the case remained ahead of schedule.

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