Jennifer McCabe is set to testify in Karen Read’s second murder trial on Wednesday, following a half day on the stand facing direct examination from special prosecutor Hank Brennan. 

McCabe is a central figure in Read’s case and a key witness for the prosecution. She is the sister-in-law of Brian Albert, the owner of 34 Fairview when Boston police officer John O’Keefe’s lifeless body was found in the house’s front yard on the morning of Jan. 29, 2022. 

McCabe testified she was with Read and O’Keefe while the friends were bar hopping in the hours before O’Keefe’s death . The defense has said Read called McCabe the next morning to tell her O’Keefe never returned home after Read dropped him off at 34 Fairview, but McCabe testified yesterday the pair arrived in the driveway but never entered the house. 

Read, McCabe and Kerry Roberts frantically searched for O’Keefe in the early morning hours of Jan. 29, only to find O’Keefe’s lifeless body lying in the front yard of 34 Fairview and covered in snow. 

The timing of the infamous internet search, “hos [sic] long to die in the cold,” originating from McCabe’s cell phone has been a contentious topic within the investigation and trial. 

Earlier this week, the prosecution brought cell phone data expert Ian Whiffin to the witness stand to testify that while the internet tab had been opened at 2:27 a.m. – between the hours of O’Keefe’s last movement – the actual search was conducted at 6:23 a.m., after O’Keefe body was discovered.