Snowplow driver at Karen Read trial questioned about blogger's influence
Snowplow driver Brian "Lucky" Loughran testified Wednesday in the high-profile Karen Read trial, saying he never saw a body when he passed 34 Fairview Road in Canton on the night of John O'Keefe's death. He later faced cross-examination about how coverage by Aidan "Turtleboy" Kearney could have impacted his testimony.
The defense has been calling witnesses inside Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts after the prosecution rested its case last week.
Loughran was the first witness of the day, finishing his testimony just before noon. Karina Kolokithas, who was at the Waterfall Bar & Grille in Canton when Read and O'Keefe arrived around 11 p.m. on January 28, 2022, took the stand after the snowplow driver finished testifying.
Read's attorney David Yannetti questioned Loughran and Kolokithas, who both took the stand during Read's first trial as well. Special prosecutor Hank Brennan cross-examined both defense witnesses.
Court ended for the day around 12:45 p.m. on the scheduled half day. At the end of the day, Judge Beverly Cannone told jurors that because the trial is ahead of schedule and it is expected to be a hot day on Thursday, there will be no court until Friday.
When will Karen Read's defense rest?
Read's defense team only called witnesses for two days during her first trial. She has said she expected the defense to make its case for one-and-a-half to two weeks this time.
Attorneys are unable to say how many witnesses are left because they are under a gag order.
While leaving court on Wednesday, Read was asked when she thinks the defense will rest and said, "Tuesday, give or take."
Witness from Waterfall Bar & Grille
Kolokithas, who was a friend of O'Keefe and Read, said she was not drinking alcohol the night in question, only water.
She said she was about to leave Waterfall, but when the couple entered, she decided to stay because she liked Read and was excited to see her.
According to Kolokithas, she spent about 50 minutes talking with Read.
"She seemed fine to me," Kolokithas said, saying that Read did not seem overly intoxicated.
Kolokithas testified for about 30 minutes and was only briefly cross-examined before she stepped down.
During Kolokithas' testimony, surveillance video from Waterfall was shown. Read was asked about the status of her relationship with O'Keefe that night.
"I think the video speaks for itself. Happy, loving, affectionate, no tension," Read said.
Who is Lucky Loughran?
Loughran works for the Department of Public Works in Canton. He also previously worked delivering pizza at the business owned by Chris Albert, the brother of Brian Albert. The home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton where O'Keefe's body was found was owned by Brian Albert and his wife Nicole, but the couple later sold it.
During Read's first trial, Loughran was the first witness called by the defense.
Loughran said he began his plowing shift around 2:30 a.m. on January 29, 2022 inside a vehicle known by workers as "Frankentruck." Yannetti asked Loughran about the lights on his plow truck.
"Extremely bright, almost as if I have a spotlight," Loughran said, adding the truck is set up allowing him vision for "As far as my eyes would let me see."
Loughran said when he plows, he starts in the center of the road, then starts working toward the curb. Once he makes a first pass on a road, Loughran said he then returns to the same street to make another pass almost immediately.
"My attention is focused out the front window to the right and the left," Loughran said, saying he is scanning for pedestrians, cars and animals as he plows.
Yannetti asked Loughran what he saw near the flagpole in the lawn of 34 Fairview Road when he first drove past the home.
"Nothing," Loughran said.
"Did you see a 6-foot-1, 216-pound man lying on that lawn?" Yannetti asked.
"No," Loughran said.
Similarly, Loughran said he saw nothing during his second pass by the home.
Black Ford Edge outside Brian Albert's home
Loughran testified about seeing an out of place vehicle in the road. Around 3:30 a.m., Loughran said he came back to the area of 34 Fairview Road, coming in the same direction to do another round of clearing.
"As I make my right onto Fairview, I notice there is a vehicle on the righthand side, roughly in the area of the flagpole," Loughran said, saying he made a note that it was a Ford Edge.
Loughran said that he took note because for as long as he remembered, the Albert family has never parked their vehicles in the road.
According to Loughran, normal protocol for the DPW is to notify a supervisor when a vehicle is parked in the road. The department will then attempt to contact the homeowner or send a police officer to the home to have the vehicle moved.
Yannetti asked Loughran if he followed protocol that night. The plow driver said he did not.
"Knowing the Albert family, knowing that there was a first responder, I gave them respect and opted not to follow procedures," Loughran said.
At 6:15 a.m., Loughran said he went to make a third pass, but the road was blocked off by police. This is around the time O'Keefe's body was found in the snow.
Yannetti then highlighted that Loughran was interviewed by a defense team's private investigator two weeks after O'Keefe's death, and by an outside agency a year later before he was contacted by Massachusetts State Police. Yannetti concluded his questioning after about 45 minutes and Brennan took over.
Aidan "Turtleboy" Kearney referenced at trial
Brennan opened his cross-examination with a line of questioning about an "online blogger" who contacted him. Though he did not mention his name, Brennan was referring to Aidan Kearney, who writes under the name "Turtleboy."
Kearney is facing charges for allegedly intimidating witnesses in Read's case.
"You are aware sir that you were being threatened by an online blogger to expose you?" Brennan asked.
"I was not threatened by an online blogger," Loughran responded, adding "He was not threatening."
Brennan asked Loughran about a phone call he received from Kearney. Loughran said he did not know Kearney was recording the call, which was posted online.
The prosecutor asked Loughran if he posed for photos with Read's supporters and if he found it encouraging that people were celebrating him for his testimony during the first trial.
"I did find it to be encouraging. But I did not want it. I did not think I deserved it. All I was doing was my job and telling the truth," Loughran said.
Brennan asked Loughran if Kearney is friendly toward one side in the case.
"I know he is friendly toward one side, yes," Loughran said, adding "I would say the defense team."
Kearney was on the prosecution witness list. During a pretrial hearing, his attorney said that if called, Kearney would exercise his Fifth Amendment right, so Brennan agreed not to call him.
On re-cross, Brennan handed Loughran a copy of an article Kearney wrote about him that was published on June 5, 2023.
Loughran met with agents from an outside agency related to what he remembered from the night of O'Keefe's death. The jury is not allowed to know Loughran was being interviewed as part of the now-closed federal investigation into how police handled Read's case.
Brennan pointed out to Loughran that before he testified in Read's first trial, people were contacting his boss and he had concerns that it was going to affect his livelihood.
Under questioning from Brennan, Loughran said that after he testified during Read's first trial, the harassment stopped and he was embraced. Brennan ended his questioning by displaying a photograph Loughran posed for with one of Read's supporters.
Aidan Kearney responds to testimony
Kearney was in the courtroom during Loughran's testimony, covering Read's trial with members of the media.
The blogger was asked by WBZ-TV's Penny Kmitt outside of court if he ever threatened Loughran.
"No. I absolutely didn't threaten Brian Loughran. It was just a complete lie. He was never recorded. What you saw in that courtroom was pathetic," Kearney said.
Lucky Loughran cross-examined
Brennan attempted to show the jury that Loughran's memory of the times he passed 34 Fairview Road has changed. Loughran previously said he attempted to return to the road around 5:30 a.m., but this time he said it was at about 6:15 a.m.
The prosecutor also asked Loughran which of Brian Albert's neighbors had a dumpster in front of it. Loughran said he did not know.
"I wasn't paying attention to a dumpster, a dumpster wouldn't be in the front yard," Loughran said.
Brennan then said, "A 15-by-20-foot dumpster would be bigger than a man's body wouldn't it?" He then pointed out that Loughran was not specifically paying attention to houses other than 34 Fairview Road.
"I looked. I saw. I didn't see a dumpster. That would have definitely stood out," Loughran said.
After the morning recess, Brennan showed dashboard camera video where a dumpster can be seen at a home in the neighborhood.
"What attorney Brennan was attempting to point out to the jury that just because you don't see something, does not mean it wasn't there," WBZ legal analyst Katherine Loftus said.
Karen Read trial latest
Wednesday's testimony came a day after Read's defense team asked Cannone to declare a mistrial with prejudice, accusing the prosecution of acting improperly. The request was denied minutes later.
Dog bite expert Dr. Marie Russell finished her testimony on Tuesday after two days on the stand. She testified that O'Keefe's arm injuries were consistent with a dog attack, not a vehicle strike.
A Dighton police officer also testified Tuesday that Read's taillight was more damaged in a photograph taken at inside the Canton Police Department garage than it was when he saw the vehicle hours earlier outside Read's parents' home.
Read has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. She stood trial in 2024, but a hung jury led to a mistrial.
Prosecutors say Read hit O'Keefe, a Boston police officer who she was dating, with her SUV following a night of heavy drinking in January 2022. The defense says she is being framed and O'Keefe was killed during a fight, then dragged outside.
