‘She was just like frantically screaming.’ Wife of John O’Keefe’s friend testified at Karen Read trial. Here’s what happened.

Prosecutors allege that Read, 44, of Mansfield, drunkenly backed her SUV into O’Keefe after dropping him off outside the home of a fellow Boston police officer early on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of bar-hopping and drinking with friends.

Read’s attorneys assert that she is being framed and that O’Keefe entered the home of the fellow officer, who was hosting a gathering, and was fatally beaten before his body was planted on the front lawn.

Prosecutors allege that Read returned to the scene hours later with two other women and found O’Keefe’s snow-covered body, repeatedly shouting “I hit him” in the presence of emergency responders. The defense has aggressively cross examined first responders in an effort to convince jurors they fabricated hearing such incriminating statements, and Read’s attorneys have also questioned police witnesses about their personal ties to the Albert family, which owned the home on Fairview Road at the time of O’Keefe’s death.

Here’s a rundown of the witnesses who’ve testified so far.

Here’s how Wednesday’s testimony unfolded.

Developments Wednesday: Read and O’Keefe, appeared to be a happy couple the night before the Boston police officer died outside a Canton home in January 2022, longtime friends of O’Keefe testified Wednesday.

The testimony in Read’s second degree murder trial was sharply divergent from the contention by Norfolk prosecutors that O’Keefe wanted to end their relationship, enraging Read.

Friends Michael Camerano and his wife, Katherine Camerano, along with Curt Roberts and Nicholas Kolokithas were at Canton bars the night before O’Keefe’s death, testifying Wednesday that they witnessed the interactions between Read and O’Keefe. Kolokithas testified they were affectionate to the point that his wife asked him why he couldn’t be that way with her.

A bartender at the second of two bars the couple attended testified no one seemed overly drunk,CQ in contrast to prosecution allegations that Read drunkenly and intentionally backed into O’Keefe after dropping him at a friend’s home, leaving him to die in the snow during a blizzard.

Several witnesses testified that early next morning, Read called them in a panic or sent them text messages that O’Keefe had not retuned home.

3:45 p.m. — Karina Kolokithas testimony concludes

She said it had just started snowing when she reached her car after leaving the bar. Viewing footage from 12:10 a.m., Kolokithas identified McCabe, Read, and herself walking toward the exit. She then identified O’Keefe leaving the bar.

On cross-examination, defense lawyer Alan Jackson noted that Kolokithas had testified that Read looked up to O’Keefe and admired him for his devotion to his niece and nephew. He also noted that Kolokithas had indicated that O’Keefe and Read were excited about their upcoming trip. McCabe had told Read, “you’re coming with me,” not that Read and O’Keefe were coming with her, he said. Kolokithas said that was correct.

On redirect, she told prosecutor Adam Lally that O’Keefe never discussed his personal life with her. But Jackson stressed that Kolokithas had testified that Read and O’Keefe were “lovey dovey” at the bar that night.

”They were,” Kolokithas said. She then stepped down and Cannone dismissed jurors for the day. Testimony resumes Thursday.

3:25 p.m. — Karina Kolokithas and McCabe talk to Read “for quite a while” at the bar

Kolokithas said she was talking with Jennifer McCabe at the bar when Read joined them. Read and McCabe had a conversation first but she couldn’t hear it due to the noise, Kolokithas said. Read was drinking clear liquid “out of a clear glass,” she said. They had come from another bar, McCarthy’s, across the street, she said.

Kolokithas said she and McCabe talked to Read for “quite a while.”

“She started by saying how much she admired him, how much he did for the children,” she testified. “She seemed to love my younger daughter and she said she really liked my daughter’s relationship with John’s niece.”

Read started “talking about how much he sacrifices” for the children and that she wished other members of the O’Keefe family would “step up” and help out, she testified.

Read also said she wished she and O’Keefe had more time to go on dates and do activities, although she noted they were planning a trip in the future, Kolokithas said. As they were talking, McCabe suggested going to her sister’s house on Fairview Road, Kolokithas said.

McCabe’s sister is married to Brian Albert.

Kolokithas said she told her husband “there’s no way we’re going, we’re going home.” McCabe approached Read and “grabbed her” and said “you’re coming with me,” in a joking fashion as she extended the invite to Fairview.

Read asked where they were going and McCabe said words to the effect of, “it doesn’t matter,” adding that it would be “a surprise,” Kolokithas said. Outside the bar, “all of a sudden ... I see Karen with John,” she said. She thought, “oh that’s weird, I thought Karen was going with Jen,” she recalled.

O’Keefe and Read were walking toward Read’s car, with Read waking toward the driver’s side, she said.

3:20 p.m. — Karina Kolokithas takes the stand

Karina Kolokithas, Nicholas’s wife, was the next witness. She said it was “extremely loud” at the bar when she arrived because a band was playing. She said she noticed the McCabes were there with her husband.

”I talked to them for a bit, and then I think Jen [McCabe] started introducing me to some people,” she said. “Everybody was happy, having a good time ... The whole time I was there, it was no issues at all.”

Kolokithas said she was about to leave when O’Keefe and Read arrived. Kolokithas’s younger daughter is friends with O’Keefe’s niece, she said.

”I knew Mr. O’Keefe better,” she said. “We saw him all the time. My daughter would have play dates with his niece ... He was a great guy, we saw him all the time.”

She said Read and O’Keefe arrived around 11 p.m.

”They walked in and John did his rounds, said hi to everybody, gave me a hug,” Kolokithas said. She said O’Keefe was happy his niece had gotten accepted to Feehan.

”You could tell he was super excited about that,” she said, adding that he wore a ballcap, jeans, sneakers, and “some kind of top,” though she didn’t recall him wearing a jacket. ”He looked fine,” she said. “Nothing about his clothing stood out to me.”

She said she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary between Read and O’Keefe or anyone else.

”Everybody was having a good time,” she said.

3 p.m. — Cross of Kolokithas continues

After the sidebar, Kolokithas said he appeared in the video footage to be looking in the direction of the men taking a fighting stance. He told Jackson “I honestly do not recall” interacting with the two men in that moment. He identified them as Higgins and Brian Albert.

”I honestly don’t remember what appears to be play-fighting,” Kolokithas said. He said he did not see O’Keefe engage in any play-fighting at the bar.

On redirect, Lally asked if Kolokithas only saw how Read and O’Keefe presented their relationship in public, and Kolokithas said that was true. Kolokithas also watched himself in the clip and said he appeared to be laughing as Higgins and Albert were play-fighting.The lawyers then went to sidebar again.

After the sidebar, Jackson asked Kolokithas if he had previously testified Read was “singing John’s praises” at the bar. Kolokithas said that was correct.

2:40 p.m. — Kolokithas testifies on cross-examination

Defense lawyer Alan Jackson asked if Kolokithas’s children got along well with O’Keefe’s niece and nephew. He said they did and remain friends. Following a brief sidebar, Jackson asked if Read had organized an “elaborate” 13th birthday party for O’Keefe’s niece. Kolokithas said Read had done so and that his daughter had been invited.

Jackson asked if he would have “problems or qualms” with Read and O’Keefe supervising his children and he said “absolutely not.” Asked if he had ever observed any tension between Read and O’Keefe, Kolokithas said, “not at all.”

He told Jackson he arrived at the Waterfall about two hours before Read and O’Keefe and spoke with both of them when they arrived. Jackson asked if Read had been “singing [O’Keefe’s] praises” that night for being good to his niece and nephew, and Cannone sustained a prosecution objection. Kolokithas told Jackson he learned that the couple had been planning future vacations. The lawyers then went to sidebar.

Asked if he observed any tension between O’Keefe and Read at the bar, Kolokithas said he noticed precisely the opposite. They were affectionate to the point where his wife asked him why he couldn’t be that way with her, he said. He viewed footage from the bar and identified Read in the establishment. Asked about two men in the footage, Kolokithas said it looked like they were taking some type of fighting stance. Prosecutors objected, Cannone sustained, and the lawyers went to sidebar again.

2:30 p.m. — Kolokithas continues testimony

He said he didn’t observe anything unusual about O’Keefe’s clothing or notice any injuries on him. The band was “fairly loud” and some people were discussing moving to another bar or to the Alberts’ home on Fairview Road.

”I heard from others that [Read] had mentioned wanting to go there,” Kolokithas said. He said he and his wife did not go to Fairview Road and left the bar around 12:10 a.m.

”Matt [McCabe] and I stayed back a bit” cleaning the table and talking with the band, he said. He said it was “very cold” when he left the bar and it had just started snowing.

”There was a larger group that left right before us” that included Jennifer McCabe and Read, he said.

2:25 p.m. — Patron at Waterfall bar takes stand

Nicholas Kolokithas, a Canton resident, said he’s an attorney and his wife is a pharmacist. On the night of the 28th, he went to watch his daughter play in a high school basketball game, he testified. He said he sat with the McCabes at the game and afterwards he and his wife decided to go the Waterfall, as did the McCabes.

He said he arrived at the bar around 9 p.m. and saw a group that included the McCabes and Alberts. Kolokithas said his wife joined him around 9:30 p.m.

O’Keefe and Read arrived shortly before 11 p.m., he said. O’Keefe’s niece and Kolokithas’s daughter played basketball together and were friends, he said. He said he met Read around the summer of 2020.

”I would see John on a weekly basis during the basketball season,” he said. He said he drank Captain Morgan and Coke at the bar while O’Keefe drank beer, which was typical for him. Read was holding a glass containing a clear liquid, he said.

”I don’t know if it was water or [an] alcoholic drink,” Kolokithas said. “Generally it was a fun atmosphere. It was a live band. Everyone was in a good mood.”

He said he didn’t observe any arguments at the bar.

2:20 p.m. — Trayers questioned on cross-examination

She said O’Keefe appeared to be in a good mood on the night of the 28th. O’Keefe left a $10 tip for a $16 tab. Trayers said she did not notice O’Keefe buying drinks for a woman that night.

”Nobody really seemed highly intoxicated, correct?” Yannetti asked.

“No,” she said. She then stepped down.

1 p.m. — Bartender continues her testimony

Trayers said she spoke with State Police investigators after O’Keefe’s death and that they obtained receipts from the Waterfall. On cross-examination, Trayers told Yannetti she has tended bar at the Waterfall for about seven years and previously worked at other establishments in Canton.

Trayers said she grew up in Canton and recently moved back. Trayers told Yannetti she knew of the Albert family and that Caitlin Albert was at the Waterfall on Jan. 28. She said she had seen Brian Albert and Brian Higgins at the bar together before. Testimony was paused around 1 p.m. for the lunch recess. Trayers will resume her testimony at 2 p.m.

12:40 p.m. — Bartender at Waterfall Bar & Grille in Canton takes the stand

Rebecca Trayers said 12:45 a.m. is the latest the Waterfall can “do last call.” There’s live music on Fridays and Saturdays, Trayers said. She said she was working at the Waterfall on the night of Jan. 28, 2022. ”It’s in a condo unit,” she said of the establishment.

She said the bar serves beer, wine, and liquor. Mixed drinks are served in cocktail glasses.

Trayers said she knew of O’Keefe, who had been in the Waterfall “a couple times” previously. She said O’Keefe typically drank beer and was there on the night of the 28th.

”He came up to order a beer,” Trayers said. She said Brian Albert and his wife were there too, as well as Brian Higgins (an ATF agent who has a satellite office in the Canton police department).

12:35 p.m. — Roberts testifies under cross-examination

Read’s lawyer David Yannetti asked if O’Keefe was wearing a puffy jacket at McCarthy’s.

“Never,” Roberts said.

As he left the bar, Roberts said he spoke to Read briefly but didn’t remember what was said.

”Maybe I was saying bye,” he said.

”You had no indication that she was slurring her words in any way,” Yannetti said.

“Correct,” Roberts said. He said he didn’t detect any other signs of Read being intoxicated or any tension between her and O’Keefe. Yannetti also noted that Read sometimes came to Roberts’s house to pick up his son to take him to sporting events.

Read was sometimes “shuttling” the children to various events, Yannetti said. “Correct,” Roberts said.

”She appeared to be caring toward the kids, did she not?” Yannetti asked. That drew an objection from prosecutors, which Cannone overruled before the lawyers went to sidebar.

Following the sidebar, Yannetti asked Roberts if “it appeared to you as though Karen was caring” for the children. Roberts said it did.

12:30 p.m. — Curt Roberts said everything seemed “very normal” at the bar

Roberts said all seemed “very normal” at McCarthy’s and he did not see any arguments.

He said he didn’t notice anything strange about O’Keefe’s clothing and did not see any injuries on his face.

Roberts said he went to bed around midnight, recalling it was snowing.

“The wind was hitting the windows. You just knew it was a storm,” he said.

The next morning around 5 a.m., he heard “a voice on my wife’s phone” shouting and he woke up.

”I just couldn’t make out the words,” Roberts said. He learned it was Read on the phone.

”My wife gets up, she starts getting all crazy and putting her clothes on,” Roberts said. He urged her not to leave the house in the storm but she went anyway, saying “John’s missing.”

Roberts said his wife called him later in the morning “to tell me that they found John, he’s in the ambulance to bring him to the hospital, and she was going to get Mr. and Mrs. O’Keefe.”

He began clearing his driveway with a snow blower, he said.

”There were drifts of at least a foot or so,” he said. “It was a lot.”

His wife returned home around 8 a.m., he said.

12:10 p.m — Roberts continues his testimony

Roberts said he was drinking bottles of Bud Light at McCarthy’s and thought O’Keefe and Camerano were having the same. He viewed video footage from the bar and identified “John and Michael” at the establishment, as well as a man nicknamed “Sully.” Sully’s son played baseball with Roberts’s son, he testified.

Read eventually arrived at McCarthy’s, Roberts said, identifying her in the video footage. He said he stayed at the bar for a “good hour” and returned home around 10 p.m. or 10:15 p.m. Roberts said he drank three or four beers at the bar and the other men may each have had one less.

Read appeared to be drinking some sort of “vodka tonic maybe” out of a clear glass. Asked if that was her typical drink, Roberts said “Yes, I would say.”

He said Camerano left the bar around the same time he did.

12:05 p.m. — Husband of one of the women who found O’Keefe’s body takes stand

Curt Roberts, whose wife, Kerry, was with Read when she found O’Keefe’s body, is the next witness. Roberts, a heavy equipment operator, said he was at home on the evening of the 28th when Michael Camerano and O’Keefe reached out to him from McCarthy’s.

Roberts and Camerano are friends and have known one another since childhood, he said.

Roberts said he lived within walking distance of O’Keefe’s home when he moved to Canton.

”He moved in there with his niece and nephew” after their parents died, Roberts said. Roberts said he couldn’t recall when he met Read but said she might have visited his home with O’Keefe.

He said he and O’Keefe never discussed their respective relationships with their significant others. Roberts joked that Michael Camerano had called him “a [expletive]” when he said he didn’t want to go to McCarthy’s.

”I can’t let that happen, so I had to go up there,” Roberts said to laughter.

11:55 a.m. — Read texts her that “he’s dead,” Camerano testifies

She had sent them at 5:10 a.m., she testified. Camerano, reviewing phone records entered as exhibits, said she and Read spoke repeatedly by phone for brief periods between 4:49 a.m. and 6:36 a.m. Read sometimes did not answer her calls during that time, she said.

She and Read also texted that morning, she said. At one point she texted Read, “are you okay?” and told her to “go back home, so you’re safe with Kaylee. He’ll end up home. I bet he’s on someone’s couch.”

She also texted Read, “what’s going on Karen.” Read replied that she was riding with Roberts and McCabe to look for him. She said she asked Read if one of the other women was driving.

”Because she was so hysterical, I didn’t want her driving,” Camerano said.

At 6:34 a.m., Read texted her that “he’s dead,” she said. She replied, “What? Karen are you serious?” She asked if she had found O’Keefe. At 6:36 a.m., Read replied “he was in the snow.”

11:40 a.m. — Read told her “John didn’t come home,” Camerano testifies

In the background, Camerano said “I could hear Kayley,” O’Keefe’s niece.

She called her husband who “never answered,” Camerano said. She texted O’Keefe twice and called Read back.

”I could hear Jen [McCabe] in the background,” Katherine Camerano said. “She was one of Madeline’s [her daughter] basketball coaches so I know her voice.”

She spoke to Kayley on the phone and asked if everyone was OK, she testified. Kayley said the women were heading out to look for O’Keefe.

She later asked Kayley if Read was out alone, and O’Keefe’s niece said, “no, she’s with Jen and Kerry,” referring to Jennifer McCabe and Kerry Roberts.

During that call, she heard Read screaming that O’Keefe was “not home.”

”She was just like frantically screaming,” she said. “Just screaming ‘where’s Mike?’”

Later that morning, Camerano said she spoke with Roberts, who told her O’Keefe was being taken to the hospital. Camerano said she then spoke to her husband and told him to go to O’Keefe’s house to get Kayley, who was there alone. Camerano said she has known Kerry Roberts since high school.

11:35 a.m. — Katherine Camerano said the couples socialized together regularly

”We went out to eat, we went to a comedy show,” she said. On the night of the 28th, she learned O’Keefe and her husband had gone out. The next morning, Read called her between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m.

”She was just screaming ‘Where’s Mike? Where’s Mike?’ ” Katherine Camerano said. “She just kept saying it. She just kept saying ‘Where’s Mike?’”

Camerano said she told Read to calm down, hung up, and called her husband’s phone “what felt like 100 times.”

11:30 a.m. — Katherine Camerano takes the stand

Prosecutors next called Katherine Camerano, Michael’s wife.

”They play sports,” she said of her children, adding that her daughter plays mostly soccer and softball while her son plays hockey and baseball.

She said she was working the night of Jan. 28, a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift. On a typical Friday night, “they went to Johnny’s house a lot,” she said of her husband and children.

Her daughter and O’Keefe’s niece met in youth sports in fourth or fifth-grade and quickly became close friends, she said. Her son and O’Keefe’s nephew were also close.

O’Keefe “was our friend. He was really good to me and my kids,” she said.

She met Read when she and O’Keefe started dating during the pandemic.

”She had a house in Mansfield, but she stayed at” O’Keefe’s place frequently, she said.

10:45 a.m. — Camerano testifies on cross-examination

Camerano said he drove home and woke up his daughter, who stayed with Kayley for a time before he took her home. He took her home because O’Keefe’s brother Paul had informed him O’Keefe was dead, he said.

On cross-examination, Jackson noted “you were close enough” that the two couples and the children often spent time together.

“Correct,” Camerano said.

Jackson asked Camerano about an open house at Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro that the couples attended, including Read.

”Karen was there ... for John’s niece,” Jackson said.

“Yes,” Camerano said.

He said O’Keefe didn’t approve of Read spoiling his niece and nephew.

”You never heard Mr. O’Keefe even hint at the idea of breaking up with Ms. Read,” Jackson said.

”Not that I can recall,” Camerano said.

At McCarthy’s on Jan. 28, Read and O’Keefe shared an “affectionate greeting,” Jackson said.

”They kissed,” Camerano said.

”You didn’t observe any arguing or bickering between the two of them?” Jackson asked. “There didn’t seem to be any tension between them, is that right?”

”Not that I recall,” Camerano said.

Asked if Read and O’Keefe had a “normal, caring, and affectionate” interaction at McCarthy’s, Camerano said yes. Judge Beverly Cannone called a morning recess around 10:50 a.m.

10:40 a.m. — Camerano learns O’Keefe hadn’t come home

After the sidebar, Camerano said his wife told him “John didn’t come home last night,” which she learned when Read called her.

”My wife says to me, go get Kayley, Kayley is home,” referring to O’Keefe’s niece.

He said he cleared snow off his car and drove to O’Keefe’s house.

”When I pulled in, I could tell the garage door was open, left open,” he said. “Once I went inside, I saw Kayley, I asked Kayley to get whatever she needed and to come and get in the car.”

O’Keefe and Read’s cars were both there, Camerano said. Read’s SUV was “pulled in on the left side all the way in,” he said. He said he was trying to clear out snow and close the garage door because he thought O’Keefe “would go crazy when he came home and all the snow was in his garage.”

No one else came to the home when he was there, Camerano said.

10:35 a.m. — Camerano testimony continues

Camerano said he settled his tab before leaving McCarthy’s to pick up his injured son. He returned to O’Keefe’s house to pick up his daughter around 11 p.m. He parked in the driveway and did not go inside, he said.

O’Keefe’s car and the garage doors “looked normal,” Camerano said.

When he left McCarthy’s, O’Keefe and Read mentioned they were heading either to the Waterfall Bar & Grille across the street or to the Hillside Pub, Camerano said. He went to bed soon after returning home and woke up around 5:30 a.m. or 6 a.m. when he heard his phone ringing.

”I see a lot of missed calls, a bunch of missed calls from Karen, and missed calls from my wife’s work,” Camerano said. He called his wife, he said. Lally asked what his wife told him and the defense objected. The lawyers went to sidebar.

10:30 a.m. — Camerano continues testimony about night out before O’Keefe’s death

Camerano said Roberts also drank beer that night. Read drank clear liquid “out of a glass” with a straw, he said. She typically drank vodka when they were out together, Camerano said.

He testified that his son went to a friend’s house that evening to skate on a makeshift hockey rink. Camerano said he left the pub to pick up his son after he was hit in the face with a hockey stick and had lost his tooth. Roberts left the bar shortly before he did.

10:15 a.m. — Camerano testifies about Read arriving at the bar

Camerano testified that O’Keefe typically did not wear a coat, even in winter.

“Never that I can recall,” he said.

He identified a video clip of him and O’Keefe “heading down to McCarthy’s” in Canton on Jan 28.

Camerano said at one point at the bar he texted their friend Curt Roberts to join them. He said he was busy, so Camerano texted that he was “a [expletive],” prompting laughter from the spectators.

Roberts eventually came to the bar, as did Read.

Lally also played video footage from that night at McCarthy’s. Camerano identified the seats at the bar where he and O’Keefe had sat.

”That is me, and that is John,” he said, describing the footage on the monitor. Camerano said he and O’Keefe were both drinking bottled beers. Typically they drank Bud Light, he said.

Camerano said he didn’t recall how many beers he had but said he and O’Keefe had essentially the same amount, going “one for one,” on rounds.

The mood at the bar was “pretty good,” he said. He said he didn’t note any damage or tears to O’Keefe’s clothing.

10 a.m. — Camerano goes to O’Keefe’s house with his daughter on Jan. 28

Prosecutor Adam Lally asked how he came to know Karen Read, and Camerano said, “John introduced me to her. She was John’s girlfriend.”

He would normally see O’Keefe and Read a couple of times a week, he said. In the week before O’Keefe’s death, he and O’Keefe had “just regular guy conversations” about his relationship with Read. He said he couldn’t recall anything specific.

When Camerano and his daughter arrived at O’Keefe’s house on Jan. 28, O’Keefe’s niece was also there and everyone exchanged congratulations and was “really excited for the girls,” he said.

The children stayed behind while O’Keefe and Camerano went to McCarthy’s, where they planned to meet Read. Camerano said he backed up his car so “John could move his car out of the way so Karen could pull her car into the garage, because of the snowstorm.”

He said O’Keefe “always kept things very tidy” around the garage and was “OCD” about it. O’Keefe kept a classic convertible in the garage, Camerano said. Camerano said O’Keefe’s house was also “very tidy” and he preferred guests take their shoes off inside, prompting chuckles from the spectators.

9:50 a.m. — Camerano and O’Keefe text on Jan. 28

Camerano said his wife, a nurse, was at home during the day on Jan. 28 but was working a night shift.

”I would usually go over to the O’Keefe’s house every Friday,” with one or both of his children, Camerano said. He identified another text “from JJ,” O’Keefe’s nickname, asking “you guys around tonight?”

Camerano replied that his wife was working but he was around and his son was out playing. O’Keefe later asked Camerano if he wanted to “hit the Hillside,” a local pub, for a bit. Camerano said he wouldn’t get to his house until about 5:30 p.m., adding “I am leaving in 10.”

“OK,” O’Keefe replied.

9:45 a.m — Camerano testifies about text messages he exchanged with O’Keefe on Jan. 28

In one group text, he and his wife and O’Keefe had exchanged messages.

“Congrats, this is great news,” Camerano texted to O’Keefe at one point about his daughter being accepted.

”Same news, I hope?” O’Keefe replied. Yes, Camerano said, indicating his daughter had also gotten in.

”Sweet, congrats Madeline,” O’Keefe wrote, referring to Camerano’s daughter.

His wife replied, “I’m so excited for these girls, Madeline doesn’t know yet.” O’Keefe responded that he had already told his niece.

“So I’m sure she’s texted her by now,” O’Keefe said. “Poor kid is probably a nervous wreck.”

9:40 a.m. — The next prosecution witness is Michael Camerano

Camerano testified that he has lived in Canton for 18 years and lives there with his wife and two children. He said he is a member of a laborers’ union and met O’Keefe about seven years ago through “mutual friends.” Camerano said his two children and O’Keefe’s niece and nephew became friendly.

”My daughter was extremely close” with O’Keefe’s niece, he said. The boys played baseball together and the girls played basketball and soccer together, Camerano said. He and O’Keefe were close and coordinated pickups and drop-offs.

On Jan. 28, 2022, Camerano said his daughter and O’Keefe’s niece had both received acceptance letters to Bishop Feehan, a Catholic high school.

”We wanted to get the kids together” to celebrate, Camerano said.

9:20 a.m. — Canton police lieutenant Charles Rae continues testimony

Rae viewed video footage of him and another officer getting out of their cruiser at O’Keefe’s residence and moving toward the front door. He viewed additional footage of himself looking through windows to determine if he could see any activity inside the residence. Rae said he and his fellow officer returned to the police station after going to the home.

9:02 a.m. — Drama in the media line

Outside of the courthouse, few pink-clad protesters were visible on Wednesday. But Aidan Kearney, the blogger known as Turtleboy who has championed Read’s innocence — and who has been charged with witness intimidation in connection to the case and pleaded not guilty — got into a media line for courtroom access after receiving a press credential. Another blogger, Grant Smith Ellis, who opposes Kearney and Read, had arrived earlier and brought several placeholders to try to crowd Kearney out of the small courtroom. The pair exchanged words and about a half hour later, Kearney left when it was unclear who would be getting into the courtroom.

Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com. Sean Cotter can be reached at sean.cotter@globe.com. Follow him @cotterreporter.