Allison McCabe is the college-age daughter of Jennifer and Matthew McCabe who testified for the prosecution at Karen Read’s first murder trial in May 2024. On the stand, she gave an alibi for her friend Colin Albert, the nephew the defense was trying to implicate in the death of Boston police officer John O’Keefe, and she described the harassment her family had faced since the case became a national story.
Who Allie McCabe Is
McCabe grew up in Canton, Massachusetts, and played three sports at Canton High School: soccer, ice hockey, and lacrosse. She was a four-year starting center back on the soccer team and earned Eastern Massachusetts and Hockomock League All-Star honors in 2020. She went on to Ithaca College, where she majored in Business Administration and appeared as a senior defender on the 2025 women’s soccer roster.1Ithaca College Athletics. Allie McCabe Women’s Soccer Roster She has three sisters: Emily, Olivia, and Madison.
Her family sits at the center of the network the Karen Read defense sought to implicate. Her mother, Jennifer McCabe, is the sister of Nicole Albert, who is married to retired Boston police officer Brian Albert. Brian Albert owned the home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton where John O’Keefe’s body was found in the snow on the morning of January 29, 2022.2Court TV. Key Players in the Karen Read Murder Case Allie McCabe and Colin Albert, Brian Albert’s nephew, are friends who share mutual cousins.3CBS News Boston. Karen Read Trial Day 12
Why She Was Called to Testify
Karen Read was charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death after prosecutors alleged she struck O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV outside the Fairview Road house and left him to die in a blizzard.4A&E. Karen Read Timeline The defense told a very different story: that O’Keefe had been beaten inside the Albert home, attacked by the family’s German shepherd, and left on the front lawn, and that a group including Brian Albert, Jennifer McCabe, Colin Albert, and ATF agent Brian Higgins covered it up with help from a compromised state police investigation.5NPR. Karen Read Acquitted at Trial
Colin Albert, 17 at the time of O’Keefe’s death, had been at the Fairview Road house earlier that evening for his cousin’s birthday party. The defense pointed to selfie videos in which he made violent threats aimed at an opposing hockey team, and to photographs taken roughly two weeks after O’Keefe’s death that the defense said showed injuries to his knuckles. Albert testified those knuckle injuries came from slipping on an icy driveway at a house party and denied any involvement in an attack on O’Keefe.6NBC Boston. Karen Read Trial Day 13 Whether he was still in the house when O’Keefe and Read arrived became a central factual dispute, and Allie McCabe was the person who said he wasn’t.
Her Testimony About Colin Albert’s Ride Home
McCabe, then 20, took the stand on May 15, 2024. She told the jury she gave Colin Albert a ride home from 34 Fairview Road shortly after midnight on January 29, 2022, and that Albert was no longer at the house by the time Read and O’Keefe arrived.7Boston.com. Allie McCabe Karen Read Murder Trial Harassment
Prosecutors introduced text messages between the two friends to corroborate the timeline. At 11:54 p.m. on January 28, Albert texted, “U can get me now. If easier.” A minute later, McCabe replied, “ok I am driving ppl home now.” Albert answered, “Word. Get me after.” Around 12:10 a.m. on January 29, McCabe texted “here,” and Albert replied “Ok.”8NBC Boston. Karen Read Trial Day 12
The defense went after the messages hard. Attorney David Yannetti asked McCabe whether timestamps could be altered or messages deleted; she said she didn’t know changing timestamps was possible.3CBS News Boston. Karen Read Trial Day 12 The defense also pointed out that investigators didn’t ask for the contents of McCabe’s phone until roughly 18 months after O’Keefe’s death, and that McCabe didn’t hand over the screenshots until the summer of 2023, by which time she had upgraded her phone and no longer had the originals on the device.8NBC Boston. Karen Read Trial Day 12
The defense pressed her further with data from the Life360 location-tracking app. McCabe testified she drove Albert home and then went home herself and stayed there. The app showed her traveling to Canton High School during the early morning hours of January 29. She said she didn’t recall the events the app appeared to reflect.8NBC Boston. Karen Read Trial Day 12
The defense also attacked the underlying investigation. Colin Albert had known lead investigator Trooper Michael Proctor since childhood, their families were close, and Albert had served as ring bearer at the wedding of Proctor’s sister.6NBC Boston. Karen Read Trial Day 13 Read’s attorneys argued that Proctor never properly scrutinized Albert’s whereabouts and simply accepted Allie McCabe’s account that she’d picked him up around midnight.9Boston 25 News. Karen Read’s Attorneys Move to Compel Deposition of Colin Albert
The “When John Was There” Moment
One line from McCabe’s testimony drew outsized attention. Talking about the harassment Colin Albert had faced, she said: “Colin wasn’t at the house. He’s being harassed for … he was not at the house when John was there.”3CBS News Boston. Karen Read Trial Day 12 The defense read the phrasing as an inadvertent concession that O’Keefe had been inside the Albert home that night, something the prosecution and the Alberts had consistently denied. Whether it was a slip or awkward wording became one of the debated moments of the trial.
Her Testimony About Harassment
McCabe broke down in tears while describing what her family and Colin Albert had endured. She testified they had received “a lot of harassment” from “bloggers, people online” for “a very long time,” including constant phone calls, emails, and “awful messages,” people showing up at her family’s home, and emails sent to her school.3CBS News Boston. Karen Read Trial Day 12 Her mother, Jennifer McCabe, offered similar testimony about receiving “death wishes” and having letters sent to the colleges her daughters attended, calling the experience “unimaginable.”10NBC Boston. Jen McCabe Describes Unimaginable Harassment in Karen Read Case
What Happened to the Theory She Was Rebutting
The first trial ended in a mistrial on July 1, 2024, after jurors told Judge Beverly Cannone they were deadlocked and that further deliberation would be “futile.”11WBUR. Karen Read Murder Case What’s Next After Mistrial The retrial began in April 2025, and for that second proceeding Judge Cannone prohibited the defense from attempting to implicate Colin Albert in O’Keefe’s death, sharply limiting the ground on which Allie McCabe’s earlier testimony had mattered.2Court TV. Key Players in the Karen Read Murder Case
On June 18, 2025, the jury acquitted Read of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of a collision causing death. She was convicted of one charge, operating a vehicle under the influence, and was sentenced to one year of probation, a driver alcohol education program, and a license suspension of up to 90 days.12Court TV. Karen Read Murder Retrial Daily Trial Updates