MA - Professor Karen Read, 43, charged with murdering police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe by hitting him with car, Canton, 14 Apr 2023 #10

[RANCH]

I actually detected a snarl from the Judge, and a bit of disdain when Dr Russell admitted she first heard/read about this case from The Boston Globe. Judge Bev, IMO disliked her from the get go. It was apparent to me.

I think she's doing a good job. She has not shown any bias in my opinion. JMO.

 

[Ray_of_hope]

But the prosecution doesn't have to present a second by second account of what happened to show murder actually happened. Neither do they need to trace every mark on his body back to the object that made it. This is reasonable doubt, not beyond any uncertainty. They have so far proven she was there, she was very drunk, she admitted to being in a fight, she accelerated backward with her foot 75% to the floor reaching 24mph in 60 feet, her tail light is broken, his DNA is on it, the pieces of tail light are in the yard and on the street, pieces of tail light are on his shirt, broken glass from the one he was holding in his hand as he left the bar were in the yard with him, and she knew exactly where to find him and speculated that she may have hit him, and he is dead.

The defense wants you to believe that all those things above are false or fabricated, and that he went into a house full of people, including law enforcement officers, all of them are now lying, he got beat up and bitten by their dog, then they dragged him out in the street to die and they were smart enough to plant him right on top of his broken glass. Without presenting a single piece of evidence any of this is real.

The defense's case is beyond ludicrous.

True story. I live in a small town. There is an LE and attorney couple that live here with their child that plays a popular sport. Every high schooler knew that on weekends, select people would be invited to the home to party and there would be alcohol aplenty. The cool kid. Parents were well aware and I heard that parents even supplied some of the libations. One weekend, one of the revelers drank way too much. The student told the parents and they frantically told the student and his/her friends to take that person and move him/her from their property so there'd be no liability. I found out after my child informed me some months later. Thankfully, the child survived. But no one would speak about the incident and the students kept it very hush hush. One of my children felt compelled to tell me only later. My student was afraid to speak out due to fear of retaliation and alienation from high school friends. So this stuff happens.

 

[keek]

Also, at link. Here are the positions she holds currently:

• Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Clinical
• Assistant Professor of Pathology, Keck School of Medicine and LAC+USC Medical Center
• Director, Center for Life Support Training and Research
• Director, Clinical Forensic Medicine Program

BBM

..AND this is only currently. Her life's background and using for good is amazing. (there's that word. )

 

[Ray_of_hope]

I think I missed that the yard was fenced in. I just remember thinking it was odd they kept bring up taking her out to pee and where BA was, etc. Maybe it was simply to say Chloe could not have harmed him in the front yard because she only goes in the fenced in back yard?

I agree she didn't kill him.

Yes, they had an inground pool in the back yard too and I believe they are supposed to be fenced in for safety reasons per ordinance. At least in my area, fences are required around pools. But it also kept Chloe in with a great area to run around in.

 

[Seleney]

@BienickWCVB

Paul says O'Keefe's arm and shoulder took the brunt of the impact. Says the scratches on his arm were caused after the impact when the taillight was broken.

Jackson holds his arm up as he asks Paul if he accounted for the fact that the arm and the shoulder are a hinge.

View attachment 510971

The arm and shoulder are NOT a hinge, that is a ball and socket joint.

 

[TTF14]

The arm and shoulder are NOT a hinge, that is a ball and socket joint.

It sounds like you're a medical professional. The average person (not a medical professional) would not know the difference. I guess when I stop and think about it, I know the difference (i.e. between a knee and a hip or shoulder), but just like Mr. Jackson said "colectomy" instead of "colostomy," I don't think it REALLY matters in this case.

JMO MOO

 

[keek]

True story. I live in a small town. There is an LE and attorney couple that live here with their child that plays a popular sport. Every high schooler knew that on weekends, select people would be invited to the home to party and there would be alcohol aplenty. The cool kid. Parents were well aware and I heard that parents even supplied some of the libations. One weekend, one of the revelers drank way too much. The student told the parents and they frantically told the student and his/her friends to take that person and move him/her from their property so there'd be no liability. I found out after my child informed me some months later. Thankfully, the child survived. But no one would speak about the incident and the students kept it very hush hush. One of my children felt compelled to tell me only later. My student was afraid to speak out due to fear of retaliation and alienation from high school friends. So this stuff happens.

Oh, MANY stories of same in just MA. I'm glad your child did confide in you, it's what you want and she/he can trust you. Good job.

 

[Ray_of_hope]

The arm and shoulder are NOT a hinge, that is a ball and socket joint.

Exactly, shoulders rotate. Fingers, knees, and elbows hinge which allows bending and straightening.

 

[TristanP]

Every day while watching the trial I look over at my partner and ask, “How can they not see the evidence?”

I understand some of the Okeefe’s may not care for her as an individual (particularly after the BH texts), but the overwhelming amount of information countering the CW’s theory should at least count for something. Right?

Maybe they will still hold her responsible because she left without him.

 

[Warwick7]

I have to ask, how much of the trial have you watched?

It's the prosecution's case that is beyond ludicrous. They don't even have a viable theory of what happened (See Trooper Paul's testimony. It's the most embarrassing testimony I've ever heard. Well, aside from Proctor's). Not only are there independent witnesses who put Karen Read sitting alone in her car, no doubt waiting for John's return or call, no one in this "house full of people" saw a body lying in the front yard as they left the premises, walking near by and then driving by the exact location.

It's also important to put the "house full of people" into context. It's very possible the younger ones sitting in the dining area never saw John enter and head downstairs. The stairs down are off the foyer and the floorplan isn't open with a limited view from the doorway of the dining room. Which is not to say they weren't aware something had happened after the fact. These young people were not questioned and some weren't even identified until many months later. If they were told (and this is a direct quote from Matt McCabe) "Just tell them the guy never went into the house" and didn't want to rock anything with the no doubt intimidating Brian Albert, this would explain why they didn't come forth right away on their own.

No one asked and no one told, but by the time LE finally was forced (by the FBI's investigation) to deal with the bystanders, if they had heard something, they no doubt knew they were complicit in keeping silent as they knew the next day John was found dead on the lawn. This meets the definition of accessory to murder after the fact.

We're really only talking about two non-family members, Julie Nagle and Sara Levinson. Had they been questioned by law enforcement in a proper LE setting, they may well have told about a commotion in the basement. But they didn't and by the time LE did ask questions, they'd be silent long enough to know they could face charges. So they decided to take Matt's advice and just keep repeating, "The guy never went into the house". Easy enough. "I know nothing."

As for the cops, aside from John, there was only Brian Albert and Brian Higgins. And they are both shady as hell, denying documented phone calls and conversation (see butt dialing and butt answering), destroying phones under court order (BH's at a military base where State police have no jurisdiction), and with Brian Albert not bothering to even step outside when there were ambulance, police and a screaming woman right under his bedroom window. Probably too busy still doing clean up in the basement.

No doubt. John was killed in that house. The state doesn't even have a remotely viable theory to show otherwise. They only have a conflicted and dirty lead investigator and Trooper Joe Paul, who literally spoke gibberish on the stand.

I have been reading all day and most of the evening. I did not take an interest in this case till today.

So, I am an outsider looking in.

@HarmonyE. really nailed this comment up above.

What I can see.... is JO was having an altercation, a fist fight if you will, with someone in that house and Chloe came to that person's defense attacking JO.

MOO he died from that head wound, either after the dog attack or during.

I do not understand how this even came to trial....

 

[TIGER0822]

That was one time, I lived on base, and my ex was really crazy.
And legitimately might have helped murder her own mother.

Regardless, as you have been on base, you know it is impossible to cut through the base.Havinf a guest is a procedure in itself.

 

[Warwick7]

Like you, I believe the beating took place in the basement and it ended fast with JO unconscious or dead. Several photos have been posted of the well-equipped basement gym, including workout equipment with hard, sharp protruding parts. A few solid punches by a couple big drunk, angry guys aided by Chloe biting/scratching JO's arm. The back of JO's head could have smacked a workout machine as he fell, or one of the punches landed on the back of his head. There would have been a heavy blood flow down his shirt and onto the floor.

I think he was dragged out through the basement bulkhead door to the edge of the front yard. At that time the snow was light and any drag marks would have been covered by the heavy snow accumulation that was just beginning. We know the basement floor was replaced some months later and Chloe was re-homed. moo

Yes. I could definitely agree with this.

 

[friendlysleuther]

Not sure if I'm interpreting it wrong but when encountering KR being restrained by hospital employees screaming "IS HE ALIVE?!", blowing her a kiss (rather than sitting her down and explaining that JOK had passed away) seems very patronising. So I'm trying to understand that part.

I’ve thought about this.. Someone had walked in while I was watching the first days of trial and they offered me their opinion.
They said,
“Hmm? You.. Brush your teeth (&xyz) on the way to the hospital to see your brother? Wouldn’t you just… Get up and go? Who cares about your teeth at that point?”
Along with the other odd things that were mentioned about Paul&/ Karen and just all-in-all..
**don’t shoot the messenger!! It’s just something I’ve thought.. “hmm.” since hearing it.

 

[keek]

I’ve thought about this.. Someone had walked in while I was watching the first days of trial and they offered me their opinion.
They said,
“Hmm? You.. Brush your teeth (&xyz) on the way to the hospital to see your brother? Wouldn’t you just… Get up and go? Who cares about your teeth at that point?”
Along with the other odd things that were mentioned about Paul&/ Karen and just all-in-all..
**don’t shoot the messenger!! It’s just something I’ve thought.. “hmm.” since hearing it.

I for one, hadn't read that info about JO'K's brother. Looks like I def missed any of that. What odd things were mentioned about Paul and Karen> I def missed that. I do see him holding in his feelings and thoughts barely. So hard.

 

[arielilane]

I wonder if the flip JMcC refers to is the one that occurs KerR wraps JOK’s head? KerR testifies that they found JOK on his back but as she checks him over and removes snow from his face she notices he is bleeding at the back of his head. She decides to check to see if he has a head wound and sees he has a cut at the back of his head. She admits she can’t really recall what she wrapped it but her testimony was very thorough, easy to follow and seemed genuine or honest in my opinion. I think she wraps his head prior to starting CPR.

@19:29

In the link you provided there is no mention of flipping over his head as KerR wraps JOK's head. KerR does testify that he was on his back. Anyway, here is KerR's testimony according to Boston.com:

Additionally, iirc, no cross by defense.



Kerry Roberts testified that she awoke at 5 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2022, to a brief phone call from Karen Read, who was screaming frantically into the phone.

“John’s dead,” she remembered Read yelling. Roberts said Read also called out “Kerry, Kerry, Kerry” before hanging up the phone.

Roberts had known John O’Keefe, Read’s boyfriend of two years, since high school and considered him one of her closest friends. When she finally got Read back on the phone, she learned that O’Keefe hadn’t come home the night before.

“I’m afraid John might be dead. He might have gotten hit by a plow,” Roberts said Read told her.

“I said, ‘OK, where are you now?’ And she said, ‘I’m driving. Can I come to your house? Will you drive my car? I don’t remember anything from last night. We drank so much, I don’t remember anything,’” Roberts recalled.

She said she directed Read to return to O’Keefe’s house and stay with his niece, who was home alone.

“I said, ‘You’re going to get a DUI. You were drinking all night last night, and you don’t remember anything. You shouldn’t be driving,’” Roberts said.

She testified that she called the Canton Police Department and Good Samaritan Medical Center to see whether O’Keefe had been in an accident. When she spoke with Read again, she said she learned Read had gone over to Jennifer McCabe’s home.

Roberts testified that she met up with Read and McCabe at O’Keefe’s house, but O’Keefe wasn’t there. As they set out to search for him, Roberts said Read “really wanted to go” to 34 Fairview Road, where McCabe’s sister and brother-in-law lived and where Read had dropped O’Keefe off the night before.

Roberts also testified that she noticed a piece missing from one of the taillights on Read’s SUV.

On the drive over to Fairview Road, “There was some conversation about a woman I didn’t know that was ‘Bella’s mom,’” Roberts recalled. “And she (Read) said, ‘Bella’s mom never liked me.’ I think Bella lived near Jen’s sister, maybe.”

McCabe previously testified that when O’Keefe called to ask for directions to 34 Fairview Road hours before, she told him the house was near “Bella’s street,” referring to a child who was friendly with O’Keefe’s niece. O’Keefe had dated Bella’s mother years before, McCabe said.

As the three women drove over to Fairview Road later that morning, McCabe mentioned that Fairview Road was near Spring Lane.

“And I said, ‘Oh, where the dance instructor lived.’ John had once dated a dance instructor,” Roberts explained. “And then Karen said, ‘Do you think he could have gone there? Do you think that’s where he could have been?’”

As they approached 34 Fairview Road, “All of a sudden Karen said, ‘There he is! There he is! Let me the F out of this car.’ And she started kicking the door,” Roberts recalled.

She said she didn’t see anything at the time, but she unlocked the door and watched as Read ran over to “a mound of snow.”

“At some point, I realized it was the shape of a body,” she added.

Roberts teared up as Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally played police dashcam footage from the scene. Choking back a sob, she recalled the moment she realized there was a person buried in the snow. When she ran over and cleared snow from the man’s face, she said she recognized O’Keefe, her longtime friend.

“He had blood coming out of his nose and his mouth, and his right eye — it looked like a golf ball,” Roberts said, adding that O’Keefe was also bleeding from a cut on the back of his head.

Roberts started CPR while McCabe dialed 911 and Read attempted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. She said Read repeatedly asked, “Did I hit him?” and “Is he dead?” Roberts also testified that as first responders carted O’Keefe away, she saw grass on the ground where his body had been.

Later on, Read and McCabe were warming up in the back of a police cruiser as Roberts stood outside, she recalled.

‘You’re going to get a DUI,’ Kerry Roberts says she warned Karen Read before search
updated on May 22, 2024

 

[Slick762]

Regardless, as you have been on base, you know it is impossible to cut through the base.Havinf a guest is a procedure in itself.

Having a fed leo id, he might be able to enter as simply as a mil member but it's super sus to go out of your way to fed jurisdiction to dump a cell phone after you get word there's a subpoena or warrant for it. The subpoena was cancelled but Higgins didn't know that when he destroyed evidence.

 

[RANCH]

Having a fed leo id, he might be able to enter as simply as a mil member but it's super sus to go out of your way to fed jurisdiction to dump a cell phone after you get word there's a subpoena or warrant for it. The subpoena was cancelled but Higgins didn't know that when he destroyed evidence.

I would just find a dumpster behind a commercial business and get rid of any incriminating evidence there. JMO.

 

[arielilane]

For anyone interested in Commonwealth of MA Office of Jury Commissioner
Grand Juror's Handbook

INDICTMENT - an accusation in writing presented
by a grand jury, charging that a person has done
some act, or been guilty of some omission, which by
law is a public offense. An indictment is referred to as
a "true bill," and a refusal to indict is called a "no bill."
An indictment is only an accusation. Its sole purpose
is to identify the defendant's alleged offense, and it is
not evidence that the offense charged was commit-
ted or that the person charged committed that
offense.
PRESENTMENT - the formal delivery of indictments
and no bills to a judge in open court session in the
presence of all members of the grand jury.
PROBABLE CAUSE - reasonable cause; an appar-
ent state of facts found to exist upon presentation of
evidence to members of the grand jury that would
lead a reasonably intelligent and prudent person to
believe that the accused person has committed the
crime charged.
PROSECUTOR - one who commences an investiga-
tion by making an affidavit charging a named person
with an offense on which a warrant is issued, or an
indictment or information is based. The prosecutor
may be the Attorney General, Assistant Attorney
General, the District Attorney, or an Assistant District
Attorney.

https://www.mass.gov/doc/grand-jurors-handbook/download

 

[friendlysleuther]

I for one, hadn't read that info about JO'K's brother. Looks like I def missed any of that. What odd things were mentioned about Paul and Karen> I def missed that. I do see him holding in his feelings and thoughts barely. So hard.

It was during his testimony

 

[Aquarian]

Are we 100% sure they weren't cut outs from stain analysis?

I recall the gal saying she swabbed his shirt. I don’t recall any cuttings being mentioned and that’s what many have complained about.