MISTRIAL MA - Professor Karen Read, 43, charged with murdering police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe by hitting him with car, Canton, 14 Apr 2023 #16

[mzmarymac]

Re the question of how this happened. I believe that Colin Albert was absolutely 100% involved. He had bruising on his knuckles in a pic taken a few days later. And remember his reason on cross was that he slipped on ice and skidded down a driveway on his knuckles. No scraping or cuts, just bruised knuckles. He was said to have been a big guy, good athlete, with an antagonistic personality (remember the selfie video they played in court, aggressively threatening someone?)

People at the house said he wasn’t there when he clearly was. His dad Chris Albert testified as to when Colin came home that night, but on cross it was determined that Chris Albert’s timeline was fiction.

His mom Julie A told Michael proctor she wanted to buy him a gift when this was all over.

What about Allie McCabe? She and Colin were very close… had been their whole lives. She said she picked him up, drove him home, went home herself and never left. But on cross it was revealed that her life 360 app had her driving around for about an hour I think (can’t exactly remember how long) and at one point she had driven to the high school. This was in the early morning hours of Jan 29th. Why? Perhaps as I have seen elsewhere she and Colin got him a change of clothes (maybe he even took a quick shower at home) and they drove to the high school to dump his clothes (with JOK’s dna and possibly blood) in the dumpster.

There had been a fight. JOK’s face was beaten up. No other injuries below his neck. Colin had bruised knuckles after that.

And Chloe saw this fight, she went in to protect her family. Now they say she was re-homed to Vermont. But they’ve been asked to provide the new owners info and they won’t. Poor Chloe, probably an amazing, loyal, loving dog. I believe they (probably Brian) made sure she wasn’t around anymore, if you know what I mean.

Then the new basement door replacement and the tearing up and replacing the basement floor, including concrete.

I think this was just a drunken altercation (maybe even started by Higgins) that escalated, definitely involving Colin. Then panic, then cover-up.

MOO

I think along these same lines. But wondering if perhaps the reason why they want to protect Colin so badly is that maybe they were told or believed or maybe true that JOK may have "started" the altercation?

 

[RANCH]

Looks like change of venue is limited to the several divisions and counties of the Commonwealth.

(1) Transfer for prejudice​

A judge upon his own motion or the motion of a defendant or the Commonwealth made prior to trial may order the transfer of a case to another division or county for trial if the court is satisfied that there exists in the community where the prosecution is pending so great a prejudice against the defendant that he may not there obtain a fair and impartial trial.

(2) Transfer of other cases
A judge, upon motion of a defendant made pursuant to subdivision (3) or (4) of rule 9(a), and after taking into account the convenience of the court, the parties, and their witnesses, may with the written approval of the prosecuting attorney in each division or county order the transfer and consolidation for trial of any or all charges pending against the defendant in the several divisions or counties of the Commonwealth.

https://www.mass.gov/rules-of-criminal-procedure/criminal-procedure-rule-37-transfer-of-cases

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1809320631101792529

Interesting…. but call me a cynic or the like.

I still wonder if the judge maybe didn’t have a question or two when she went and spoke with the collective jurors? Didn’t she say on the record that she would be back to speak with them in a moment after she declared a mistrial? Was the judge’s clerk in attendance then?

Also has the judge issued an official written declaration of the mistrial? Does it indicate ‘without prejudice’ or ‘with prejudice’ perhaps? MOO

 

[kittythehare]

Interesting…. but call me a cynic or the like.

I still wonder if the judge maybe didn’t have a question or two when she went and spoke with the collective jurors? Didn’t she say on the record that she would be back to speak with them in a moment after she declared a mistrial? Was the judge’s clerk in attendance then?

Also has the judge issued an official written declaration of the mistrial? Does it indicate ‘without prejudice’ or ‘with prejudice’ perhaps? MOO

she did not mention the words -prejudice, official or headcounts
She must know, I imagine she warned them against speaking publicly in the current climate for their own protection but that's just me guessing

 

[kittythehare]

This has to be tried in Massachusetts. They can move it to a different county but they'd probably have to go as far as Hampden County to find a higher percentage of non-biased potential jurors. Not sure the judge, who seems very much the 9 - 5 type, would appreciate working out of a courtroom 90 minutes from Dedham.

I'd move it to a different content.
No she wont like that, but it doesn't have to be the same judge , does it?

 

[turaj]

I'd move it to a different content.
No she wont like that, but it doesn't have to be the same judge , does it?

Most of the time it will be the same judge unless there is a major reason that would not permit that...ie retiring etc. Judge C. is up to speed on everything to date and bringing in another judge would not be efficient. In this case I think she wants to handle the retrial as soon as the court calendar permits.

 

[jepop]

I could be wrong but weren't there swabs taken from somewhere and they were found to possibly contain pig DNA? I remember briefly considering wild boar and then realising that many dog foods contain pork.
I thought that was from either his shirt or arm wounds.

The shirt. Swabs sent from which area of shirt I'm not sure we know. As posted prior, the arm wounds were ignored by everyone, including the ME, but the defense. moo

 

[Misy]

I think along these same lines. But wondering if perhaps the reason why they want to protect Colin so badly is that maybe they were told or believed or maybe true that JOK may have "started" the altercation?

Maybe but Colin was known to dislike JOK. They were neighbors and Colin’s younger brother cut through JOK’s yard and JOK told him to get off his lawn. The younger brother went home and told his mom (Julie) who then reported this to Jen Mc I think (or maybe to Nicole Albert?). Anyway JOK got wind that the kid was scared by that and JOK felt bad, asked (someone) what kind of candy he liked and bought him a bag of it and said he’s sorry, he was just kiddding. Colin was mad about that.

Also it’s been reported that JOK had made a police report, or something, a couple of times of drug activity in the neighborhood. Colin didn’t like that either.

So maybe the altercation at 34F that night started between JOK and Higgins, who knows who started it, but I really believe Colin was there and joined.

Something really bad happened, probably unintentional, then everyone went into protect Colin mode and hence the circling of the wagons.

MOO

 

[jepop]

I mean, they did. The FBI have been involved for some time, which is why I was surprised that the previous trial wasn't put on hold pending the outcome of that.

I don't think the fbi investigation is an entire reinvestigation of this case from scratch. jmo

 

[Forest_Wood]

On Day 6 around 3:19, during cross examination by the Defense, Lt. Lank is being questioned about the search of the immediate area around JOK. Lt. Lank described the search being conducted by himself, Officer Sharif, Sgt Goode, Officer Malaney and Detective Gallagher (5 LE people) where they searched 6 or 7 feet on every side of JOK.
He acknowledged they looked for anything out of place or that didn't belong.
They found blood and a cocktail glass.
They did not find a man's size 12 shoe, a black baseball cap and 45 pieces of plastic, which were all "found" on another day.
If anyone is familiar with a snowy climate, they will know that fresh snow is typically very light in nature and easy to move around. It had only been snowing since midnight and Lank was there until 08:00. I have heard some witnesses describe a couple of inches of snow had fallen while others said up to 6 inches with drifting. Snow becomes harder and crunchier only after it has had time to settle. But this snow was new and fresh. And all of those other items were not observed by 5 men actively searching for evidence immediately after the body was found. I would find it hard to miss a size 12 shoe in 6 inches of snow, let alone 2 inches.
The scene was not secure after 08:00 a.m. after Lt Lank left. In this case, the snow melted very quickly and didn't last long. This is very damning evidence for evidence tampering IMO.

 

[TTF14]

Maybe but Colin was known to dislike JOK. They were neighbors and Colin’s younger brother cut through JOK’s yard and JOK told him to get off his lawn. The younger brother went home and told his mom (Julie) who then reported this to Jen Mc I think (or maybe to Nicole Albert?). Anyway JOK got wind that the kid was scared by that and JOK felt bad, asked (someone) what kind of candy he liked and bought him a bag of it and said he’s sorry, he was just kiddding. Colin was mad about that.

Also it’s been reported that JOK had made a police report, or something, a couple of times of drug activity in the neighborhood. Colin didn’t like that either.

So maybe the altercation at 34F that night started between JOK and Higgins, who knows who started it, but I really believe Colin was there and joined.

Something really bad happened, probably unintentional, then everyone went into protect Colin mode and hence the circling of the wagons.

MOO

I don't even think Colin having a prior problem with JOK is likely to have even been a part of it. He was a drunk testosterone-laden kid, proven to get amped up and spew violent threats when drunk. All it would have taken was to see anyone in his family involved in an altercation, and he'd have jumped into the fray. Just like Chloe. Except Chloe hadn't just turned 18 and wouldn't have been prosecuted as an adult, thus ruining her whole life.

IMO MOO

 

[turaj]

Maybe but Colin was known to dislike JOK. They were neighbors and Colin’s younger brother cut through JOK’s yard and JOK told him to get off his lawn. The younger brother went home and told his mom (Julie) who then reported this to Jen Mc I think (or maybe to Nicole Albert?). Anyway JOK got wind that the kid was scared by that and JOK felt bad, asked (someone) what kind of candy he liked and bought him a bag of it and said he’s sorry, he was just kiddding. Colin was mad about that.

Also it’s been reported that JOK had made a police report, or something, a couple of times of drug activity in the neighborhood. Colin didn’t like that either.

So maybe the altercation at 34F that night started between JOK and Higgins, who knows who started it, but I really believe Colin was there and joined. as

Something really bad happened, probably unintentional, then everyone went into protect Colin mode and hence the circling of the wagons.

MOO

I too agree that nothing that night was intentional and all got fueled by the drinking. As for Colin who knows...they protected him as he is not as good at filtering what he says and might have talked too much...and of course his age.

 

[TIGER0822]

I think along these same lines. But wondering if perhaps the reason why they want to protect Colin so badly is that maybe they were told or believed or maybe true that JOK may have "started" the altercation?

Agreed! Huge red flag when the police report did not name him as being in the house. That was enough for me.

 

[Misy]

Maybe but Colin was known to dislike JOK. They were neighbors and Colin’s younger brother cut through JOK’s yard and JOK told him to get off his lawn. The younger brother went home and told his mom (Julie) who then reported this to Jen Mc I think (or maybe to Nicole Albert?). Anyway JOK got wind that the kid was scared by that and JOK felt bad, asked (someone) what kind of candy he liked and bought him a bag of it and said he’s sorry, he was just kiddding. Colin was mad about that.

Also it’s been reported that JOK had made a police report, or something, a couple of times of drug activity in the neighborhood. Colin didn’t like that either.

So maybe the altercation at 34F that night started between JOK and Higgins, who knows who started it, but I really believe Colin was there and joined.

Something really bad happened, probably unintentional, then everyone went into protect Colin mode and hence the circling of the wagons.

MOO

ETA. Keep wondering why Julie Albert wanted to buy Michael proctor a gift after this was all over.

Add to that his testimony where he either denied everything and/or couldn’t remember anything.

And why did Allie McCabe lie about staying at her home that night after she dropped Colin off when her 360 life app records her driving around and specifically to the high school.

And why were Colin and Allie shown to text each other multiple times, every day, prior to Jan 28/29th. Then zero texts between them for at least 30 days following Jan 29th.

MOO

 

[TTF14]

ETA. Keep wondering why Julie Albert wanted to buy Michael proctor a gift after this was all over.

Add to that his testimony where he either denied everything and/or couldn’t remember anything.

And why did Allie McCabe lie about staying at her home that night after she dropped Colin off when her 360 life app records her driving around and specifically to the high school.

And why were Colin and Allie shown to text each other multiple times, every day, prior to Jan 28/29th. Then zero texts between them for at least 30 days following Jan 29th.

MOO

BBM

YES! to all of this except the part I bolded.

I don't necessarily think that means anything because they probably had multiple ways they communicated. Including apps like WhatsApp and Snapchat where their communications wouldn't be saved. I have friends who I'll iMessage/text, Facebook message, Instagram message, Voxer, email, call, send a carrier pigeon, and talk to in person, all in the same day. It's possible they just used a different app after that. It MAY be weirder that they actually used iMessage to communicate that night. My kids don't usually use iMessage with their friends...just with us oldies (parents). Remember.....Jen McCabe was allegedly "given permission" to delete texts between her and her "daughters." What specifically had she texted Ali that night? Was it something like, "Colin is going to be texting you to ask for a ride. SAY YES and then text him again when you arrive. I'll explain later, just do it, and keep it on iMessage for now."

Just a theory! IMO MOO

 

[dalsglen]

I've been on holiday the last 2 weeks and not read a single bit so just logged in this afternoon and saw the mistrial flair.

I for one am really happy that's the case. The CW had a really shoddy case and I don't think they'll ever be able to prosecute her.

The O'keefe family deserve justice, but chasing Karen's not the way to go. She might be guilty of being a jealous, angry and somewhat teenlike girlfriend but she's no murderer.

I'd like to think the fbi probe will kick up more.....

 

[turaj]

I've been on holiday the last 2 weeks and not read a single bit so just logged in this afternoon and saw the mistrial flair.

I for one am really happy that's the case. The CW had a really shoddy case and I don't think they'll ever be able to prosecute her.

The O'keefe family deserve justice, but chasing Karen's not the way to go. She might be guilty of being a jealous, angry and somewhat teenlike girlfriend but she's no murderer.

I'd like to think the fbi probe will kick up more.....

I think the plan is to "chase Karen" again....they are not going to change course..they have nothing else. O'Keefe family will not admit to considering any other options.

 

[Misy]

BBM

YES! to all of this except the part I bolded.

I don't necessarily think that means anything because they probably had multiple ways they communicated. Including apps like WhatsApp and Snapchat where their communications wouldn't be saved. I have friends who I'll iMessage/text, Facebook message, Instagram message, Voxer, email, call, send a carrier pigeon, and talk to in person, all in the same day. It's possible they just used a different app after that. It MAY be weirder that they actually used iMessage to communicate that night. My kids don't usually use iMessage with their friends...just with us oldies (parents). Remember.....Jen McCabe was allegedly "given permission" to delete texts between her and her "daughters." What specifically had she texted Ali that night? Was it something like, "Colin is going to be texting you to ask for a ride. SAY YES and then text him again when you arrive. I'll explain later, just do it, and keep it on iMessage for now."

Just a theory! IMO MOO

Yes I totally agree they had numerous ways to communicate, but imo it’s weird and notable that they ceased texting each other by way of the (at least one of the) usual ways, for approx 30 days, on/after Jan 29th.

And with Allies life 360 app showing her activity in the early morning hours of the 29th, Jen Mc would be worried about her daughter being involved in something (destroying evidence) and beloved nephew (I totally get that) and so then could explain her taking it on herself to get everyone’s story straight, asking Julie nagle for texts between herself and her brother from that night (why?) ….. ugh … so much more re Jen Mc.

This whole thing is so upsetting to me. I’m glad that KR at least got a mistrial but would have rather it been a loud NG verdict.

These people thought they could cover their tracks and did SO MUCH to accomplish that, and I’m afraid they’re going to get away with murder (or manslaughter). (Not to mention perjury).

MOO

 

[HarmonyE.]

I think the plan is to "chase Karen" again....they are not going to change course..they have nothing else.

Definitely the stated plan. Paul O'Keefe sounded very happy at the thought of spending even more time staring down Karen.

But the CW is in an even weaker position now and the defense stronger. The defense now knows the prosecution's entire game plan and they'll be better prepared, even if Jackson doesn't return. And there are a number of witnesses the defense didn't call that they may this time, including the tow truck driver to further confirm the "one small piece of taillight", Erin Beatty to refute Colin's timeline and address the things Jen McCabe said to her, and a former co-worker of Brian Albert's to talk about his character and past related behavior. I think they wanted to appear respectful of the jury's time, but the gloves will be off now.

Lally must be beside himself thinking about putting Troopers Proctor and Paul back on the stand. He'll never be able to find a reconstructionist better than Paul, because the state's entire theory is a heaping pile of German Shepherd crap and no qualified expert will go along with it. So it's Joe Paul, or an even dimmer facsimile thereof.

It also keeps the story in the news, and this isn't good for DA Morrissey's future which is already on very shaky ground.

Finally, the elephant remains in the room. The FBI didn't hire those PHDs and obtain those phone records and geofence data just for fun. The Commonwealth will constantly be looking over it's shoulder, wondering when that inevitable shoe will finally drop.

So we'll see, but it wouldn't shock me if the CW is just posturing after what must be considered a loss and ends up not re-trying Read after "full consideration".