I think you need to give considerable latitude to what might have happened since both of the people were very drunk, almost to the point of unconsciousness. One scenario is he existed the car and was leaning down to vomit (which was all over him) and she hit the back of his head with the spine of the tail light, as he braced himself his right arm ended up in the wheel well and was dragged a short distance backward, and then forward when she completed the turn. You can imagine a hundred other scenarios where the back of his head hit the tail light, the ground, the fire hydrant or whatever and none of them take more than a minute to happen.
The critical things is that there are only 2 ways that you get tail light pieces on the ground and on his shirt with his DNA on the tail light. The simplest is that he and that tail light made violent contact at some point right there in that spot. The second is that Michael Proctor planted all of that evidence without being detected. While MP certainly should not have sent any of those emails to his sister they in no way are evidence that he planted evidence.
During the course of every investigation, police have the opportunity to plant evidence.
If we allowed every defendant to be acquitted simply because it's possible, based on gaps in the investigation, that police planted evidence we might as well close our court system. (and I am in no way naive to think this doesn't happen
I can't imagine even one scenario where he is bent over vomiting on his underwear inside his pants but miraculously not vomiting on his pants or on the ground in the street and is then hit by a tail light spine protruding minimally that is also likely now located above and well away from his face down head and yet somehow he also wasn't hit on his pushed out backside. There isn't a way I can Twister or Matrix that maneuver for a strike to only the base of his skull by a taillight spine when he's doubled over. And didn't the CW try to argue the arm injures were "pattern matched" from the taillight (ie he was hit in the arm)? Also see what @applegreentree just posted as I saw that after writing much of this.
The skull fracture incapacitated him immediately. He was knocked out and would not have been able to move under his own volition from the spot he dropped, this was testified to by ME Dr. Scordi-Bello who also said O’Keefe’s CAUSE of death was blunt impact injuries causing an "extensive" number of fractures extending from his occipital bone of the skull forward through the bowl shaped bottom of the skull and hypothermia. A flat panel taillight hitting someone square on one of the thickest parts of the human skull isn't going to cause that much fracturing without extensive damage to the vehicle and his body elsewhere, neither of which existed. It's not ethical for the ME to decide manner (accident versus homicide) if she doesn't have enough information from her exam or the investigators to make a decision. The murder weapon was also not found, because no one looked for it. But it wasn't the Lexus.
Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik testified John O’Keefe’s clothes were wet and had "traces" of vomit on them, he was not covered in vomit. Trace = "a very small quantity, especially one too small to be accurately measured". It's my recollection that vomit was only found on his underwear inside his pants, and in his airway. He could have even vomited on himself at the bar with his pants down. Or maybe it's someone else's vomit that threw up to the sight of JO's blood and eyes swelling shut after an altercation where clothes were yanked down or off. Were the traces of vomit on him tested for DNA? Of course not. Could he have been washed up before being drug outside? Yes. But they still missed three other people's DNA on his pants. Could they have also washed the arm to rid it of dog DNA? Yes. Was there curbside or street vomit found where the vehicle was? Not that I've heard but if there's a source... were all the missing clothes recovered, or just the mysteriously clean shoe in comparison other shoe?
I 100% think evidence was tampered with. And planted. For the umpteen reasons that have already been covered by others.
Forensic pathologist Dr. Frank Sheridan testified that in his experience JO's injuries were not consistent with being struck by an SUV. He also testified the arm injuries were consistent with a dog, were "fresh" and occurred "minutes to hours" before death.
FBI accident reconstructionists said a vehicle strike didn't make sense. No one with any credibility on the stand could justify a vehicle strike as the mechanism of injury either scientifically or experientially.
Taillight touch DNA means nothing when he's in and around that car regularly. There was other DNA on the tail light too, either from random people touching the tail light navigating around the vehicle or from officers dumb enough to touch or fabricate evidence without wearing gloves.
So, sorry I can't imagine any scenario that is scientifically supported where he was hit by a vehicle and died from the resulting skull fracture and hypothermia.
Easter egg sidebar for those who have read this far - anyone see the former department of defense interrogator on YouTube do a highly detailed assessment the body language and verbal testimony of CA and JM? IT IS FASCINATING. Not sure if I can say his channel name or not. Perhaps google "The truth exposed: Jen McCabe confesses Karen's innocence."
IMO
