I believe that each one of them were named specifically in the criminal charges against TB ( Aidan Kearney). Which is why the judge in KR's case had AK/ TB removed from the courtroom while they were each individually on the stand....due to their perceived threats against them as witnesses. This was done as a performance for the case against TB, IMO. Such nonsense.
That's not the same as civil litigation and it isn't up to the individuals to decide whether charges are pressed. Of course, they would need to cooperate with the prosecution for the state to be successful. But I'm willing to bet the mistrial - with the state currently saying they'll re-try - keeps the criminal case against TB in limbo until after the re-trial. If there is one.
I could be very wrong, but I doubt they will actually re-try Read now with the even more glaring problems with the state police who investigated. The defense also knows the full extent of the prosecution's case now and will be far better prepared to attack it. And I can't see the CW doing any better than Trooper Joe Paul. If they could have found a decent accident reconstructionist they never would have used him the first time. The state has to know the odds of anything better than another mistrial are pretty slim.
There is nothing to stop the Alberts, McCabes and friends from filing civil lawsuits against Turtleboy for harassment, slander, and libel. There is a 3 year statute of limitations on such civil cases, so if, for example, the alleged wrongdoing happened in June of 2023, a lawsuit would have to be filed by June of 2026.
The problem with civil lawsuits is the burden shifts to the litigants to prove the tort and their subsequent damages, which is actually often difficult to do. The bar is arguably made even higher by the fact that they could be considered by the court to be "involuntary public figures" because of their involvement in the criminal case. Which means they'd have to prove malicious intent to proceed with a civil case against Turtleboy.
The biggest problem for them though would be civil depositions (which are taken under oath) where TB's attorneys could ask all sorts of wide ranging questions. Especially if Karen Read remains innocent in the eyes of the law, they'd need to be extremely careful not to perjure themselves, or worse, accidentally talk themselves into murder charges.
So long story short, we don't know why Jen hired attorney Kevin Reddington. He's mostly known these days as a criminal lawyer, but he's done a good amount of civil work in the past. I don't judge people for lawyering up whenever they feel uncomfortable in a legal setting, but perhaps she had more reason than most to feel uncomfortable?
