I keep wondering if JO made a snide comment to BH about Karen (or I suppose vice versa) and it escalated quickly because of the toxic combustion that is anger, pride and alcohol.
Perhaps in the heat of the moment, Colin and Chloe immediately joined in, believing they were defending BA and BH.
Jmo
I think it was something along these lines, and that it happened as soon as John arrived. Because of the obvious efforts to protect Colin, I suspect he's the one who ended John's life with that blow to the back of his head with a heavy object. After some punches from someone else and some lacerations from Chloe.
One of problems I had accepting this at first was the why the young people in the house never spoke up. Especially someone like Sara Levinson, a young nurse with zero family connections. They didn't kill anyone. But there are a few things to keep in mind.
First, Yannetti has said emphatically they have proof the victim was attacked in the basement. Looking at the blueprint of the house, it's very possible people in the kitchen dining area never saw John enter from the main front door or go downstairs. But surely they were aware something bad happened in the basement? The house is big, but it's not a mansion.
I can imagine Brian Albert gathering up these young people and reading them the riot act. You saw nothing. You heard nothing. You know nothing. No one else ever entered this house. And if you say otherwise, you and your family will be very, very sorry. He's a powerful guy in the little kingdom of Canton.
Now, if the State troopers had come knocking and asking probing questions as one would expect, someone like Sara Levinson might have tipped them off immediately. It's a horrible thing to cover up a murder. But lead trooper and good Albert friend Michael Proctor made sure that never happened. And no one was brave enough to come forward on their own.
And it worked for a nice long time. No law enforcement agent asked the young party goers anything. Heck, no one knew all their names. Think about that. Not until the involvement of the FBI considerably later did anyone start asking questions about these people.
Is simply sticking with "didn't see anything" easier than admitting you knew about a murder and kept your mouth shut for a very long time? Less fraught with danger in the minds of these twenty-somethings? Here's the definition of "accessory after the fact".
In Massachusetts, an accessory after the fact is someone who helps a criminal after a felony has been committed, and the crime is defined in Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 274, Section 4. To convict someone of this crime, a prosecutor must prove the following beyond a reasonable doubt:
- The defendant helped the principal felon or accessory after the crime was committed
- The defendant knew the person they helped had committed or been an accessory to the crime
- The defendant helped the offender with the intent that they avoid or escape arrest, trial, punishment, or detention
Isn't failure to come forward here and tell what you know helping murderers avoid arrest?
Just my rambles, of course.