MISTRIAL MA - Professor Karen Read, 43, charged with murdering police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe by hitting him with car, Canton, 14 Apr 2023 #19

[Angelwatch]

I started a long post to this on Fri, but got pulled away and I thought I saved it but it didn't save, and I don't feel like looking up all the research I did so I'm going to try to wing it. For this I did a quick google search and I apologize for not saving my sources that I had on a much longer post.

I might not understand biology properly but if JOK was dead, how could blood pump to his hand to form a bruise? How could an IV work without blood circulation unless he was having his heart pumped. And they would have had to perform that hours after he died, and all thru the time EMS showed up, got him to a hospital and into an ER.

Bruising can appear on a dead body as uncirculated blood pools in the extremities.
Lividity (Postmortem Stain):
As blood circulation stops, blood pools in the lowest parts of the body, causing a reddish-purple discoloration that looks like a bruise.

• Lividity( blood pooling) starts appearing within a few hours of death.
• 
  
• It's initially not fixed, meaning the area will blanch under pressure and shift with body position.
  
  
• After about 4-6 hours, the lividity becomes fixed, meaning it doesn't blanch and shifts with body position.

In some cases, bruises have been found to appear after death, even several hours later.

• • The time it takes for livor mortis to become fixed can vary.
• 
  
  
• Other observers have noted a different time sequence; lividity becoming apparent from 20 minutes to 2 hours after death, reaching maximum intensity in 6–9 hours and becoming fixed from 3 to 5 days.
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• After death, blood stops circulation stops and blood pools in the area closest to the ground.
  
  • 
    
  • The capillaries in the dermis are occluded by the surrounding fat as it solidifies, preventing the blood from moving.

There are a few reasons a bruise can form: Medications, nutrient deficiency, diabetes, and several other diseases and procedures that don't have any baring on this that we know of. I think we all can agree that trauma seems the most logical explanation for the bruise on his hand. But if blood has stopped circulating then the bruise wouldn't form from trauma, but from lividity. So therefore the bruise on JOK's hand could not form from the trauma of the IV needle OR the trauma happened BEFORE death! If you look at the autopsy photos ( which I'm not going to post here) there is a bruise on JOK's hand starting in the middle of the hand and going down to around the 1st knuckle on his pointer finger. So that bruise either happened when JOK was hit by the car or by some other incident. A fight perhaps, or a fall or a defensive action from something that he was trying to get away from. The point is we don't know exactly and that to me raises doubt. One of the avalanche of doubt I have about KR hitting him with her car.

I had a lot more on this that went into could the bruise indicate of the body was moved. If lividity was the reason for the bruise was it caused by the way he was laying there in the snow and if he was propped up at some point but I think I made my point above. This is my understanding of things and I may be wrong.

I need to go back and rewatch the testimony of the medics. Did he actually show up at the hospital with a hand IV or did they attempt to start a hand iv and failed?

 

[jepop]

Peter and his dad just did a morning update
"getting prepped"

A good watch and summary. Also includes interesting points concerning judge's bias against the Defense and lack of impartiality. Despite this, both thought there would be no problem with defense FBI investigation expert being allowed to testify. Oh well, they underestimated the judge there. C'est la vie in the cannone court room. Jmo

 

[Wishbone]

Karen Read Is on Trial Again in Death of Boyfriend — and Disgraced Trooper Who Sent Vulgar Texts Will Testify

Karen Read’s retrial in connection with the 2022 death of her Boston Police Officer boyfriend John O'Keefe begins Tuesday, April 1.

people.com

Among those on the witness list is former Trooper Michael Proctor, Fox News reports, who led the investigation into O’Keefe’s death.
He was fired earlier this month for offensive remarks he texted to other troopers about Read, which her lawyers made him read aloud in court, CBS News reported at the time.
Lead Investigator in Karen Read Case Admits on Stand He Texted that He Wanted Her to Die by Suicide
He called her a “whack-job” and a “c---” and admitted to messaging his sister that he hoped Read would die by suicide.
"Hopefully she kills herself,” he was made to read out in court, CBS News reported.

 

[Wishbone]

Nine law students from Boston-area schools are volunteering for Karen Read’s defense team, including five from Boston College, three from Harvard University and one from Northeastern University.
The students will serve as law clerks, assisting with case law research, document preparation and courtroom analysis.
Read told 25 Investigates reporter Ted Daniel that her team interviewed more than 50 candidates in the fall after her mistrial. Some of the clerks have been seated with her family during pretrial hearings.
“They are working pro bono for my defense,” Read said in a statement.

Law students assist Karen Read defense

Nine law students from Boston-area schools are volunteering for Karen Read’s defense team, including five from Boston College, three from Harvard University and one from Northeastern University.

www.yahoo.com

 

[Wishbone]

Former Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, who was fired last month for his role in the Karen Read investigation, is on the witness list for her second trial, court documents revealed Monday.
Jurors were seen shaking their heads during Proctor’s testimony at her first trial, which ended with a hung jury. In a series of text messages that were read in court, he called Read a “wack job,” a “babe… with no a–” and a “c—.” He added that he wished she would kill herself and joked about looking through her phone for nude selfies.
He was the lead investigator into the death of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, Read’s boyfriend at the time of his death, in January 2022.

Karen Read update: Fired lead investigator on witness list for 2nd trial in Boston cop John O’Keefe’s death - WFIN Local News

Former Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor has been named among the 150 witnesses for Karen Read's second trial in the death of Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe.

wfin.com

 

[Izzylizzy]

A good watch and summary. Also includes interesting points concerning judge's bias against the Defense and lack of impartiality. Despite this, both thought there would be no problem with defense FBI investigation expert being allowed to testify. Oh well, they underestimated the judge there. C'est la vie in the cannone court room. Jmo

And there's more from today.
Streamed 2 hrs ago

 

[sunshineray]

Almost seems IMO that the judge’s ruling, IIUC is possibly conflating issues? “….. by any failure to follow procedures or pursue other suspects,” …….

Whether or not the investigation is compromised, would in and of itself be a separate and distinct matter. And whether or not other suspects were (or were not) considered is also a separate matter. Both could be true, or false. Why would those two elements be linked in a ruling? SMH. MOO

She's saying neither (take your pick OR pick both) need expert testimony for the jury to acknowledge, or not, that either occured.

 

[sunshineray]

Absolutely NOTHING that came out of that person's mouth can be believed to be the truth. I found her testimony to completely unbelievable and vile. No one can not remember all the things she couldn't remember. Funny how her memory worked in complete and vivid detail when she was drunk but when she's completely sober she couldn't remember a single thing she said yesterday or the day before. Every single question the Defense asked her she had to have her memory be refreshed. But yet she blathered on and on and on when the Prosection asked her a question. That's called lying and that's what she did every time she opened her mouth.

Asking to have your memory refreshed when being cross-examined is not tantamount to lying. I thought she was a very believable witness who was still mourning her friend. JMO

 

[sunshineray]

Her trying to say that Google somehow fudged the time of the search was very sketchy to me. Especially since expert testimony found that that’s basically impossible. In my humble opinion.

It's simple, keeping a bunch of tabs open and then, hours later, choosing an open one to do a new search, hit the X and type in new search words, instead of opening a new tab. I do it all the time. JMO

 

[keek]

It's simple, keeping a bunch of tabs open and then, hours later, choosing an open one to do a new search, hit the X and type in new search words, instead of opening a new tab. I do it all the time. JMO

That possibility was discussed by the experts, there was a lot to it, technology experts on that possible assumption. It was not left as that simple by them. See if that gets brought up again, timing and I mean by minutes came into the first one for a few very important events. Understand that people see what they want to see of others for their own feelings about others. This second trial will be intense!

 

[sunshineray]

That possibility was discussed by the experts, there was a lot to it, technology experts on that possible assumption. It was not left as that simple by them. See if that gets brought up again, timing and I mean by minutes came into the first one for a few very important events. Understand that people see what they want to see of others for their own feelings about others. This second trial will be intense!

I still can't believe an alternate juror is now a lawyer for the defense!

 

[PamCake]

This is exactly it! There must have been screaming/shouting/yelling/thumping if she reversed into him. For there to be damage on her taillight, there must have been a smash sound of some kind, that nobody heard. There would have been tire marks in the fresh snow and leading up on the lawn that nobody saw. I forget how many times JMc testified to looking out the window at Karen's vehicle waiting for them to come inside, but it was a lot IIRC. Others said they looked outside through the window too. And with the truck having pulled up right behind her vehicle, almost at the same time, and they did not see John there. However, RN's girlfriend testified she saw a man in the vehicle when it turned from Cedarcrest onto Fairview. So, we know he was in the SUV when they turned, but not there when they pulled up behind Karen. Karen stopped at the driveway first, then pulled up 3 car lengths. It just makes sense he got out quickly at the driveway and went into the house or into the backyard through the right gate. John was drunk too. Who's to say he didn't go into the back yard, encountered the german shepherd, got attacked, fell back onto this head, and later when found in the yard by BA or BH, was placed onto the front yard where the others had seen Karen's car earlier to make it seem like he never made it into the house. That could be where the coverup came in. All those butt calls made later by JMc, BH, BA were about something. "Hos long to die in the snow."
MOO

Yes! You bring up a good point of why, if Karen had hit John right there outside the house, why didn't anybody hear or see anything out the window? Lots of the people at the house had good reasons to be looking outside: is it snowing yet? is my ride here yet? is my friend John here yet? I think John might have gone toward the backyard. He may have heard BA, CA, BH out in the yard with the dog, maybe having a smoke, and John came walking through the gate unexpectedly. What might a GSD do when a stranger comes on her property like that? It's not hard to imagine hot tempers stemming from a dog attack. The men could have retreated into the basement gym. That would jive with the steps from John's watch data by going down bulkhead stairs. Inside, it could've been a complete accident, he may have fallen on a dumbbell or hit his head on something very hard. Or, someone might've hurt him. They may have kicked him out of the house or John might've stumbled outside himself, eventually collapsing on the lawn.

 

[Forest_Wood]

Watching A Body in the Snow. Karen's family seem like really nice people, seeing them in their old movies. All of John's friends really liked Karen before this happened. John was also a very well-liked man. I didn't realize David Yannetti used to be an Assistant District Attorney with the majority of his time prosecuting homicides.

 

[Forest_Wood]

Trooper Proctor: "See how crazy she is."
He is such a disgusting and inappropriate person.
Any woman would be concerned to be taken away like that in their pyjamas and want to have a chance to put proper clothes on, especially if you're a professional.
MOO

 

[sunshineray]

Anybody know how to correctly link a documentary that's currently streaming? So it can be discussed? It's a behind the scenes doc from the first trial and has the defendant KR talking about a lot of things relevant to the new trial. Is there no acceptable way because it's only currently on paid for streaming? TIA for any help.

 

[mrjitty]

Agree to disagree. In my opinion, Judge Cannone’s refusal to recuse herself despite alleged connections to Jen McCabe and Julie Nagel, her restrictive rulings to the defense, her admission of questionable expert testimony in the prosecutions favor (specifically Dr. Crosby, who is an animal doctor, but testified to John’s human injuries), her denials of motion to dismiss and her behavior when she realized that the murder 2 was likely a NG verdict, as well as her abrupt terminations of hearings when defense is speaking, all set up KR’s defense team with strong grounds for appeal based on judicial bias and impeding the defense. All IMO, and of course there’s only one way to find out… sit back and watch it all unfold!

It's worth differentiating between adverse pre-trial rulings which might be appealable, and judicial bias - which generally cannot be established from adverse rulings.

For instance you raise the motion to dismiss, but as LYK and his dad pointed out in his most recent coverage up thread - most Judges would have reached the same decision. Ditto on appeal, the higher court commended the Judge's handling of things when the jury hung. That's why I think it will be a heavy lift.

I get the complaints about the vibe of bias on the expert witness rulings - but these create appealable issues post trial in their own right. I tend to agree these are somewhat baffling. Peter himself has noted many times over recent weeks some of these decisions seem to lean one way, but also each is within the Judge's discretion. So I think post trial they will probably be looking at errors rather than bias.

MOO

 

[mrjitty]

On the motion to dismiss, I agree with Peter and his dad in the video up page.

It may feel unfair, but if this was on appeal, a new trial would be the remedy. The real issue, IMO, is that there were better opportunities to dismiss it - i.e the state should have dismissed at least the murder 2 off it's own bat.

MOO

 

[mrjitty]

The decision on ARCCA / FBI is the most troubling IMO.

I don't understand why the easiest thing is not just to hammer out a boiler plate explanation that the FBI hired them originally for it's own confidential reasons and then not allow further discussion. It is obviously far from great that the Court does not know why the FBI hired these experts nor the scope of it. So a crappy situation but I think holding this back is perhaps less good than what the Judge is doing.

Obviously this will be big on appeal if the defendant is convicted.

It's obviously going to be super sensitive how their payments are discussed on cross

IMO

 

[Linda7NJ]

Watching A Body in the Snow. Karen's family seem like really nice people, seeing them in their old movies. All of John's friends really liked Karen before this happened. John was also a very well-liked man. I didn't realize David Yannetti used to be an Assistant District Attorney with the majority of his time prosecuting homicides.

IIRC Karen said John was viewed as the “Patron Saint of Canton”

Weird huh?

 

[Linda7NJ]

Yes! You bring up a good point of why, if Karen had hit John right there outside the house, why didn't anybody hear or see anything out the window? Lots of the people at the house had good reasons to be looking outside: is it snowing yet? is my ride here yet? is my friend John here yet? I think John might have gone toward the backyard. He may have heard BA, CA, BH out in the yard with the dog, maybe having a smoke, and John came walking through the gate unexpectedly. What might a GSD do when a stranger comes on her property like that? It's not hard to imagine hot tempers stemming from a dog attack. The men could have retreated into the basement gym. That would jive with the steps from John's watch data by going down bulkhead stairs. Inside, it could've been a complete accident, he may have fallen on a dumbbell or hit his head on something very hard. Or, someone might've hurt him. They may have kicked him out of the house or John might've stumbled outside himself, eventually collapsing on the lawn.

IMO it’s impossible to imagine