MA - Professor Karen Read, 43, charged with murdering police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe by hitting him with car, Canton, 14 Apr 2023 #20 Retrial

[mrjitty]

What does staying on the right side of the line mean? That these lawtubers can only have a public opinion if it's pro-prosecution?

Journalists and commentators can say whatever they want, whereas the legal teams involved in the case are restricted by their duties to the court and whatever other orders the Judge may make.

I think it's problematic when people who are adhoc members of the legal team, end run those duties/restrictions.

 

[Derph]

Moo, the plastic on the shirt is not a problem. Embedded is not how the testimony came out to me. Initially there was testimony that it was brushed off as irrelevant as debris and only much later was it was examined. Jmo

Look at the chaotic scene when JOK was found, at least one first responder got into the ambulance, JOK's shirt was removed, a million opportunities for debris and cross contamination. Lucky's Snow plow could have pushed debris from road to that area where tail light pieces were found including tiny bits. Some may not have even been tail light. Jmo

The defense addressed this quite reasonably at trial X 1. The shirt debris isn't an issue and shouldn't be given more weight than ARCA's experts who understand physics and the forces required. Jmo

On your second point, again, all I know is that both the defense and the prosecution were contacted by DOJ or whoever, prior to first trial and the ARCA findings were made available to both. The CW declined, I assume after perusing the report's findings.

I do not believe the defense has behaved untowardly in this matter and that is jmo because I see no evidence of it. ARCA were only approved to be defense experts for this trial by cannone in Feb this year or some time around then I can't remember when exactly. If cannone makes a ruling in favour of the defense then imo it's because she has to legally speaking. Moo

Defense received some sort of final report from CW's new accident recon physics witness on 26 March imo and are wanting their own experts, ARCA, for this trial to have a look at it. Seems fair to me. They got a CV for this cw witness last Nov, but not their anticipated testimony until this year after Feb. Jmo.

Wasn't it also kept in the same shopping bag as some tail light pieces for a time? Also the DNA swabs were a joke. They took 3 or 4 swabs of random places of the shirt. They didn't even label where on the shirt the samples were taken from. God forbid they extend any effort whatsoever to investigate properly.

 

[arielilane]

Well said, Ms. Russon. moo


@cathyrusson


I refuse to weigh in on the Karen Read case. It's very toxic.

8:32 PM · Mar 28, 2025

 

[Derph]

Oooops! Hank lost one! The CW's motion to exclude testimony of Lt. Garrett Wing has been DENIED!

 

[rescuemom]

While I disagree with the Judge's ruling on this, it is quite a difficult issue IMO.

I guess BTL, it is clear enough ARCCA were commissioned not to examine the accident in the usual way and determine what happened, but rather to investigate if the tail light evidence must have been planted.

IMO Brennan believes the defence effectively instigated that investigation - which if so, would be a smart move by them. The problem is, due to FBI policy, we have no idea what their eventual conclusions were.

So to allow any of this in opens up a huge can of worms which the Judge prefers not to do - and I think this is at least in part because she suspects correctly the relationship is not as clear cut as it seems - AJ did himself no favours on that score either.

Very bizarre situation IMO

I guess BTL, it is clear enough ARCCA were commissioned not to examine the accident in the usual way and determine what happened, but rather to investigate if the tail light evidence must have been planted.

My understhanding was that the 2 gentlemen from ARCCA were not commissioned to examine THIS accident, just AN accident. They were to determine if a vehicle identical to KR's could have cause the injuries on a body identical to JOK. To me that meant they were provided with just the facts of a car involved in an accident and the injuries sustained to a body from an accident.

Independently, one using his experience and knowledge came to a conclusion about the car and the other using his experience and knowledge came to a conclusion about the injuries. Together they agreed that the car would have caused more serious injuries to the whole body and not to just the one arm and face and back of the head.

They also said they knew nothing about KR, JOK , this case, or any legal proceedings prior to being presented with these scenarios and IIRC, did not mention the planting of any evidence. This is as I remember and understood their explanations and answer.

 

[mrjitty]

Also, I think you'll enjoy Peter's (LYK) take on the hearing today!

This was indeed a good summary.

One important note. ARCCA are now retained so though their original reports remain independent they are now D experts and not independent.

I wonder why the D took this step so late in the day…

 

[rescuemom]

What else does Brennan do with the Proctor situation?
The defense will continuously pound the "Proctor effect"...you know, the conflicted ( knows family of 34 Fairview), the laziness, the bias, the misogyny, the grossness of Proctor, the negligent covered crime scene, the questionable 'interviews', the never properly logged in evidence, the mistaken ( on purpose?) spelling and description of the homeowner at 34 Fairview on the initial report?, the 'sure, Jan' moment of the questionable 'gift' to him....subtly suggested to give to his wife, by none other than a witness in this case... And lastly...the all important keeper of the mysterious sally port video. I could go on. Proctor equals a butt-dial load of reasonable doubt. And IMO, Brennan has a huge uphill battle to clean up that mess.

I've been trying to decide if Proctor ran the investigation in his own way or if he was influenced by someone or if protecting some in this case at the detriment of others...so many LE of one kind or another... is SOP. Really disgusting.

 

[jepop]

This was indeed a good summary.

One important note. ARCCA are now retained so though their original reports remain independent they are now D experts and not independent.

I wonder why the D took this step so late in the day…

Not sure I'm understanding your comment. It's been known for ages the defense were planning to retain ARCA themselves for trial x2. Be nuts not to given their testimony in trial x1. Moo

But that had to be approved by the Court. As far as I'm aware, they were only okayed by the judge sometime in February, cannot recall exactly but maybe about a month to six weeks before trial was scheduled to start on April 1st.

I thought it was clear from the last hearing and LYK that this was the situation. Clearly they will make good expert witnesses and will be able to testify to more than just their pure findings per prior fbi mandate. They can be used to counter the CW's expert which is normal practice I assume and the right of the defense. Jmo

 

[Seattle1]

This was indeed a good summary.

One important note. ARCCA are now retained so though their original reports remain independent they are now D experts and not independent.

I wonder why the D took this step so late in the day…

Once the DOJ released them only a few weeks ago, they were available as experts to CW as well. But I think Brennan has been over the top, dirty about ARCCA having a relationship with the defense in the first trial and I'm glad they retained them as defense experts given the Court refused to explain their presence (denied the Motion). JMO

 

[Angelwatch]

Wasn't it also kept in the same shopping bag as some tail light pieces for a time? Also the DNA swabs were a joke. They took 3 or 4 swabs of random places of the shirt. They didn't even label where on the shirt the samples were taken from. God forbid they extend any effort whatsoever to investigate properly.

There's no chain of custody for the shirt. It wasn't entered into evidence for weeks, IIRC. How it was stored and who had access to it is a giant question mark.

 

[TDoc72]

There's no chain of custody for the shirt. It wasn't entered into evidence for weeks, IIRC. How it was stored and who had access to it is a giant question mark.

I have problems with the shirt as well. His arm was very deeply scratched. A few pieces of plastic wouldn’t have been able to be brushed off. They would’ve been stuck in or through the shirt to cause that damage, at the very least one or two. Between the vomit and blood, the late discovery/logging, & the lack of embedded fragments make the shirt very problematic for me.

 

[Forest_Wood]

If he really was part of a larger plot to frame the defendant to protect officers then throwing him under the bus loses control over him. I suspect he was fired precisely because he doesn't have any cards to play.

Maybe I'm not understanding what you're trying to convey. But a trial board of many people had a disciplinary hearing and found Proctor guilty of three charges of unsatisfactory performance and one charge of consumption of alcohol while on duty. Are you saying that you think all of those involved, including the colonel who had the final say, would have colluded to keep MP employed if they had found he framed KR?, despite finding him guilty of the above 4 charges? It seems you take issue with the defense suggesting collusion of the Alberts/Higgins/McCabes, and yet you believe the police would do the same in relation to Proctor?

 

[lohrtabitha]

Assuming the house was the scene a fight the fact that it was not searched answers the question as to why there was no evidence of anything. Also, I don't have any reason to suspect JO was making passes at other women, but that is just my belief. JMOO

I'm not sure if JO was making passes either just trying to speculate why a fight could have happened. I agree they should have searched the house. I just read this:
The judge overseeing the Karen Read case allowed a dog bite expert hired by Read’s defense to testify at her second trial, and blocked key testimony from an expert hired by prosecutors in a series of orders issued Thursday.

Former police Lt. Garrett Wing will be allowed to testify that injuries sustained by Read’s boyfriend, John O’Keefe, were consistent with a dog attack. Judge Beverly Cannone wrote in a brief order that Wing “appears to be qualified by experience to provide some help to the jury on some issues in dispute.”

Should be interesting.

 

[Forest_Wood]

This juror from Trial 1 talks about the evidence and deliberation.

 

[jepop]

I guess BTL, it is clear enough ARCCA were commissioned not to examine the accident in the usual way and determine what happened, but rather to investigate if the tail light evidence must have been planted.

My understhanding was that the 2 gentlemen from ARCCA were not commissioned to examine THIS accident, just AN accident. They were to determine if a vehicle identical to KR's could have cause the injuries on a body identical to JOK. To me that meant they were provided with just the facts of a car involved in an accident and the injuries sustained to a body from an accident.

Independently, one using his experience and knowledge came to a conclusion about the car and the other using his experience and knowledge came to a conclusion about the injuries. Together they agreed that the car would have caused more serious injuries to the whole body and not to just the one arm and face and back of the head.

They also said they knew nothing about KR, JOK , this case, or any legal proceedings prior to being presented with these scenarios and IIRC, did not mention the planting of any evidence. This is as I remember and understood their explanations and answer.

Exactly this. ARCA's mandate was surely made clear via the testimony. It was a pure, uninfluenced experiment. Moo

EBM typo

 

[MerlinFalcon]

I know a cop or retired cop lived across the street and had camera footage that he erased because he deemed it didn’t show anything of value. Does anyone know if he came out of the house when all the emergency vehicles were there?

I came into this case assuming she did it because I thought cops would never behave dishonestly. That changed when the guy whose lawn JOK’s body lay on didn’t come out when police and paramedics were out front. There is NO way any cop would have stayed inside knowing a dead body was found on his lawn. Cops are so inquisitive by nature and at home? The correct thing for him to have done if he had nothing to hide would have been to go out and identify himself as a cop and asked what he could do. He didn’t. From there I flipped from guilty to not guilty for KR. The rest of the evidence did nothing but make all of the cops involved look guilty.

I have a friend who’s cop. A bunch of us were at a park one day, on his day off, when we saw a very low flying small plane go by. He immediately took off and called the cops about it as he ran towards the lake. That is normal cop behaviour. (The plane ended up in the lake but the people on board were able to get out safely.)

 

[cocomod]

This was indeed a good summary.

One important note. ARCCA are now retained so though their original reports remain independent they are now D experts and not independent.

I wonder why the D took this step so late in the day…

Because ARCCA are great professionals that do this all this time. It makes sense to retain them since they need to pay them to travel and spend the day in court. It also gives them access to talk to them and understand their reports; and maybe run additional tests.

 

[jepop]

Because ARCCA are great professionals that do this all this time. It makes sense to retain them since they need to pay them to travel and spend the day in court. It also gives them access to talk to them and understand their reports; and maybe run additional tests.

Moo ARCA are amongst the best in their field. That's why the FBI commissioned them originally Imo. Suck on that Brennan. Jmo

ETA Moo

 

[mzmarymac]

This juror from Trial 1 talks about the evidence and deliberation.

This right here should be enough to make every American sick to their stomach. 12 jurors agreed on Not Guilty on 2 charges, but because they didn't sign the form they are retrying her on both charges. I truly hope this makes its way to SCOTUS because this flies in the face of the spirit of due process and the Constitutional right against double jeopardy. If anything, they should only be trying her for the manslaughter. Period.

 

[arielilane]

-- John O’Keefe never went inside 34F contrary to what the defense wants you to believe.


-- Neighborhood surveillance cameras are typically set to view/focus on property and not street view or capture neighbor’s view. Why set your own camera to view your neighbor’s house/yard when the purpose is to protect your own property. Right? Spy on a neighbor much? Keep in mind the location of JOK’s body. Ask why would a camera be focused there and for what reason?

-- BA after a a long day in NY w/BH traveling and a night of drinking was asleep and did not hear first responders arriving. Moreover, there were no sirens on.

-- BA and his wife (NA) were awoken by JMc (NA’s sister). A LE officer was at the bottom of the stairs inside their home (34F) as they are coming down the stairs.

-- JOK was already on the way to the hospital and no first aid administered needed.

-- The Alberts contract to sell their house before JOK died. The Alberts did not renovate their basement. There was a flood issue and the baseboards were fixed.

-- BTW, what’s the update on KR’s carpet situation? lol
If there’s any truth to her carpet claim Id suspect she would have already provided it. That would have been a goldmine for her, IF her claims were true. However, the A’s basement had no carpet.

-- BA attended JOK’s funeral as did BH.

-- May/June 2022, the Albert dog was rehomed because of a bite incident that had nothing to do with JOK.

-- August 2023, There are questions about KR and her team walking into Levy’s office and the probe launched. Who had connections with Levy or possibly someone else in his office?
Most recently the federal investigation into the state’s handling of KR’s case is now closed (KR would like you to believe otherwise). No charges were brought against police involved in the investigation.


-- BA had a 30yr career as one of Boston’s finest, zero blemishes on BPD record.
His record is impressive.

-- BA upgraded his phone, he did not destroy it; and the Feds have all his communication.

-- BA pocket dialed BH the night of JOK’s death and KR also had pocket dials.

-- BH has an outstanding record and received the LE Congressional Badge of Bravery.

Special Agent Brian Patrick Higgins, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Massachusetts | CBOB | Bureau of Justice Assistance


-- BH has no other place but to drive to a military base to destroy his phone, eight months later. He lived in a town (not to be named) on Cape Cod, with no trash service. As a veteran he has access to the base. Imo, his problem was being a lonely man and falling for KR’s games and not disposing an electronic device properly.

-- It makes absolutely zero sense these men would place a man’s body on the front yard of one of the men’s own home. Their background alone would tell you otherwise that if they were responsible his body would have been removed from 34F. Period. If this wasn’t such a serious case it would be laughable.

-- Not to forget she tried to blame a minor on JOK’s death as well.

-- No one seems to have a problem testifying, but KR who is refusing to testify and TB is taking the 5th.
Interesting about people who will not testify or take the 5th. Something to hide… there's quite a list of people who took the 5th, and we are all familiar with them and their records.

This case has always been complicated (thank you media, law tubers, YT, KR+,etc) and to really understand it and get to the truth a deep dive is helpful. TB great mouthpiece for KR and her team. However, the truth is really simple. Sad and so unnecessary to have come to this.

Canton: The day the circus came to town.


Some facts about the case that get ignored and moo


Justice for John O'Keefe and his loved ones