VERDICT WATCH MA - Professor Karen Read, 43, charged with murdering police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe by hitting him with car, Canton, 14 Apr 2023 #35 Retrial

[Warwick7]

I feel like it's just as likely to be a wild animal of some sort as a dog. I live in a rural type area and we have bears even trolling around, along with fox, coyote, raccoons. I just am not convinced it was a dog. I can believe it could just as well have been a "wild" animal.

Where's the all blood then?

 

[Warwick7]

Like feral wild bore or something?

In M00 I don't see wild boars roaming Canton.

 

[Forest_Wood]

When he arrived, he said there was also a Jeep with a plow parked at the end of the driveway, in front of the mailbox. He later found out the Jeep belonged to Higgins.Link: https://www.nbcboston.com/news/canton-karen-read-case/karen-read-trial-day-14/3372227/

That's at least 4 witnesses who testified Higgin's jeep was parked at the mailbox: JMc, MMc, BA, and Higgins himself. But Brian Nagel and friends never saw it parked there at 12:25AM. Brian Nagel said they parked at the mailbox after Karen moved her SUV up to the flag pole. There's not a lot of space between the mailbox and the flagpole. I feel like if we knew where Higgins jeep was, we'd solve the entire mystery of how John died. Why would each of those crew lie about where Higgins jeep was parked?
MOO

"He said they parked in the driveway, and there were "at least two" other vehicles already parked there.

When he arrived, he said there was also a Jeep with a plow parked at the end of the driveway, in front of the mailbox. He later found out the Jeep belonged to Higgins.

McCabe also confirmed he saw a black SUV parked in front of the Albert home at some point that night, and Higgins' Jeep was still parked in front of the mailbox at that time. Yannetti also questioned McCabe about several inconsistencies between Friday's testimony and his previous testimony about the location of the black SUV.

During his previous testimony, he had said he only saw the black SUV in two different spots, but on Friday he said he saw it in three locations. But McCabe denied Friday that he had contradicted himself."

 

[ShadyLady]

Not forgetting her voicemail 'No one knows where the f... you are', 20 minutes after she arrived home!

Ace closing argument from Brennan. Just the evidence, no stretches of the imagination, flights of fantasy or sales pitch, like Jackson. I thought Jackson looked uncomfortable, and insulted the intelligence of the jury by needing to explain how they should think and feel. What was all that about Jen would have run inside to see if her sister was alive? Ridiculous, IMO. Jen knew John never made it inside the house! And then the bar video, showing horseplay and trying to imply there was anything sinister going on, while John was happily sipping his drink. What a stretch. Ignoring the biggest elephant in the room ever, Karen reversing at speed with her foot right down while John is locking his phone! The defence case crumbled this year, thanks in large part to ARCCA's test E! I still wonder if Dr Wolfe wanted to show the truth without saying as much on the stand. Just like Karen's documentaries.

MOO

Jen knew John never went into the house because Matt told her?

 

[Forest_Wood]

But he was still unable to provide us with any actual evidence that JOK was hit by a vehicle. His body bore no injuries consistent with a vehicle strike, so something else broke that tail light. All of the technical data from the vehicle’s black box can be manipulated abut the injuries to JOK cannot. The data is only as good as the extractor and interpreter.

IMO, The CW alleges that KR backed up 80+ feet into JOK - how could she? Brian Higgins’ Jeep was parked out in front of the Alberts’ with the rear of his vehicle flush with the mailbox.

When he arrived, he said there was also a Jeep with a plow parked at the end of the driveway, in front of the mailbox. He later found out the Jeep belonged to Higgins.Link: https://www.nbcboston.com/news/canton-karen-read-case/karen-read-trial-day-14/3372227/

If she had driven up on the front lawn 80+ feet, she would’ve had to weave all over because the depth of the front lawn was only 35-40 feet. IMO. Someone inside that house would’ve heard or seen something. Moo.

Also in that article, Matt McCabe talks about John mentioning he might go visit a male friend. We never heard from this friend. But I wonder why John would have been saying that earlier in the evening to Matt McCabe. Do people just go visit friends after midnight like that? It's weird IMO that John would say that. So he wanted Karen to drive him to Fairview and then he'd go visit his friend afterwards?

MMc:" We were completely confused as to where John was... we knew that John had mentioned that he was potentially going to be meeting up with another person, so my wife called that individual to see if by chance... did John not go with her, did he get out of the car, did he go somewhere else?"

 

[Forest_Wood]

IF the data is true and she backed up, that doesn’t prove she hit him. In fact, she could have performed another 3 point turn because she isn’t familiar with these roads.

No it does not prove she hit JOK.
What else could have caused that damage? There are numerous other possibilities.

• JOK could have hit her taillight with his glass on purpose when he got out of the vehicle because they were arguing.
• She could have backed into Higgins plow since his jeep was supposed to have been there.
• Higgins could have hit her taillight with his plow without her even realizing, since I believe she was in a blackout and can't remember anything after the Waterfall but in the recesses of her mind, she recalled a plow for some reason.
• The morning rear bump into John's SUV.

 

[Maat99]

That's at least 4 witnesses who testified Higgin's jeep was parked at the mailbox: JMc, MMc, BA, and Higgins himself. But Brian Nagel and friends never saw it parked there at 12:24AM. Brian Nagel said they parked at the mailbox after Karen moved her SUV up to the flag pole. There's not a lot of space between the mailbox and the flagpole. I feel like if we knew where Higgins jeep was, we'd solve the entire mystery of how John died. Why would each of those crew lie about where Higgins jeep was parked?
MOO

Yes. For every other lie you can kinda figure out why - to point the finger at KR, minimize or hide involvement by someone, alter timeline etc.. But this one? Where could the car have actually been and who/what is the implication if we know where it really was? The other weird event is the whole “BH plowed the driveway even though there was no snow for a joke” thing…hahaha..so funny…actually, no, not funny at all - just weird.

 

[jepop]

The idea that JOK was bumped by KR in a way that doesn't shatter the tail light (rather than not hit at all) doesn't fit with many cw so-called facts ...
1 It proves a lie of their claim that the tail light pieces landed where JOK landed (a thesis that really doesn't work on all kinds of levels) -- raising the question of how those pieces got there, and why,
2 For the vehicle to strike JOK in a way that propelled him somewhere, it had to actually HIT him with some force, and that force would create damage to his body - yet JOK didn't have so much as a bruise or broken bone that could have been caused by a vehicle [which raises the side issue of, if you want to say KR vehicle gently nudged him so lightly that there's no harm to him whatsoever, can that even be considered her causing his death rather than him being so impaired by alcohol that he stumbled and fell and hit his head? but we can't really even land there either, because ....],
3 It doesn't account for the dog bites on the arm,
4 The dog bites had to have happened while the blood was circulating according to the medical testimony (the nature of the wounds show it was to a living person, not dead) while the blow to the head was an immediately-incapacitating injury that would have led to death very soon thereafter.

There's one other thing that regularly keeps being ignored (or falsely stated), and imo helps obscure the truth, and AJ did well to try to make it clear in closing: there is a LOT of evidence, all of which fits together, which showed that JOK almost certainly went inside (inside the house, or garage). That evidence is fact and cannot be ignored.

The circular-reasoning claim that "JOK went inside must not be true because where's the evidence' ignores the very clear truth that Proctor deliberately chose not to look for any evidence in the house, because he decided in advance that cops couldn't have been involved.

However, despite the cw's best efforts, the very tech data that the cw used DID offer helpful evidence
1 There is no evidence in the tech data of the moment of JOK death or of him being hit as he exited the vehicle at a supposed time,
2 In fact, it shows JOK movement after exiting the car included 36 steps (which obviously he didn't take while in the car), which, not coincidentally imo, is the distance from the road to the house/garage,
3 It showed that movement was toward the house generally,
4 The data from the phone disappeared for 12 minutes at 12:24 - the cw expert called it a "low accuracy" stream of data but further explained there was basically no signal or info being transmitted during that time - and then explained a main reason this happens is when a phone goes inside a building (!!!),
5 We have no way to know, after that point, if JOK was actually in possession and control of his phone for any subsequent "actions" (I would suggest he was not).
6 If we consider all of the above, in the context of dog bite injuries, and no vehicle-caused injuries, the truth of what must have happened is completely different from the story the cw wants us to believe.

Oh, and by the way, once we consider all that, then it further destroys any possibility that JOK could have been bumped by KR in a way that didn't shatter the tail light. He was elsewhere when she was backing up or whatever, dealing with a dog attack and who knows what else. Why? I dunno, but a ROBUST investigation needs to figure it out. JOK deserves much better than this lazy and inaccurate drek the cw has offered.

Thanks once again. Great post.

 

[Tortoise]

We were never told, but my prior speculation was that it had to do with motions that had been submitted and decided by JudgeB overnight, and I think the content of the closing (particularly by AJ) supported that idea.

Among those motions (whose decisions were never revealed in open court afaik) were:
1 The cw investigation was improper, incomplete, and biased. So the def is allowed to argue that the nature of that non-investigation is evidence FOR the defense and for unknown-but-real contrary evidence, inasmuch as the cw has an obligation to investigate fully, and failure to properly investigate and rule out other alternatives to the crime leaves it reasonable to assume something else could have happened that the cw failed to look for.
2 The cw essentially "hid" significant cw actors who had evidence that was part of the case - ie Proctor, Higgins, Albert- from the jury. So, based on the cw's failure to call them to present their evidence and be subject to cross, the def is allowed to offer the presumption to the jury that the cw is hiding something, and further elaborate on what that may have been and why, and/or use that in whatever other way the def felt it would help their case.
3 HB deliberately lied to the jury and everyone else about the holes in the hoodie and the JOK x-rays too. The def felt that more should be allowed on those topics and they should be able to personally de-pants HB himself and his actions.

RSBM

No.1 is a Bowden defence. This was already agreed by Judge Cannone at the hearing on June 12th.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1933171343341883719

No.2 is a missing witness jury instruction. This motion was withdrawn by the defence at the hearing on June 12th.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1933167896168997362

No.3 was not in the instructions read to the jury by Judge Cannone yesterday, so one can presume it was denied.

IMO

 

[ShadyLady]

That's at least 4 witnesses who testified Higgin's jeep was parked at the mailbox: JMc, MMc, BA, and Higgins himself. But Brian Nagel and friends never saw it parked there at 12:25AM. Brian Nagel said they parked at the mailbox after Karen moved her SUV up to the flag pole. There's not a lot of space between the mailbox and the flagpole. I feel like if we knew where Higgins jeep was, we'd solve the entire mystery of how John died. Why would each of those crew lie about where Higgins jeep was parked?
MOO

"He said they parked in the driveway, and there were "at least two" other vehicles already parked there.

When he arrived, he said there was also a Jeep with a plow parked at the end of the driveway, in front of the mailbox. He later found out the Jeep belonged to Higgins.

McCabe also confirmed he saw a black SUV parked in front of the Albert home at some point that night, and Higgins' Jeep was still parked in front of the mailbox at that time. Yannetti also questioned McCabe about several inconsistencies between Friday's testimony and his previous testimony about the location of the black SUV.

During his previous testimony, he had said he only saw the black SUV in two different spots, but on Friday he said he saw it in three locations. But McCabe denied Friday that he had contradicted himself."

Yes, the jeep is part of the mystery.

For some reason when they all got together later in the morning of the 29th, they came up with a story. I wonder what that story was. One part is that they all insisted BH parked on the street. Seems odd because I don't think he would have parked there knowing a plow would be coming on a snowy night. And there were three rows of driveway parking. BA would have told him to park there.

And Lucky said Alberts have plenty of parking, that he never previously saw cars parked in the street.

Why lie about such a dumb thing? Did they forget Ryan's car pulled up behind Karen?

 

[Forest_Wood]

Brennan also slowed down one of Karen's videos to make it seems she was drunk in an interview. <modsnip>

I mentioned this already but will say it again. When I saw that video that he played, it seemed she was slurring her words and I didn't remember that from the first time watching the same video weeks ago. I haven't went back to watch the original to see the difference. But if he slowed it down, it further proves what an unethical attorney he really is, just like the trick with the holes in the back of JOKs sweater.
MOO

 

[HarmonyE.]

Why lie about such a dumb thing? Did they forget Ryan's car pulled up behind Karen?

Technically Ricky D'Antuouno's car, but that name is impossible to spell.

I think they wanted to discredit the three people in that car. I imagine their version of events was seen as potentially very damning and favorable to Read. Three people who all say they were directly behind Read's car and, although they had a clear view into the Lexus thanks to the light, they didn't see John inside it. And he wasn't on the ground. Ergo, he must have run in the direction of the house just before they arrived.

Not to mention, why would Karen, who was otherwise driving normally according to these witnesses, decide to murder John right in front of the people in the car she knew was coming up behind her?

Put Higgins' Jeep in the way and it makes it appear they were all mistaken/lying. Problem is, they had nothing to fear or lie about. And like Lucky, Ryan was friendly with the Alberts, which, IMO, gives him even more credibility.

 

[Forest_Wood]

Hank just suggested something I don’t think ever ever heard form the CW before - that Karen potentially stopped at Fairview to look at John’s body BEFORE going to Jen McCabe’s house?!

But there was no evidence presented to prove this. I guess this is why BC stressed to the jury that the opening and closing statements are not evidence. The lawyers can say anything they want?

 

[lohrtabitha]

It was Proctor's comments that drew me to this case the first season... so degrading. Many women (and men) have a hard time accepting it when they need to have a colostomy or ilieostomy.

Right Missy and thank God that jerk got brought down. That was an awesome act of justice there. Imo

 

[HarmonyE.]

Right Missy and thank God that jerk got brought down. That was an awesome act of justice there. Imo

Prison for what he did with the evidence here would be more just, IMO.

 

[lohrtabitha]

Some of these things .. I don't know if we will ever get a good explaination.

Why did Karen drive towards the Waterfall in the early morning hour if she KNEW she had hit him? They have video of her driving that way. Surely she didn't do that because she knew that camera was

I'm thinking like you have previously mentioned, all that alcohol combined with her high powered meds caused some unclarity. I take Gabapentin, Neloxicam, and Amytriptaline for my Fibryomyalgia, and it definitely messes with you. If she went home and took her meds on top of the alcohol, then I think that is what caused her brain fog that morning for sure. JMO

 

[lohrtabitha]

Until Hank’s closing this morning, I had forgotten that KR called Jen at around 5am on 1/29, in self preservation mode, saying she had left John at the Waterfall. And then she called Kerri, pivoted, and said that John had been hit by a plow and was dead. It really begs the question- hos did she already know that John had been hit by a vehicle and was lying by the side of the road before her 6am trip to 34FV? I think Hank said a lot of dumb things the last few weeks, but he really stitched that together well.

Yes but I think her high powered meds that she probably took when she got back to John's on top of the alcohol was what caused her brain fog and confusion. I would bet money on that. Imo

 

[lohrtabitha]

BBM
T1 testimony from Ryan Nagel, he told the court that his car group saw her vehicle at the intersection. They let her turn on Fairview first. All three in his car group testified they saw 2 people in that her vehicle. And saw the dome light on as KR's vehicle turned onto Fairfview.

They were seconds behind her.

When they went to leave they pulled around her. They each testified she was alone in the vehicle with the dome light on.

They each testified there was nobody on the ground and her tail lights looked like nothing was wrong with them.

And also she had both of her hands on the steering wheel at the 10&2 positions.

 

[Forest_Wood]

Kerri would disagree with that.

All these middle aged women vying to be JOK's best friend! LOL.

Kerry with whom he attended HS prom. JenMc the "soccer mom" who flirted with him any chance she got. The GF from years ago attending court daily. The single mom neighbor he dated. Other women living around Fairview according to Karen. And of course Karen who was practically his live-in GF who he used as his baby-sitter and designated driver so he could get drunk constantly such as in Aruba and in Canton, Mass. What was the allure I wonder?

 

[lohrtabitha]

100%.
Jen has her hands everywhere.

Yuck. Jen makes me sick. She is a wicked woman. Shame on her!!!! Mo