I hadn’t kept up with this at all, but I found this story fascinating and now kind of wish that I had.
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This whole trial has been, as Mr Spock would say, “Fascinating.” What a cast of characters.
I’ll offer the caveat that I did not sit through the testimony (or watch it all on Court TV), nor was I in the deliberation room. But I did follow the detailed news reports. While I don’t know that I buy the defense’s theories, from where I sit, there was reasonable doubt and I would have voted not guilty. It would have been interesting to be in the jury room and hear the opinions and reasoning of those who concluded the opposite.
I will say, it’s guys like Proctor, and the aforementioned Mark Furman, who make the notion of police coverups seem less implausible.
Good luck finding an impartial jury for a retrial!
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While I didn’t watch the proceeding, I did read all of the coverage in the local paper (I live in the Boston area). One of my good friends (a retired lawyer) watched the entire trial. She was really impressed with the defense lawyer. Apparently, Read’s defense attorney has an excellent reputation and a winning record. My friend also thinks Read’s legal fees were probably in the six figures. IMO the state trooper’s text messages about Read were vile. He should be relieved of duty.
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If this docuseries about the lead-up to the death does well ratings-wise, I’m sure we’d see a series about the trial soon to follow.
Although this thing is far from over—re-trial, dropping of charges, who knows? I recall years ago the von Bulow trial (lived in RI at the time) had more twists and turns than a mountain road!
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She walks!
I think this is the right verdict, but I admit that I only really got my news on the case via a podcast in which the host(s) eventually became convinced of her innocence, too.
Thoughts?
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Yes, I want to never hear her name again, but alas I doubt that will happen as she writes books, makes movies, does interviews, etc.
I don’t think she’s innocent, but I agree that the case lacked evidence and the right verdict was reached.
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I’m ready to move on from Karen and I feel for the O’Keefe family. I don’t know what the truth is.
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That’s pretty much it. I’m not convinced she’s innocent, but it appears to me there was reasonable doubt about her guilt. An unsavory cast of characters all around.
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I watched this case (not obsessively though) from afar.
Any local Boston or MA folks who can shed light on some of the local issues going on that made this case so explosive? Or articles that get into it?
I’m not particularly local, but found this article informative. It’s older, from Sept 2023, but goes into some interesting background.
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I live nearby. I think the press has enjoyed painting it as a huge division for people living in Canton. Headlines about tearing the community apart. It is not true. Many locals have followed the trial closely, but then so have people all over the world. Many locals just don’t care, may have opinions, but are not arguing with their neighbors over it.
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I’m a true crime junkie so I followed both the first trial and the second. Watched some on CourtTV but usually caught up at night with the YouTube bloggers (many of them, mostly attorneys) commenting on the day’s testimony.
Someone above said the defense cost was ‘6 figures’ Five MILLION (for both trials) so yes, Karen Read will be writing books, speaking at events, something with Netflix, etc.
The closings by both the defense and prosecution were excellent. Very easy to follow. The battle of the experts was no battle at all as ALL the doctors, even the prosecution’s, said no evidence of being hit by a car. The engineers for the prosecution were, to put it kindly, not good. One claimed a BS on his resume but is actually ‘working’. on a degree (no progress is about 7 years) He came off as a liar. The other engineer put blue paint on a Lexus and was his own test dummy and gee, if there is paint on a car and you lean against the car, you will get paint on your sleeve. The engineers for the defense were great witnesses.
The lawyers were excellent. The judge was pretty biased. There were entirely too many witnesses named Brian. Listening to the firm the experts worked for, AARCA, pronounced by all those Boston accents was amusing, sometimes Ack-er, or Ahka, or Awcker.
But we aren’t done with Canton, MA yet. There is another case involving cops, Sandra Birchmore, where Ms. Birchmore was in the police cadet group when she was 13, and a cop groomed her, slept with her, and then Ms. Birchmore became pregnant (turns out cop was not the father), was found dead in her apt a few weeks before her due date and it was ruled a suicide. Now feds have filed murder against the cop. Federal case so won’t be on TV but will be followed like Diddy’s case is summarized every night.
Also the case of they guy who is charged with killing his wife who commuted to Wash DC most weeks, is nearby. Several of the same detectives on the Karen Read case were on that case too. Michael Proctor was.
CrimeCon (like comic con but for all these cases) is in Denver in Sept and I’ve signed up to be a volunteer so I hope I get selected and can get updates on all these cases.
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Very interesting. Did any of those who covered the case have any theories as to what could have happened? Is it possible he fell down and was getting up and she reversed into him?
Did they give any credence to the idea of the victim actually entering the home and being murdered inside?
Lol. Thanks for the summary and tidbits about the other upcoming cases!
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The ‘lay’ bloggers still believe in the conspiracy of him going into the house, to the basement, being beaten (but only on the face and back of the head). And the dog jumped on him and made the scratches on John’s arm. Or in the garage where he hit his head on a sharp ledge, like a cement step. The lawyer bloggers don’t really know, except that there wasn’t enough evidence to convict ‘beyond a reasonable doubt.’ All the experts say the car never hit him (no body injuries, no bruises below the head, no broken bones). One neurologist (called by the prosecution) had worked in Minnesota for years. He said “Oh, people get drunk all the time, slip, hit their heads. Dead.” He was one of my favorite witnesses as I have taken a few drunken spills in my time.
I always thought he got out of the car, they were fighting, he threw the glass and broke the taillight, and slipped to the ground and smacked his head and she peeled off. The experts proved the bar glass didn’t break the taillight. (there goes my detective abilities) There was NO DNA of his on the plastic tail light pieces. No dog DNA on him.
Jury was pretty smart. Two have commented that the cops did a crappy job on the investigation and if Karen was guilty, they just didn’t prove it. The found the car never hit John. No one thinks any further investigation can be done.
I hope the FBI case gets opened again, especially because of Sandra Birchmore. If the charged cop didn’t get her pregnant, who did? Another cop?
But the attorneys? Top notch. This ‘dream team’ makes OJ’s look like pikers (although OJ’s did win)
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My issue with the theory that he went in the house and was murdered is that there were a lot of people there and there is no way that many people could keep their mouths closed for so long. Someone would have said something.
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