Beyond The Horizon
The Karen Read Trial: A Mistrial In Canton (7/2/24)
The trial of Karen Read, accused of murdering her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, ended in a mistrial on June 28, 2024. The jury, after five days and approximately 20 hours of deliberations, remained deadlocked and unable to reach a unanimous verdict. This led Judge Beverly Cannone to declare a mistrial. The case has been marked by intense scrutiny and controversy, raising questions about whether the state will pursue a retrial or seek new evidence to continue the legal proceedings​
Karen Read's defense argued she had no motive and suggested alternative theories for O'Keefe's death, including an accidental fall or being hit by another vehicle. The prosecution, however, presented evidence they claimed showed Read was responsible for his death. The mistrial leaves the case unresolved, with significant public interest in the next steps the state will take.
The Commonwealth has indictated that they will re-try the case, although that has not been etched in stone yet.
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Karen Read murder trial: Mistrial declared after jury deadlocks and an investigator is relieved of duty | CNN
- Duration:
- 19m
- Broadcast on:
- 02 Jul 2024
- Audio Format:
- mp3
It is Ryan here, and I have a question for you, what do you do when you win? Like are you a fist-pumper, a woohoo, a hand clap or a high-fiver? If you want to hone in on those winning moves, check out Chumba Casino. Choose from hundreds of Social Casino-style games for your chance to redeem serious cash prizes. There are new game releases weekly plus free daily bonuses, so don't wait. Start having the most fun ever at Chumba Casino.com. Sponsored by Chumba Casino, no purchase necessary. What's up everyone, and welcome back to the program. I don't think anyone shocked at this point, besides the weirdos, that were running around telling you that they were sure that Karen Reid was guilty, that there was a mistrial at the Karen Reid trial. When you have the sort of evidence that was presented, if you want to call it that, by the commonwealth, how does anyone think that that's going to stick and you're going to get 11 jurors to buy into what you're selling? And this is what I was explaining previously. You're not going to get 12 jurors to buy into this BS. There's going to be one or two or three or five or six or seven, whatever, who look at the evidence and say, "This does not meet the burden." Now, of course, there are those people out there who support prosecutors and the state and the government, full tilt, and they don't believe that the government would ever do anything that is untoward. And my guess is it's someone like that who is gumming things up, because I have a very, very hard time believing that a majority of these jurors thought that Karen Reid was guilty. And if they make the mistake of retrying her, I think it's going to fail spectacularly once again. And the saddest part about all of this is there's not going to be any justice for Mr. O'Keefe. Whether it was Karen Reid who hit him or something else happened, we're never going to know the true story at this point, and I think that's just terrible for the family. But at the same time, I don't think that we should just be sending somebody to prison just to satiate our thirst for justice. And honestly, I didn't see the evidence that some people, I guess, saw that would say that Karen Reid is guilty here, and considering that it ended in a mistrial, some of these jurors, at the very least, felt the same way. Today's article is from CNN and the headline, mistrial declared for Karen Reid accused of killing her police officer boyfriend, and an investigator is relieved of duty. The trouble for proctor is just beginning, bro is in a whole heap of trouble at this point, and there's an investigation that has been launched by internal affairs, and he has been removed from duty. Now he hasn't been fired yet, there's a whole bunch of steps that you have to go through because of the union and all of the bargaining agreements that these officers have. But he is on the cusp of losing his job, and maybe losing his freedom. This article was authored by Jean Casaras, Eric Levinson, Faith Karimi, and DeKen Andoni. A judge declared a mistrial in the murder trial of Karen Reid, the Massachusetts woman accused of drunkenly driving into her police officer boyfriend and leaving him to die in January of 2022. In a case featuring accusations of a vast police cover-up and investigative misconduct. And I think if they do retry Karen Reid, her defense is going to focus more on how bad the investigation was, as opposed to a third party culprit. And keep in mind the defense, they don't have to prove anything. They could sit there quietly and let the prosecution say whatever they want. It's up to the prosecution to prove to the jury what happened. They have the burden of proof, not the defense. And I think the next time around, if there is a next time around, they're going to focus a whole lot more on how bad this investigation was, because that's the real issue here in my opinion. I don't think there's some grand conspiracy, as far as, you know, this dude was killed in the house or something like that, I don't know what happened. But I will tell you this, I didn't see the evidence that the Commonwealth said they were going to bring. And if I was the district attorney, I'd be thinking real long and hard about retrying this case. And the state trooper who helped lead the investigation, a man who admitted on the stand that he'd sent sexist and offensive text messages about the defendant of friends was relieved of duty Monday after the mistrial was declared. The Massachusetts state police said, the mistrial was declared after the jury twice told the judge Monday that it could not reach a verdict after spending days deliberating Reed's fate. jurors also said Friday they cannot reach a unanimous decision. And I knew that with the holiday creeping up, nobody wanted to sit in this jurors room for another week or whatever. So there was no way that these jurors were going to budge. They had their opinions. They believed what they believed as far as the evidence led them. And here we are. And nobody can knock these jurors, right? This is what they saw. This is how they interpreted the evidence. And that's just the way the system works. I know there's a lot of people out there that are, you know, gnashing their teeth and ringing in their hands and crying and look, this is how it works. The prosecution has a very, very high burden. And the prosecution did not meet that high burden point blank period doesn't need to be any more extensive than that. And I can't tell you how many people I know in my personal life who had no idea about this case until recently. And then they started following along and looking at the evidence and to a person, not one of them thought that Karen Reed was guilty. Now, I'm not saying that none of them thought it was possible that she hit John O'Keefe. What I'm saying is the Commonwealth did not make their case correctly. And that's why we are where we are. There's no one else to blame but the Commonwealth and Mr. Lally Reed 45 pleaded not guilty to charges of second degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, as well as leaving the scene of an accident resulting in the death in connection to the 2022 death of John O'Keefe, who was her boyfriend and the Boston police officer. "We thank the O'Keefe family for their commitment and dedication to this long process," said Morrissey after the mistrial was announced. "They maintain sight of the true core of this case to find justice for John O'Keefe." "Well, you failed the Mr. Morrissey. There's no justice here. There's no justice for anybody. In fact, what it does is throw another shadow over Massachusetts, over the state police, and boy oh boy, is it a very very large shadow considering what we are talking about with Mrs. Birchmore." So, for those of you out there listening, I'd get comfortable up here in Canton because we're going to be spending some time here. What happened with Sandra Birchmore is an absolute travesty and the people who are responsible, the same group of people that are here in Canton, they need to be held to account. They might have gotten away with this bullshit but when it comes to Birchmore, they're not going to get off the hook for that one, and those officers who are involved, they need to taste the belt because that is just one of the most horrendous things I've ever dove into. All of these cops going after that vulnerable girl grooming her the way they did, and then the situation turning the way it did, on top of what's going on with Karen Reid and the shitty investigation that we saw here, oh yeah, you better believe I have some questions. The Commonwealth intends to retry the case with a new Jerry following the mistrial according to Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey. Reid could face life in prison if convicted according to Massachusetts law. Yo, this is a bad idea, and if I lived up there, I'd be pissed. I'd be calling my representative and telling them not to waste the tax dollars on this. You didn't have the evidence the first time around, you really think giving Alan Jackson a second crack here is a good idea? Because boy did Alan Jackson expose the whole entire department like a pair of dogs nuts. I highly doubt that the city of Canton, meaning the people, want to do this again. Reid's attorney Alan Jackson meanwhile said prosecutors in the case, had failed miserably and they'll continue to fail. According to video outside the courthouse provided by CNN affiliate WCVB, no matter how long it takes, no matter how long they keep trying, we will not stop fighting Jackson said, folks this is what it looks like when you bring false charges against an innocent person. And I'll tell you, imagine she didn't have the money? Imagine how many people up here in Canton have had run-ins with these officers or with the law and didn't have the ability to pay their way out of it like Karen Reid was able to do by hiring Alan Jackson? How many people have just been screwed? Left for dead basically. My guess is the whole hell of a lot. The mass judge overseeing the trial gave jurors so-called dynamite charge Monday morning. Directing them to continue their deliberations after they indicated for a second time Monday, they could not reach a unanimous verdict. The two E Rodriguez charge instructs the jurors to reconsider their positions while taking into consideration the opinions of panelists with whom they do not agree. Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Beverly Canoni read the charge around 11 a.m. after juris sent the note saying, "Despite our commitment to the duty entrusted to us, we find ourselves deeply divided by fundamental differences in our opinions and state of mind." And look, that's how it's going to be inside that jury room, right? There's going to be some contention, and there's going to be some back and forth, especially in a trial like this where nobody really knows the truth. And these jurors, they're between a rock and a hard place, in Massachusetts you can't even get the transcripts. So imagine being sold backwards as a state, that if the jury requests the transcripts, you can't even provide them? How is that even something that's in the realm of a possibility? The jurors should be able to have transcripts, they should have everything that they need to make sure that they're making the right decision. Like what is this? Oh well, you're going to have to remember what we learned here, there's going to be a pop quiz. So dumb. Imagine you were fighting for your life, and that's the rule. That's something that needs to be addressed. These jurors should get the transcripts if they want them. That way they have all of the information, and they're armed moving forward. The jury of six men and six women had been considering a verdict since mid-day June 25th, weighing the evidence in a case, featuring accusations of a vast police cover-up, as well as improper conduct, and sexist text messages from a lead investigator. On both Friday and Monday, Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally argued against the judge issuing the two-e charge, saying the jury had not yet deliberated enough, citing in part the complexity of the case, and the high volume of evidence and witness testimony. Defense Attorney David Yanetti, meanwhile, urged the judge to issue the charge, saying Monday jurors had now twice indicated they are hopelessly deadlocked, and this is basically a win for Karen Reid, right? Now of course, there are pitfalls, if she's retried it's going to cost more money to get the same defense team, et cetera, et cetera, but I think at this point, Alan Jackson's all in, and no matter what happens moving forward, he's going to represent Karen Reid. And that's something that the state of Massachusetts, obviously, is not happy about. I've got Dan Morgan here on the pod. Say hi, Dan. Hey, how's it going today? It's going good, man. Tell us who you are and what you do. I'm Dan Morgan. I'm an attorney and a managing partner at Morgan and Morgan, which is America's largest injury law firm. That's pretty awesome. Why do you guys think you win so many cases? The insurance companies and other companies that we go against know that we're going to take it to the end that we believe in the case. So we fight for every dollar and we're not afraid to go that extra mile for our clients. Are insurance companies, like, actually afraid of you guys? We don't bluff. We take it to trial, and we are not strangers of getting very, very, very large verdicts. Awesome. There's something in contact with Morgan and Morgan. What would I do if I got into an accident? Probably the easiest way is dialing pound law. That's pound 529 from your cell phone. Our call center is always waiting to take your call 24/7, 365. Wow. Dan Morgan, from Morgan and Morgan, America's largest injury law firm. Thanks for coming by the show. Thanks for having me. Visit ForThePeople.com for an office near you. It is Ryan Seacrest here. There was a recent social media trend which consisted of flying on a plane with no music, no movies, no entertainment. But a better trend would be going to Chumbacocino.com. It's like having a mini social casino in your pocket. Chumbacocino has over 100 online casino-style games all absolutely free. It's the most fun you can have online and on a plane. So grab your free welcome bonus now at Chumbacocino.com. Sponsored by Chumbacocino. No purchase necessary. VGW Group. Void were prohibited by law. 18+ terms and conditions apply. On Monday, Kanoni sided with the defense, telling the court, "She determined the jury had conducted their requisite, due and thorough deliberation." "I've never seen a note like this. With reporting to be at an end pass," the judge said. "If prosecutors seek another trial, they could take a different approach, perhaps bringing a lesser charge than second-degree murder. If prosecutors determine their evidence failed, to meet the standard required or using different experts or different testimony," trial attorney Misty Maris said, "I mean, that would be their best move if they're going to retry, Karen Reed. They should make it a lesser charge because it doesn't fit when we're talking about murder too. It just doesn't fit. They overcharged and now they're filling the fury of it." So my guess is, if they do bring these charges again, we're going to see lesser charges here. "It's a chance to identify what the mistakes or holes in the case might have been," Maris said. "And it does give the defense that advantage because they know now, especially when you're able to speak to the jurors after the fact, you learn a lot. You learn a lot about what motivated them." How the trial went. The heart of the trial stemmed from what happened on one, wintry evening in Canton, Massachusetts more than two years ago. On the night of January 28, 2022, Reed and O'Keefe went out drinking at two bars with friends. Shortly after midnight, the couple climbed into Reed's SUV and drove to the Canton home of one of O'Keefe's fellow Boston police officers for an after-party court-document show. In the morning, O'Keefe's body was found bruised and battered in the snow outside the home, authorities said. Prosecutors of alleged Reed and O'Keefe, who had, and at times, tumultuous relationship, got into an argument that night and that she drunkenly backed into him with a vehicle and fled the scene, leaving him to die in the cold. But the constellation of the facts and the evidence, demonstrate here, is that the defendant drove her vehicle in a reverse at 24.2 miles per hour for 62 and a half feet, struck Mr. O'Keefe, causing those catastrophic head injuries, leaving him incapacitated and freezing him to death. Prosecutor Lali said, in closing arguments on Tuesday, "In contrast, Reed's defense has accused off-duty police inside the Canton home of fatally beating O'Keefe, dumping his body on the lawn and then conspiring through fabricated evidence and false testimony to frame Reed." Ladies and gentlemen, there was a cover-up in this case, plain and simple, defense attorney Jackson said, "You'll surely say to yourself, 'I don't want to believe it, I don't want to believe that could happen in our community.' But sadly, over these past eight weeks, you've seen it right before your own eyes." The closing arguments represented the end of a murder trial that had garnered interest both local and widespread, including accusations of witness tampering, a federal probe into the investigation, and groups of pink-wearing supporters chanting to free Karen Reed. Lead investigator is relieved of duty after mistrial. The prosecution's case has also been hampered by a series of missteps and unusual investigative practices. Most notably, a lead investigator in the case, Mass State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, admitted that he sent a series of sexist and offensive texts about Reed in a private group chat, calling her a whack job, mocking her medical issues, and commenting to coworkers he had found no nudes while searching her phone for evidence. WCVB reported, "This guy's an absolute jerk-off, has been one probably for his whole entire life and continues to be one to this day. But now, thankfully, it looks like he's not going to be in a position to screw anybody ever again. This man should not even be riding around on a segue as a mall security officer. Never mind as the lead investigator for the state troopers in Massachusetts." Proctor was relieved of duty Monday after the state police learned of the mistrial, state police Colonel John Mon said in an online post Monday evening. This follows our previous decision to open an internal affairs investigation after information about serious misconduct emerged in testimony at the trial. The investigation is ongoing, Mon's post reads, so what that means is nobody can have any sort of information about what's going on because it's an ongoing investigation. They love to do that shit. So what they'll do is they'll reassign him, and then maybe, just maybe, if they can talk the union into it, he'll lose his job. But I'm not too hopeful, he'll probably get like desk duty or some shit." CNN has sought comment from the state police association of Massachusetts. Governor apologized for the unprofessional comments on the stand, but the vulgar texts were sharply criticized in and out of court, including from the governor. "It's completely unprofessional. Governor Mora Healy told WCB of the text, 'It does harm, frankly, to the dignity and integrity of the work of men and women across the state police and law enforcement. So as a former attorney general, and as governor, I am disgusted by that. You and the rest of the country, lady. We're all disgusted by the way a proctor conducted himself. And I think that anybody who's fair here is disgusted by this whole investigation. Now I've said from the beginning, I don't know about the whole third party argument they were making, but there is zero doubt that the investigation itself was less than shoddy. And besides a not guilty verdict, the only other option here was a mistrial, and here we are. So if you thought that the carnival barkers were going to be packing up the tents anytime soon when it comes to Karen Reed, and what happened to Mr. O'Keefe, you are sorely mistaken. Because according to the state, we're about to run this whole entire thing back. And that means the circus is only going to continue to grow. All right, folks. That's going to do it for this one. All the information that goes with this episode can be found in the description box. 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