In pre-trial hearings, newly entered evidence comes under scrutiny. Some of the evidence implicates Karen, while other details build a case strong enough to possibly have her case thrown out entirely. And, as the trial date grows closer, so does the number of Karen Read supporters stepping out to make their voices heard.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapter 1: What evidence was presented in Karen Reed's case?
In his clothing, they found microscopic pieces of her taillight that are so small you couldn't even pick up.
And the pieces of taillight that were big enough to recover from the scene and allegedly matched Karen's SUV came back with traces of John O'Keefe's DNA. Attorney Jennifer Roman remembers where the DNA was found.
There's a piece of John O'Keefe's hair on her rear quarter of her car.
But the when and how of the taillight pieces is still an enigma. Legal analyst Rich Schoenstein says right out the gate, the pieces of taillight in question became contentious.
Here's the problem. They weren't all found at the same time. Some of them were found at different times. The prosecution will tell you that's because it snowed and the snow melted. There were microscopic pieces of taillight found on John O'Keefe's clothing, but that clothing was apparently in the trunk of Trooper Proctor's car for some period of time.
These gaps in time in recovering the pieces of taillight gave the defense something to chew on. They refuted the evidence with their own theory.
Now, ultimately the defense theory on the taillight is it was planted. They tried to question when it was cracked. There was a little bit of conflicting testimony from police officers about how cracked or damaged the taillight was at various times. There was also a bag of taillight evidence that had three pieces and suddenly had five pieces.
Onlookers like Alita Majeka were flummoxed. Once the defense laid bare the gaps in the taillight investigation, she didn't know what to believe.
There are certain elements that are still very big questions for me that were brought up by the defense. Those taillight pieces, they really don't match the photos that were taken of the back of Karen Reid's car before it was picked up by police.
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Chapter 3: How did witness intimidation play a role in the trial?
We are entitled to explore whether this investigation was conducted correctly and ethically. The records are relevant because they tend to show a cover-up. They are relevant because they show a Canton police officer inserting himself into a case in which his department was conflicted out precisely because he was an officer there. We need these records.
Going to trial without them would violate my client's rights.
This wasn't the end of Yannetti's request. There was more. He entered a final motion for phone records from January 29th, 2022, specifically around 2.22 a.m., just hours before John O'Keefe's body was discovered. The phone records in question again belonged to Brian Albert and Brian Higgins. but also former Canton Police Chief Kenneth Berkowitz.
Brian Higgins did testify before the federal grand jury. And at that time, he was specifically asked if on January 29th of 2022, he made any phone calls when he got home. He said that he did not. He testified that he lived alone. He testified that he was alone that night. He testified there was nobody else in his bedroom.
He testified that when he went to bed, he placed his phone on the bedside table. After making those admissions, he was confronted by a federal prosecutor with his phone records. Those records revealed that Brian Albert called Brian Higgins at 2.22 in the morning on January 29.
Those records reveal, moreover, that 17 seconds later, Brian Higgins called Brian Albert back, and that call lasted for 22 seconds. Now, when he was first confronted, Brian Higgins first tried to claim that it had to have been a butt dial. That term butt dial is used by many of the Commonwealth's witnesses to explain the many calls between them and among them.
And I've never seen a case where there have been so many butt dials, to be frank. But Mr. Higgins was already locked in. He already testified his phone was on the bedside table. His butt was in the bed. The phone was in the table. There was no possibility of a butt dial.
In a police interview, the two Bryans claimed the calls were accidental. And in another interview, they both reported to be asleep at the time. So what was the real story? Judge Canone did not rule on the second two motions that day. The defense was left to connect the dots without the phone records they so desperately felt they needed.
Back again at Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham on March 26, Judge Beverly Canone had arrived at a decision on the motion to dismiss Karen's case. And outside the historic four-columned courthouse, the anticipation was palpable. With each pretrial hearing, Karen Reed supporters began trickling in.
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