The trial begins, but not without fanfare. Initial witnesses leave the jury with more questions than answers. For Karen Read’s defense, this is precisely what they hoped for. Will the prosecution be able to revive their case despite the questionable investigation?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 are the key themes of the trial?
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During the time that you were on scene and you heard Karen Reid screaming and yelling in this distraught and hysterical manner, you never once heard her say, I did it, correct? I did not.
They said that they felt like they didn't have probable cause to go into the home and conduct a search, but they said that they didn't see anything out of the ordinary in at least the foyer area or where they entered and spoke to some of the people there.
Do you think it's standard practice for a police department to borrow red solo cups from a neighbor to gather evidence?
Of course not. Nothing about the scene was standard.
So we don't know if this is homicide or an accident at this point. And if we can't determine the manner of death, how do we charge somebody with it?
From Law & Crime, I'm Paula Borrows, and this is Karen. Outside Norfolk County Superior Court, on the brisk morning of April 29, 2024, a massive crowd was forming. The Free Karen Reid Movement, sequestered to their sanctioned area, were gathered, sporting pink shirts and holding handmade signs showing their support on this fateful spring day, the first day of Karen Reid's trial.
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Chapter 2: What evidence was presented in court?
What we heard a little bit was that she was lovey-dovey, sort of appeared to be getting along with John O'Keefe in the moments up to, and that she didn't appear drunk. That's really what the defense was able to sort of establish. And also that John O'Keefe's family thought she was a good influence.
And the lack of information about John O'Keefe's cause of death created another perplexing hurdle this jury would have to maneuver.
One of the things we have to look at in this case is that the cause of death being blunt force trauma and hypothermia was established, but the manner of death could not. So we don't know if this is homicide or an accident at this point. And if we can't determine the manner of death, how do we charge somebody with it?
The jury was looking at a projected six to eight weeks to get to the bottom of that question. In opening statements, the prosecution and defense could not have presented more paradoxical arguments. Prosecutor Adam Lally approached the stand first, wearing a black suit with a checkered tie. Karen sat between her attorneys, David Iannetti and Alan Jackson, as Adam presented his side's position.
Defending Karen made a guilty murder in the second degree, striking Mr. O'Keefe with her car, knocking him back onto the ground, striking his head on the ground, causing bleeding in his brain. swelling, and then leaving him there for several hours, in a blizzard, with temperatures in the teens, with winds swirling around, snow piling up on his body.
The defendant is the only one who sees Mr. O'Keefe, and yells and screams at Ms. Roberts to stop. Ms. Roberts and Ms. McCabe, I anticipate, will testify that they did not see Mr. O'Keefe, not only as they were driving past him, but even after they got out of the vehicle, until the defendant gets out of the back seat and makes a beeline, essentially, right over to where Mr. O'Keefe's body was found.
but that couldn't be further from the way David Yannetti saw things.
She did not cause his death, and that means that somebody else did. You will learn that it was no accident that John O'Keefe was found dead on the front lawn of 34 Fairview Road in Kent on January 29th of 2022. You will learn that at that address lived a well-known and well-connected law enforcement family in Kent, the Alberts.
Because the Alberts were involved, and because they had close connections to the investigators in this case, Karen Reed was framed for a murder she did not commit.
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Chapter 3: How did the jury react to the prosecution's arguments?
I would never not take that call.
Correct.
Did you know at the time you got the call that that very serious incident was occurring at 34 Fairview?
No.
When did you realize that?
Upon speaking with Sergeant Goode.
I was asking whether or not Sergeant Good told you before you actually arrived that it's at 34 Fairview.
He did.
At some point before your car came to a stop, you knew this is 34 Fairview, this is the Albert household.
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Chapter 4: What were the defense's main strategies?
Alan Jackson wanted to know.
You were shown a photo yesterday of you in February of 2022. Correct. And he said he wanted you to pay special attention to your face and hands and extremities. Asked you if there was anything unusual about that.
Yes.
You said no. In that photo, absolutely nothing unusual in February of 2022 about you, your face, your hands, fists, nothing.
Correct.
The photograph entered into evidence by the defense, taken less than a month after O'Keefe was found dead, showed Colin Albert's right knuckles scraped, scabbed, and bruised, injuries one could possibly connect to striking someone with a fist. But Colin Albert maintained there was no fight and that he had simply slipped on ice and fallen in the driveway, breaking his fall with his right hand.
But was his story convincing enough in the eyes of the jury?
Mr. Higgins, you seem to not want to answer my question. My question is, were you or were you not sexually attracted to my client?
Then we get to the sally port, a sort of structure within the police station for driving vehicles into and then having it sort of secured in there. And the video there, they say, is on motion sensing, so there's gaps in it. There's places where the video just drops out.
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