20-20 - Karen Read - video Dailymotion

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Karen Read, accused of killing her boyfriend, a Boston Police officer

Transcript

00:00:00Karen Reed, hers is the hot crime name of the summer.

00:00:04Millions of people following her story.

00:00:06Did she kill her boyfriend, a Boston police officer,

00:00:09or was she framed?

00:00:10You'll see her full interview right here

00:00:12in All New 2020, starts right now.

00:00:17Karen, are you ready for today?

00:00:18Karen, how are you feeling today?

00:00:19Do you believe you'll get a fair trial?

00:00:21Karen Reed, indicted for second degree murder

00:00:24in the death of Officer John O'Keefe.

00:00:26This is how it just ended with a media storm.

00:00:29Free Karen Reed!

00:00:31Protests for Karen Reed right there.

00:00:33No!

00:00:37But it started with a real storm.

00:00:40I was worried he might have gotten hit by a plow.

00:00:43That was my first thought.

00:00:44It's the only explanation I could think of

00:00:46for why John just disappeared into thin air.

00:00:48And now the woman at the center of it

00:00:50speaking out fully for the first time.

00:00:52And I said, he's right there.

00:00:55His eyes were shut and he had spots of blood

00:00:57in different areas on his face.

00:00:59I remember pounding on my dresser

00:01:02and just like literally screaming,

00:01:03like, not John, over and over.

00:01:06Is it possible that you hit him

00:01:08with the back of your car and just didn't realize it?

00:01:11And I said, this guy didn't get hit by a car.

00:01:14John O'Keefe was murdered, no question.

00:01:16He died at the hands of another person.

00:01:18Nobody could have imagined,

00:01:19like, what was about to happen next.

00:01:21The whole story hinges on how he got here.

00:01:25Did you kill John O'Keefe?

00:01:40A snow emergency has been declared

00:01:41and the Boston residents need to be prepared for this one.

00:01:44We're going to have to wait and see.

00:01:46We're going to have to wait and see.

00:01:47We're going to have to wait and see.

00:01:49We're going to have to wait and see.

00:01:50We need to be prepared for this one.

00:01:52This is likely to be an intense, dangerous storm

00:01:54with heavy snow, high winds, and whiteout conditions.

00:02:01Temperatures will be dropping down

00:02:03into the single digits and below zero with the wind chills.

00:02:14We're talking about treacherous conditions,

00:02:16dangerous, sometimes life-threatening conditions

00:02:18here in Boston.

00:02:19The best thing you can do is stay inside.

00:02:29You ask any Bostonian and they have a story

00:02:31they can tell you about a blizzard.

00:02:33But the blizzard of 2022 was a pretty epic one.

00:02:36By the time it was over, it would make the record books.

00:02:40But the story of what unfolded

00:02:41in the nearby suburb of Canton, Massachusetts

00:02:44that January night would also be one for the ages.

00:02:48Murder that continues to tear apart an entire town.

00:02:52His body was found in a snowbank in Canton.

00:02:55His body discovered in a pile of snow.

00:02:57Injuries including skull fractures

00:02:59and signs of hypothermia.

00:03:00The question is, how did this happen?

00:03:02Who is responsible?

00:03:08It begins in the middle of the night

00:03:10with the blizzard raging and Karen Reed says

00:03:13she wakes up to find her boyfriend, John O'Keefe,

00:03:16not at home.

00:03:17Now, despite that storm, they've been out together

00:03:19with friends at bars.

00:03:21And she says she went home first, he stayed out.

00:03:25So she starts anxiously calling the friends

00:03:27they'd been out with just a few hours earlier.

00:03:30I called a few of his buddies, their wives.

00:03:33I knew something was wrong.

00:03:34One of her first calls is to Jennifer McCabe,

00:03:37part of that group.

00:03:38When the bar closed, Jennifer and others had gone

00:03:41to have drinks at a nearby house on Fairview Road.

00:03:45But Karen says she didn't feel like staying out.

00:03:47So she says she dropped off John outside the house

00:03:50and continued back to his place.

00:03:52I said, Jen, John didn't come home.

00:03:54Now Karen Reed appears to be in a full panic.

00:03:58So I said, well then I don't know where he is.

00:04:00And I said, I'm gonna go back to the bars.

00:04:02Like maybe they let people back in after hours.

00:04:05Her next call is to John's friend,

00:04:06Kerry Roberts, who lives nearby.

00:04:09Now, she wasn't at the after party or with anybody who was,

00:04:12but maybe she's heard from him.

00:04:15She hasn't.

00:04:16Kerry Roberts makes a call to the local hospital,

00:04:19to the police department,

00:04:20trying to see if anything happened to John that night.

00:04:22Hi, my name is Kerry.

00:04:24I'm calling because my friend's boyfriend

00:04:26did not come home last night.

00:04:27We were at Waterfall.

00:04:29She doesn't know where he is.

00:04:30You didn't pick anybody up

00:04:32by the name of John O'Keefe, did you?

00:04:34He has not been admitted to a hospital

00:04:37and he has not been involved in any accidents.

00:04:39Not a single person says they've seen John

00:04:43since he left the bar.

00:04:47You were gonna canvass the rest of the neighborhood.

00:04:50Yeah, I'm just gonna drive around in the two square miles

00:04:53that we spent the preceding night.

00:04:56Now I have an immense sense of dread,

00:05:01like a fright in me that I have not experienced before.

00:05:07So you're driving around.

00:05:08Do you expect to see him like lying on the street drunk?

00:05:11Yeah.

00:05:11Or passed out?

00:05:13I was worried he might've gotten hit by a plow.

00:05:15That was my first thought.

00:05:16It's the only explanation I could think of

00:05:18for why John just disappeared into thin air.

00:05:20He's not where I thought he was and nobody has seen him.

00:05:24The only other vehicles on the road are plows.

00:05:27This is 90.9 WBUR.

00:05:28It is 24 degrees in Boston

00:05:30and there will be near whiteout conditions at times.

00:05:33I go back by the bar as I drive around.

00:05:35After about 20 minutes of driving around, I go to get Jen.

00:05:38She gets to Jennifer McCabe's, Kerry Roberts shows up,

00:05:40and they decide together, let's go back to John's.

00:05:44You can see this moment captured

00:05:46on one of John's home security cameras.

00:05:48The three women head inside to see if John has come home.

00:05:53So now it's 5.36, still pitch black outside,

00:05:57and we spent about 10 minutes at John's.

00:06:00The three women are now taking this harrowing ride

00:06:02around town in the blizzard conditions.

00:06:05They're searching for John, screaming his name.

00:06:07Karen is in the backseat.

00:06:08Now she's frantically texting more people,

00:06:11but again, no one says they've heard from John.

00:06:13Now the women decide to go back to Fairview Road

00:06:16where Karen says she last saw John,

00:06:19dropping him off for the after party.

00:06:22As you come down Fairview, there's a bit of a decline

00:06:25and it curves to the left, and my eyes are peeled.

00:06:29And I said, he's right there.

00:06:32I jumped out the passenger side and I fell into the street.

00:06:35His eyes were shut and he had spots of blood

00:06:37in different areas on his face.

00:06:39And he was still, not stiff, but still.

00:06:43It was cold.

00:06:44I felt cold, but I didn't feel dangerously cold.

00:06:48And it was just an odd feeling to know that I'm okay.

00:06:52I'm not dying, but he's here with me and he's dying.

00:06:56And I can't warm him up.

00:06:58I know him.

00:06:59Where are the blankets?

00:07:00I don't see blankets, Karen.

00:07:02911, what's your emergency?

00:07:04A man passed out in the snow.

00:07:06I don't know, I don't know.

00:07:09Hello?

00:07:11Officers arrived to three females on the scene

00:07:13and John is laying on his back.

00:07:15He's got injuries to his face.

00:07:18He had two black eyes.

00:07:19He's cold to the touch.

00:07:21He's not dressed in appropriate clothing

00:07:24for the temperature.

00:07:25He's wearing a long sleeve t-shirt

00:07:28and he's actually missing one of his shoes.

00:07:31By all accounts, Karen is inconsolable.

00:07:34She's yelling, she's screaming, she's crying.

00:07:38I had called my father.

00:07:40He didn't answer and I texted him, John is dead.

00:07:44I didn't know for sure that John was dead,

00:07:46but I'm trying to elicit a response.

00:07:49And I thought John could be dead.

00:07:51And he called me back and I was distraught.

00:07:55And I said, I don't wanna live.

00:07:57I mean, I wasn't, I didn't have any ideation

00:08:00of harming myself.

00:08:02I just, I've never dealt with grief of this magnitude

00:08:06and I just felt out of my skin.

00:08:09So my father called the police.

00:08:13They put me in a psychiatric hold.

00:08:16They took my phone, they took my clothes.

00:08:18They wouldn't let me speak to anyone.

00:08:20And then sometime later, about mid morning,

00:08:22I saw John's parents and brother pass in the ER

00:08:26and all go into the door, two doors down.

00:08:28But despite medical personnel working on John,

00:08:31his injuries and his exposure to the cold

00:08:34are just too much.

00:08:36He's pronounced dead.

00:08:37I remember pounding on my dresser

00:08:40and just like literally screaming

00:08:41like not John over and over.

00:08:44John O'Keefe's tragic death stuns

00:08:46not only his family and friends,

00:08:48but an entire community

00:08:50because John was one of Boston's finest, Boston PD.

00:08:54And the lawn of the house where he was found

00:08:57is the home of another Boston police officer.

00:09:00This investigation is about to explode.

00:09:10What was supposed to be a night of fun and drinks

00:09:22and hunkering down with friends

00:09:24before a blizzard turns into a tragedy.

00:09:27Officer John O'Keefe is mysteriously dead

00:09:30after being found outside during the blizzard.

00:09:33John O'Keefe, a 16 year veteran of the department

00:09:35was killed this past weekend

00:09:37during that powerful Nor'easter.

00:09:38It's not clear how he died.

00:09:40His body discovered outside the Canton home

00:09:43of a fellow officer.

00:09:50It was always Johnny's dream

00:09:51to become a Boston police officer.

00:09:53While other people were trying to figure out

00:09:55where they belonged in the world,

00:09:57he knew he wanted to be a cop.

00:09:59His grandfather's a cop.

00:10:01It was kind of in his DNA.

00:10:03There was never an ounce of fear with that job from him.

00:10:07We grew up in Braintree, which is middle class,

00:10:11a Boston suburb, heavy Irish, heavy Italian.

00:10:14And Johnny was both.

00:10:17Johnny is the middle child of three.

00:10:19His sister, Kristen, is just 22 months older

00:10:22and his brother, Paul, several years younger.

00:10:25They were kind of your prototypical

00:10:27middle-class Braintree family.

00:10:29Always a lot of stuff going on at the house.

00:10:31His mother is an unbelievable cook, mainly Italian.

00:10:35His dad is a very solid, consistent, funny guy.

00:10:41The O'Keefe is one branch of this very large family tree.

00:10:44What were they like?

00:10:45Incredible family.

00:10:47Any given Sunday, they would call my parents up

00:10:49and say, we're bringing over a bucket of chicken

00:10:51and we're coming over to use your pool.

00:10:52And it was great, they were great.

00:10:54Johnny and I grew up on the same street.

00:10:56We were in Little League together,

00:10:58elementary school all the way through high school,

00:11:01and went to proms and homecoming together,

00:11:03and he was at my wedding party.

00:11:06I met Johnny in college,

00:11:08the very first day of school we met,

00:11:10and best friends ever since.

00:11:13They both shared a love for their Boston sports teams,

00:11:15the New England Patriots and, of course, the Red Sox.

00:11:21Opening day was a religious day for him.

00:11:25He went every year, every year.

00:11:27It was just one of his favorite days.

00:11:31I dated Johnny early 2000s,

00:11:34then stayed friends for over 20 years.

00:11:37We were just important in each other's lives, always.

00:11:40He was just a natural, caring, protector kind of person.

00:11:44And when John becomes an uncle,

00:11:46he becomes this protector to his nieces and nephew as well.

00:11:51He slid right into that cool uncle role.

00:11:53Uncle Johnny was always there,

00:11:55whether it was sporting events, or First Communions,

00:11:58or just family gatherings.

00:12:00They were a large part of who he was.

00:12:03But in 2013, the O'Keefe family gets devastating news

00:12:07when John's older sister, Kristen,

00:12:09is diagnosed with cancer.

00:12:11Kristen was diagnosed with a very aggressive brain tumor.

00:12:15Johnny was there day one.

00:12:17He took her to all of her treatments.

00:12:20He was so reliable,

00:12:21making sure that the kids were taken care of.

00:12:23It was just a little over five months from the time

00:12:25that I was diagnosed until Kristen passed.

00:12:27That was a huge loss.

00:12:30When she passed, he lost a part of himself.

00:12:34Johnny immediately decided that he was going to

00:12:37move in with Kristen's husband, Steve,

00:12:40to help him and kind of do a my two dads thing, he called it.

00:12:43And then unfortunately, and almost unbelievably,

00:12:47almost exactly two months after Kristen did.

00:12:50Johnny's niece was six, and Johnny's nephew was three.

00:12:54It wasn't even a question.

00:12:55Johnny was going to step in and raise those kids.

00:12:58He was about to become a single parent overnight.

00:13:01In a very short amount of time,

00:13:03John loses his sister, his brother-in-law.

00:13:05He takes in their kids.

00:13:07How was he able to handle all of this?

00:13:10He had a big support system between family

00:13:13and a lot of people in Canton helped him out.

00:13:16And emotionally, how'd he do?

00:13:17I feel like I guess he just knew he had to.

00:13:19His life didn't stop.

00:13:21He was always doing something.

00:13:23Kids came first.

00:13:26By 2020, John is a single dad, a cop,

00:13:29raising two kids in the middle of a global pandemic.

00:13:32And that's when he reconnects with someone from his past,

00:13:36Karen Reed, who he briefly dated many years earlier.

00:13:40How did you meet John O'Keefe?

00:13:42I met John in 2004, February,

00:13:45at his sister's 30th birthday party.

00:13:48And so what drew you to him?

00:13:49I mean, what did you like about him?

00:13:50I thought he was handsome and he was sweet.

00:13:52And I mean, I was 24,

00:13:54so that was about the criteria at the time.

00:13:58It just came and went and didn't speak to him again.

00:14:02Not intentionally, just wasn't serious.

00:14:05But now, more than 15 years later,

00:14:08Karen is living in the Boston area

00:14:09with a career as a financial analyst

00:14:12and an adjunct professor teaching finance.

00:14:15And she sees a message from John on Facebook.

00:14:18When I saw his picture,

00:14:20it was with several young children.

00:14:23And then it triggered my memory

00:14:24that his sister and his sister's husband had passed away.

00:14:27And he told me, yeah, I have the kids now.

00:14:30I thought that was amazing.

00:14:31And he said, they're nine and 12.

00:14:34Three days later, he came over and I cooked.

00:14:37And it was like very natural.

00:14:40How serious did things get that second round?

00:14:42Pretty serious, very fast.

00:14:45The second week, he said,

00:14:48do you want to come meet the crew,

00:14:51meet his niece and nephew?

00:14:53I was happy to go.

00:14:54Was there talk of marriage?

00:14:56No.

00:14:58No.

00:15:00Did you want that?

00:15:01I would have considered it strongly for John,

00:15:06but it's not ever been something that I've aspired to.

00:15:15We are expecting as much as 18 to 24 inches of snow

00:15:20and 40 to 50 mile per hour winds.

00:15:22I think everyone knows that

00:15:23whatever you're gonna do that weekend

00:15:24is gonna get canceled.

00:15:25A snow emergency has been declared.

00:15:28A lot of people take that opportunity.

00:15:30I'll go out tonight.

00:15:31Tomorrow, everybody's gonna be shut down.

00:15:33New York City officials say

00:15:34this would be a blockbuster event.

00:15:37John makes plans to meet with a friend

00:15:39on the main drag in Canton,

00:15:41just about a mile from his house.

00:15:43His nephew is at a sleepover that night

00:15:45and his teenage niece is at home.

00:15:48Early in the evening, John O'Keefe goes out

00:15:50with a buddy down to C.F. McCarthy's

00:15:52and Karen decides to meet him there.

00:15:54Now, John didn't drive there.

00:15:55John got a ride from his friend.

00:15:57So he was telling Karen that he was gonna need a ride.

00:15:59I ended up leaving my house

00:16:01to join John in Canton at 8.30.

00:16:04So you met him for drinks.

00:16:06Yep.

00:16:06How did the night go?

00:16:07It was fine.

00:16:09I walked in.

00:16:10He was with three other fellas.

00:16:13I got there a little after nine

00:16:15and he gave me a hug.

00:16:17They stay at C.F. McCarthy's for a while

00:16:20and then decide to go meet some more friends

00:16:23over at the Waterfall Bar and Grill,

00:16:25which is just across the street and down,

00:16:27it's a two minute walk.

00:16:28So who was there when you got there?

00:16:30There was a table of people right away.

00:16:32At the table are members of a couple of families

00:16:34who have deep ties to the town,

00:16:36the Alberts and McCaves.

00:16:39We've got Chris Albert,

00:16:40who used to live down the street from John.

00:16:42Also at the table, Brian Albert,

00:16:44Chris's brother, who, like John,

00:16:47is a Boston police officer.

00:16:48He's actually the leader of an elite squad

00:16:51tasked with catching dangerous criminals.

00:16:53He even helped solve the infamous Boston Strangler case.

00:16:57We said hi to a bunch of people.

00:16:59We stayed there for about 90 minutes.

00:17:03There's video so you can kind of see what's happening

00:17:05and it looks like a typical night.

00:17:07People are snuggling up around a bar,

00:17:08they're drinking, they're goofing around a little bit.

00:17:11Karen said she'd only met Brian Albert once before,

00:17:14but she said she felt like John really wanted

00:17:16to make good impressions on the Alberts.

00:17:18Brian Albert, whose home is about five minutes away,

00:17:21invites everyone over for an after party.

00:17:24Now there's already a party with some young adults

00:17:27taking place at his house

00:17:28because it's Brian Jr.'s birthday.

00:17:30So they all gather up and head out.

00:17:32Also heading out with the group

00:17:34is Brian Albert's wife, Nicole,

00:17:36and her sister, Jennifer McCabe,

00:17:38who John had known for years.

00:17:40And there was Brian Higgins, an ATF agent,

00:17:44who was also friends with the Alberts.

00:17:47Shortly after midnight, security cameras showed John

00:17:49walk out of the waterfall bar and into the snowy night.

00:17:53John has a cocktail glass in his hand.

00:17:55Seconds later, the two get into Karen's black SUV

00:17:58and they drive away.

00:18:00A mere eight hours later, John O'Keefe will be dead.

00:18:05♪♪

00:18:13♪♪

00:18:19♪♪

00:18:27I got a call from their mutual friend that we grew up with.

00:18:31They said, Johnny's dead.

00:18:35Brennan called me.

00:18:37Of course, he told me the news.

00:18:39And, um, can't even explain it.

00:18:41Can't explain the feeling, right?

00:18:43I remember pounding on my dresser

00:18:46and just, like, literally screaming, like, not John.

00:18:49Not after what that family's been through

00:18:51and how much those kids need him.

00:18:55What was it like getting that news?

00:18:57It was awful.

00:19:00It's like a bad dream.

00:19:07I was released from the hospital at noon.

00:19:10My father and my brother and sister-in-law

00:19:12came to pick me up, and I said,

00:19:14Dad, I have to go see the kids.

00:19:16I just can't imagine what they're going through.

00:19:18I just want to hug them.

00:19:19They all head to John's house,

00:19:21where his family has now gathered.

00:19:23Her car still in the driveway.

00:19:25And that's when Karen says she stops

00:19:27to show her dad her cracked taillight,

00:19:29something she says she had noticed earlier that morning

00:19:32when searching for John with Jennifer and Carrie.

00:19:35I showed my dad my light.

00:19:37It was cracked.

00:19:38And he said,

00:19:39I just want to make sure the light is operational.

00:19:41I'm not going to put your car back on the road

00:19:43if I know it's impaired in any way.

00:19:46So we go into the house.

00:19:48John's nephew was not home from his sleepover yet,

00:19:50but John's parents, Paul, his brother,

00:19:52and his niece were there.

00:19:53Karen says John's mother seemed to keep her distance.

00:19:56They had pulled into the driveway before me,

00:20:00so I was presuming she saw my cracked taillight

00:20:03and was thinking, did you hit my son?

00:20:05I could sense from her

00:20:07that she was looking at me

00:20:10very warily.

00:20:12And then when John's nephew came home,

00:20:15I just wanted to see him

00:20:17and squeeze him and hug him.

00:20:19It was quite uncomfortable.

00:20:21I said, dad, come upstairs to the master bedroom.

00:20:24And I said, I think I need to leave.

00:20:26I said, I think John's mother thinks I did something to John.

00:20:29At what point on Saturday the 29th

00:20:32did you have the wherewithal to think,

00:20:35maybe I need an attorney?

00:20:37As soon as I interacted with John's mother at John's house,

00:20:41when we were driving home,

00:20:43I said to my father, I got to get an attorney.

00:20:46That's a smart move to get legal advice under those circumstances.

00:20:49She had hired an attorney.

00:20:51That was it.

00:20:52No more contact, which I find odd.

00:20:57What did the family do then?

00:20:59Well, it was a blizzard. We couldn't do anything.

00:21:01We couldn't be together.

00:21:03Couldn't go anywhere.

00:21:04Until, like, the day after.

00:21:05I went to Peggy's, or Johnny's, house just to be with her

00:21:08and Uncle John and a few of his friends

00:21:11and just to be with her.

00:21:14We just sat around and talked and laughed and cried.

00:21:17And you're now with a mother who lost two children

00:21:20in the space of a couple of years.

00:21:21Yes.

00:21:23And she's drawing his steel.

00:21:29Meanwhile, an investigation is underway.

00:21:32Now, the Massachusetts State Police come in.

00:21:34In this case, the state police completely take over the case

00:21:38because the Canton Police Department

00:21:40doesn't want the appearance of a conflict of interest.

00:21:43There's literally a blizzard hitting Canton, Massachusetts

00:21:47on top of this crime scene.

00:21:50This becomes a huge challenge for investigators.

00:21:53Unfortunately, in this situation,

00:21:55the crime scene that you arrive on

00:21:57is not the same crime scene that's going to exist 30 minutes later

00:22:00because it's snowing and it's windy and it's cold.

00:22:03So the evidence is changing.

00:22:06And you're trying to do this as quickly as you can,

00:22:09but you also don't want to miss steps because you're rushing.

00:22:12So it's definitely a race against the clock.

00:22:14There are plows that are going by.

00:22:16And in situations like that, you kind of have to just go

00:22:19with what you think is going to work best for the situation.

00:22:24They bring out a leaf blower,

00:22:26and they're trying to blow the snow

00:22:28to uncover whatever evidence might be beneath the snowfall.

00:22:34According to police reports,

00:22:36what investigators initially preserved at the scene

00:22:38are six samples of what appears to be blood

00:22:41and a broken cocktail glass.

00:22:43Remember, according to the security footage,

00:22:46when John O'Keefe walks out of the Waterfall Bar,

00:22:48he's got a cocktail glass in his hand.

00:22:51That afternoon, the lead detective on the case,

00:22:53Trooper Michael Proctor,

00:22:55and his colleague from the Massachusetts State Police

00:22:57pay a visit to Karen at her parents' house.

00:22:59They see her car parked there

00:23:01and describe that broken taillight

00:23:03in their official police report as shattered.

00:23:07When the troopers came to my house,

00:23:09now, I know I haven't done anything,

00:23:11but they said,

00:23:13if we're just trying to help find out what happened to John,

00:23:15if you care about John,

00:23:17you need to help us piece together his final moments.

00:23:20And I answered their questions.

00:23:24Karen appears very forthcoming.

00:23:26She says they had an argument earlier in the morning

00:23:28about what she fed his niece for breakfast.

00:23:31She admits that she was drinking that night

00:23:33and was operating a motor vehicle.

00:23:35She tells officers that they go out drinking.

00:23:38She says that she and John drove to the Alberts' house,

00:23:41but she tells officers that she had

00:23:43what she referred to as stomach issues,

00:23:45so she said that she decided to call it a night and go home.

00:23:48After the detectives interview Karen,

00:23:51they seize her car and they tow it.

00:23:54They then process the vehicle for evidence.

00:23:57They notice that the rear right-side taillight is broken,

00:24:01and there's missing pieces of the red and clear plastic

00:24:05that should have been on top of it.

00:24:07There were shards of glass that were in the bumper of the vehicle.

00:24:11The medical examiner is searching John's body for clues.

00:24:15The medical examiner ruled that John's cause of death

00:24:18was from an injury he sustained from blunt force trauma

00:24:22and then hypothermia.

00:24:23This was a combined effect of multiple skull fractures,

00:24:26swelling and bleeding inside his brain,

00:24:28and also the cold.

00:24:32Later in the day that John died,

00:24:34investigators at the scene report finding

00:24:36pieces of red plastic taillight

00:24:38and a clear piece of plastic at the scene,

00:24:41pieces that appear to match the missing pieces

00:24:44from Karen Reed's SUV.

00:24:46And days later, once the snow begins to melt,

00:24:49authorities say they find additional pieces on the scene.

00:24:53So just how was that taillight broken?

00:24:57I said, I think I'm going to get arrested.

00:25:12The wake was large, very large.

00:25:14Everybody wanted to be there that moment.

00:25:16Long day.

00:25:19Pretty unbelievable day.

00:25:23It was one of those days that just chills you to the bone.

00:25:26The wind was making the flag blow,

00:25:30but it wasn't making a sound.

00:25:32There was just something so surreal,

00:25:35so eerie about it all.

00:25:46Everything stopped for the police procession.

00:25:50Somebody referred to it as a blue column.

00:25:53Countless police officers,

00:25:55I mean hundreds, in a line of two,

00:26:00came down the aisle.

00:26:01We all just paused.

00:26:04You could hear a pin drop.

00:26:06Then the funeral the next day was...

00:26:09That was rough, too.

00:26:11A number of us were asked to be pallbearers,

00:26:13and what stands out the most is

00:26:15we were standing inside the church.

00:26:27And you could hear Amazing Grace on the bagpipe.

00:26:31And they said they were going to give us a notification

00:26:33when the hearse arrived.

00:26:35And the moment that will never be forgotten

00:26:39that will never leave my brain

00:26:41is when we opened up the doors to that church.

00:26:45There were 50 bagpipers.

00:26:48There were rows and rows and rows of police officers.

00:26:55It was like nothing I've ever seen before.

00:26:58The priest who said Johnny's funeral mass

00:27:04grew up with Johnny.

00:27:06Sadly, the priest at John's funeral

00:27:08had presided over his sister Kristen's funeral mass as well.

00:27:13He acknowledged that a lot of us in the crowd

00:27:17were familiar,

00:27:19that we were familiar with him,

00:27:22that we knew him.

00:27:23A lot of us in the crowd were familiar,

00:27:27that he spoke about the pain in the room

00:27:31that this family had been through too much

00:27:34and lost too much already.

00:27:38And then Paul got up. He was brave.

00:27:40He gave a beautiful eulogy.

00:27:45He made everyone laugh,

00:27:46talking about Johnny's personality.

00:27:48He spoke about how Johnny never left Christy's side

00:27:52during her battle with cancer

00:27:54and

00:28:00praised him for

00:28:02taking care of the kids the way he did.

00:28:05And then the last line of his eulogy was

00:28:10we'll take it from here.

00:28:12And that was John's last line of his eulogy

00:28:15nine years prior on the same altar

00:28:18when Christy died.

00:28:22It's unfathomable, you know.

00:28:31While John's family and friends

00:28:32were making plans to honor his memory,

00:28:34police have been busy as well

00:28:36putting together their theory

00:28:38on what happened that snowy night

00:28:40and how John O'Keefe sustained those fatal injuries.

00:28:43And they've determined that the evidence

00:28:46points directly to Karen Reed.

00:28:48It was about 7 p.m.

00:28:50I was talking to my best friend on the phone

00:28:52and I said, there's a lot of cops circling.

00:28:56And I said, I think I'm gonna get arrested.

00:29:04When they come, it's

00:29:06they look like regular people

00:29:07but they're here to take you away.

00:29:10It's scary.

00:29:11Did they knock on the door?

00:29:13Can't remember if they knocked

00:29:14or if they rang the bell

00:29:15but they circled the whole property.

00:29:16There were cops everywhere.

00:29:17There were shining lights in my back window, my front.

00:29:22What was that moment like

00:29:24when you felt the metal handcuffs go on you

00:29:26and they put you into a squad car?

00:29:29It's scary.

00:29:30You're short of breath

00:29:31and we're careening up the highway.

00:29:34Your ankles are shackled

00:29:36and your arms are behind you

00:29:38and you just try to concentrate on your breathing.

00:29:41It's frightening.

00:29:42It's frightening.

00:29:46Karen?

00:29:49When I got to the barracks

00:29:50there were local news stations.

00:29:52Karen Reed's charges

00:29:53and what she was arraigned on

00:29:54were manslaughter, negligent homicide

00:29:58and leaving the scene of an accident

00:30:00involving injury.

00:30:02The theory was that she hit John O'Keefe with her car

00:30:04and left the scene.

00:30:09Prosecutors lay out the charges.

00:30:11They say that those pieces of plastic

00:30:13uncovered at the crime scene

00:30:14are consistent with pieces missing

00:30:16from Karen's taillight.

00:30:19And, according to police statements

00:30:21Kerry Roberts, who was with Karen

00:30:23in the blizzard searching for John

00:30:25told police that Karen seemed intoxicated.

00:30:28Jennifer McCabe told police

00:30:29Karen asked her,

00:30:30could I have hit him?

00:30:33Did I hit him?

00:30:34During the search for John's body.

00:30:37In court, Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally

00:30:39details the charges.

00:30:41Officers interviewed a firefighter paramedic

00:30:43from the town of Canton.

00:30:44Defendants then made several statements to her

00:30:47indicating I hit him, I hit him, I hit him, I hit him.

00:30:50I said, I hit him.

00:30:52It was preceded by a did

00:30:54and proceeded by a question mark.

00:30:57Did I hit him?

00:31:00According to prosecutors

00:31:02Karen's blood alcohol content

00:31:03was between a .07 and a .08

00:31:06when she was tested at the hospital

00:31:08at 9.08 a.m.

00:31:10after being transported from the scene.

00:31:12That's about nine hours after they left the bar.

00:31:15In all 50 states in America

00:31:17if you are a .08 or above

00:31:19you are under the influence

00:31:21for the purpose of driving a motor vehicle.

00:31:27Her attorney responded that day.

00:31:29I don't see any criminal intent

00:31:32that would justify manslaughter.

00:31:34And there's a reason for that

00:31:35because there was no criminal intent.

00:31:38This was not some random stranger.

00:31:40This was my client's boyfriend.

00:31:42Somebody with whom she was in love.

00:31:44She had no idea that he was deceased

00:31:47or that anything had happened.

00:31:49What did you plead?

00:31:50Not guilty.

00:31:51The court is setting bail

00:31:52in the amount of $50,000 cash.

00:31:55Karen Reed posted $50,000 bail and left.

00:32:01But the stakes are about to get much higher.

00:32:04Within months, Karen's manslaughter charge

00:32:06is upgraded to second-degree murder.

00:32:08The line between a gross vehicular manslaughter

00:32:12and second-degree murder is very, very thin.

00:32:15In Massachusetts, you must prove

00:32:17that a defendant acted with conscious disregard

00:32:20for human life.

00:32:21Is it possible that you might have hit him

00:32:25unwittingly in your admittedly very large SUV?

00:32:29No, not possible.

00:32:36And now Karen Reed's defense takes a dramatic turn,

00:32:40bringing in a top legal gun.

00:32:42And the defense is about to introduce

00:32:44a very different theory

00:32:45than what the prosecution says happened that night.

00:32:48John O'Keefe was murdered, no question.

00:32:51He died at the hands of another person.

00:32:53This wasn't Karen Reed.

00:32:56If you think this is going to be an open-and-shut case,

00:32:59it isn't.

00:33:01Your name is Karen Reed!

00:33:04Whoo!

00:33:16I went to all the hearings,

00:33:19and I thought that was going to be it.

00:33:22Karen would do her time,

00:33:24and we'd have to face grieving John.

00:33:27But nobody could have imagined, like,

00:33:31what was about to happen next.

00:33:33Karen! Karen! Karen!

00:33:38One of the first big twists in this case

00:33:40begins when Karen adds a heavy hitter

00:33:43to her defense team.

00:33:44Alan Jackson, we got to know at Court TV.

00:33:47For years, we talked about Alan Jackson

00:33:49as being one of the sharpest prosecutors

00:33:51we'd ever seen.

00:33:52For almost two decades,

00:33:53he'd handled some of Los Angeles County's

00:33:56most notorious cases,

00:33:57including the conviction of famed music producer

00:34:00Phil Spector for murdering actress Lana Clarkson.

00:34:04I think his motive could be summed up with one word.

00:34:07His problem with rage.

00:34:09How did you first become involved in this case?

00:34:12In the summer of 2022,

00:34:14I received an email from Karen Reed.

00:34:16I get a lot of emails, but this one stood out.

00:34:19The subject line was something along the lines

00:34:21of murder of a Boston police officer.

00:34:23Karen had supplemented the email

00:34:26with some autopsy photos.

00:34:28I was in the process of perusing those,

00:34:31and I said, this guy didn't get hit by a car.

00:34:34Once I got the photos, I realized

00:34:36something is very, very wrong

00:34:38with this investigation.

00:34:41At a pretrial hearing,

00:34:42the defense puts those photos front and center.

00:34:46In Massachusetts, autopsy photos

00:34:48are normally sealed until trial.

00:34:51When John O'Keefe was found,

00:34:53he had this set of wounds on his right arm.

00:34:57This is, according to the Commonwealth,

00:34:59a set of injuries that John O'Keefe suffered

00:35:01at the hands of being struck by a moving vehicle.

00:35:04That is a disgusting move

00:35:06to put those in public like that.

00:35:08It's opening up wounds every single time

00:35:09you see those pictures.

00:35:10I would ask the common sense question,

00:35:12does this look like a road crash?

00:35:14Or does it look more like claw marks

00:35:16and bite marks from an animal?

00:35:19Karen's defense team is laying out

00:35:20a stunning new theory of what they say happened.

00:35:24They're alleging that after Karen dropped off

00:35:26John at fellow officer Brian Albert's home,

00:35:29he entered the home and somehow

00:35:31became involved in a fight.

00:35:33We know that he was beaten.

00:35:34We've got evidence that John O'Keefe was beaten,

00:35:37that he lay there unconscious.

00:35:39And during that fight, they claim

00:35:40that Albert's dog, a German shepherd,

00:35:43may also have attacked John,

00:35:44contributing to those injuries.

00:35:46Then the defense says John was eventually

00:35:48dumped outside in the snow and left to die.

00:35:54There are people in that house

00:35:55that are actually responsible for his death

00:35:57and who murdered him.

00:35:58And there are others in the house

00:36:00who are covering up that murder.

00:36:04But the homeowners, Brian and Nicole Albert,

00:36:06and eight other people in the house

00:36:08the night of the after party,

00:36:10including Jennifer McCabe and Brian Higgins,

00:36:13say that John O'Keefe never

00:36:15stepped foot inside that house.

00:36:18Every single person in that house

00:36:20denies playing any part in John's death

00:36:23or being part of any cover-up

00:36:25that the defense is alleging.

00:36:27There's no evidence that Mr. O'Keefe

00:36:29was beaten and left for dead.

00:36:31There was no evidence of any defensive wounds.

00:36:33The prosecution is steadfast

00:36:35in what they believe the evidence shows

00:36:37happened that night.

00:36:38John exited Karen's vehicle.

00:36:40She struck him with her SUV

00:36:42and left him to die in the snow.

00:36:44They also argue Karen had been drinking heavily.

00:36:50Why would they want to be involved in this conspiracy?

00:36:52Because he's dead.

00:36:54I think things went too far.

00:36:55It was late.

00:36:56There was alcohol involved.

00:36:58It was so ridiculous, I dismissed it.

00:37:00Immediately.

00:37:01From the beginning.

00:37:02There have been multiple theories

00:37:03floated by the defense team,

00:37:04each of which more ridiculous, frankly.

00:37:09In the months leading up to trial,

00:37:10the defense makes several claims they say

00:37:12point to their client's innocence.

00:37:15I've never been more confident

00:37:17in anything I've ever said

00:37:19in a legal proceeding in my life.

00:37:21Karen Reed did not do this.

00:37:23The defense also accuses the lead investigator

00:37:26in the case of having a conflict of interest.

00:37:28They claim in court filings and at hearings

00:37:31that the lead detective,

00:37:33Trooper Michael Proctor

00:37:34of the Massachusetts State Police,

00:37:36is a longtime friend of the Albert

00:37:38and McCabe families

00:37:40and is also in on the alleged cover-up.

00:37:44Prosecutor Adam Lally

00:37:46definitively denies any conflict of interest.

00:37:49Not to belabor the point,

00:37:50the Commonwealth does not concede

00:37:52anything as it relates to any sort of relationship.

00:37:55The district attorney flat out denies

00:37:57that Trooper Michael Proctor

00:37:58was involved in any way,

00:37:59in any type of cover-up,

00:38:01as the defense is alleging,

00:38:02saying Proctor would have no motive to do so.

00:38:07Also, one of the defense's central claims

00:38:09appears in a motion they file

00:38:11about the timing of a Google search

00:38:13that Karen's defense team claims

00:38:15will unequivocally exonerate Karen Reed.

00:38:18It's a Google search made on Jennifer McCabe's phone.

00:38:21Jennifer attended the after party

00:38:23in the Alberts' home on Fairview Road

00:38:26and was then with Karen

00:38:28when they found John's body in the snow.

00:38:31The defense in Karen Reed and her family

00:38:33believes that 227 a.m.

00:38:36Jennifer McCabe is searching

00:38:38how long to die in the cold.

00:38:40She misspells how, it's H-O-S,

00:38:43but how long to die in the cold.

00:38:45So according to the defense,

00:38:46if Jennifer McCabe is searching at 227 a.m.

00:38:50how long to die in the cold,

00:38:52that means that Karen Reed must be innocent.

00:38:57Why would she Google search that

00:38:59if she didn't know

00:39:01that something was going on

00:39:03with John laying in that snow,

00:39:05in that front yard?

00:39:06That means that this was a cover-up.

00:39:08John was murdered inside that house.

00:39:10His body was placed outside

00:39:11and Jennifer McCabe knows that.

00:39:13Neither the prosecution nor Jennifer McCabe

00:39:15ever denied that she searched

00:39:17for how long to die in cold,

00:39:19but they both say the defense has it all wrong.

00:39:23They say she didn't make that search at 227 a.m.

00:39:26The prosecution brought in their own experts

00:39:28and they said no, the search wasn't at 227.

00:39:31Jennifer McCabe said she made that search

00:39:33after 6 a.m. at the request of Karen Reed

00:39:37after they discovered John's body.

00:39:39Both sides say they have the expert data

00:39:42to back up their claims.

00:39:43Jennifer McCabe says that John was not murdered

00:39:46by anyone inside the house.

00:39:48She says that she and the others inside the house

00:39:50had no idea he was outside in the snow

00:39:53and she said that there was no cover-up.

00:39:56This Google search is what really brought

00:39:59a lot of people into this case

00:40:02to support Karen Reed.

00:40:11This is the first time I think I've ever seen this.

00:40:14There is this public outcry of support

00:40:17for someone accused of murdering

00:40:19a Boston police officer.

00:40:21Me and my family and my attorneys

00:40:23and my team have marshaled every resource

00:40:25to get to the truth.

00:40:26You are making allegations that there is cover-up.

00:40:29This is an innocent woman.

00:40:30Conspiracy.

00:40:31And I do think she's been framed

00:40:33and I'm not backing down until she gets free.

00:40:36Corruption.

00:40:37If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck,

00:40:40it's a duck.

00:40:41Did you kill John O'Keefe?

00:40:44This has all the elements of a made-for-TV movie

00:40:48except this is real life.

00:40:50Karen, are you ready for today?

00:40:52The trial of Karen Reed is now underway.

00:40:54She's accused of killing her boyfriend,

00:40:56a Boston police officer.

00:40:57When you say the name Karen Reed,

00:40:59you're going to get a visceral response from people.

00:41:02Free Karen Reed!

00:41:04Free Karen Reed!

00:41:06Free Karen Reed!

00:41:08Free Karen Reed!

00:41:10Free Karen Reed!

00:41:12Free Karen Reed!

00:41:13Free Karen Reed!

00:41:15They are protesting in favor of Karen Reed.

00:41:20Who cheers for someone accused of murdering a police officer?

00:41:24There's enough evidence to point that she's been framed.

00:41:29You are making allegations that there is

00:41:31conspiracy, cover-up, corruption

00:41:34in this part of Massachusetts.

00:41:37There is no conspiracy.

00:41:39There is no cover-up.

00:41:40There is no evidence of any of that.

00:41:43The firefighter said that you said,

00:41:45she heard you say,

00:41:46I hit him, I hit him, I hit him.

00:41:47I said with a question mark.

00:41:49John, I f***ing hate you!

00:41:52Supposedly, a murderer having just killed her boyfriend,

00:41:55why would she then call him 49 times

00:41:57after that, trying to find him?

00:41:59Maybe she's actually being very clever.

00:42:03I've never met someone that clever.

00:42:06The video you'll only see here.

00:42:08I could be convicted and this is the end of everything.

00:42:11So you just, it just feels like a kind of purgatory.

00:42:14John O'Keefe was murdered.

00:42:16No question.

00:42:17He died at the hands of another person.

00:42:19It just wasn't Karen Reed.

00:42:21All eyes for the court, please.

00:42:32It's been more than a year since

00:42:34Officer John O'Keefe's tragic death.

00:42:36In the middle of a blizzard.

00:42:38Every pretrial hearing seems to result in

00:42:41new claims for followers to analyze and argue over.

00:42:44The prosecutors are clear.

00:42:46They argue Karen Reed killed John O'Keefe

00:42:49while driving under the influence.

00:42:51All the while,

00:42:52Karen Reed's defense seems to be gaining traction,

00:42:55at least in the court of public opinion.

00:42:59There was this groundswell of support

00:43:02groundswell of support

00:43:04through every single court appearance.

00:43:09There are dozens and dozens of people here.

00:43:11You can notice all the placards around.

00:43:14They are protesting in favor of Karen Reed,

00:43:17saying she is innocent.

00:43:18All of those placards reading,

00:43:20justice for Karen.

00:43:23Who shows up to a courthouse with signs

00:43:26at a pretrial motion?

00:43:27And who goes there to support a woman

00:43:29accused of murdering her boyfriend?

00:43:32This case was different.

00:43:35I was shocked at what I pulled up to.

00:43:41They were cheering for Karen.

00:43:44They gave her like a hero's welcome.

00:43:47Karen, who was arrested not just for manslaughter,

00:43:51now second degree murder,

00:43:54and they're cheering for her.

00:44:02These crowds are here in large part

00:44:04because of a local live streamer and blogger

00:44:07named Aiden Carney,

00:44:08who goes by the moniker Turtle Boy online.

00:44:11What we know for damn sure,

00:44:13100%,

00:44:15was she did not run him over.

00:44:19Now, Carney is known for his sometimes

00:44:21confrontational and profanity-filled takes

00:44:24on local stories.

00:44:25And he takes up the case of Karen Reed,

00:44:27posting articles and live streams,

00:44:29claiming Karen is the real victim in this case.

00:44:32You aren't bleeding out of your mouth

00:44:35and your nose

00:44:37if you get bumped going slowly

00:44:41during a three-pointer.

00:44:43All his followers were watching all of his streams

00:44:47and from there sprung all of their theories

00:44:51about what happened here

00:44:52and who was really responsible.

00:44:56And almost overnight, this goes viral locally.

00:45:04It's at this point that I first sat down

00:45:07with Karen Reed

00:45:08to talk about what she claims happened that night.

00:45:11She absolutely refutes the prosecution's claims

00:45:13that receipts and security video shows

00:45:15she had up to nine drinks that evening.

00:45:18When you walked out of the bar,

00:45:19how many drinks had you had?

00:45:21I had had probably about four.

00:45:25And not four that I completed either.

00:45:27I didn't drink maybe more than a few sips

00:45:31at the waterfall.

00:45:32And four drinks you felt fine to drive?

00:45:34Yep.

00:45:35Remember, the prosecution says

00:45:37her blood alcohol level the next morning,

00:45:40nine hours later,

00:45:41was between .07 and .08.

00:45:44In Massachusetts,

00:45:45driving with a blood alcohol content

00:45:47higher than .08

00:45:49is considered legally drunk.

00:45:51I missed the turn.

00:45:52That would have been the most direct route.

00:45:54Did you pull into the driveway?

00:45:55No.

00:45:56I pulled at the foot of the driveway.

00:45:58And do you and John have a conversation

00:46:00about what's going to happen?

00:46:01I said, go check and let me know

00:46:04and I'll follow you behind.

00:46:09So I pull at the foot of the driveway.

00:46:11It's snowing.

00:46:12John has no coat on.

00:46:14It's windy.

00:46:15So I drop him off.

00:46:16He goes up the driveway

00:46:17and approaches the side door.

00:46:19And as I see him approach the door,

00:46:21I look down at my phone.

00:46:22I hadn't been on my phone the entire night.

00:46:25I cue up a song to play on my Bluetooth

00:46:29and I just start browsing through,

00:46:32you know, missed text messages

00:46:34and a couple emails.

00:46:36And I probably waited about a full minute

00:46:38and I look back at the door.

00:46:40I would have expected him to be

00:46:42either walking back to me

00:46:45or calling me that, yeah, we're here.

00:46:48Karen says after about 10 minutes

00:46:51of waiting in her car,

00:46:52she became irritated that John O'Keefe

00:46:54still hadn't gotten in touch with her.

00:46:56And so she decided to leave

00:46:58and drive back to his house.

00:47:00The prosecution says that John

00:47:01never made it into the Alberts' home.

00:47:04Instead, they say this is when

00:47:06Karen hit John with her SUV.

00:47:09Did you kill John O'Keefe?

00:47:11I did not kill John O'Keefe.

00:47:13I've never harmed a hair on John O'Keefe's head.

00:47:18The Commonwealth says that

00:47:20you had nine drinks that night.

00:47:22You claim it's four and change.

00:47:24I mean, is it possible that you hit him

00:47:26with the back of your car

00:47:28and just didn't realize it?

00:47:30No.

00:47:31You had four drinks.

00:47:33They say nine drinks.

00:47:34So how drunk were you?

00:47:36I had felt like I had alcohol.

00:47:38I felt that I had a buzz.

00:47:41But I did not feel it was unsafe

00:47:43for me to be operating my vehicle.

00:47:47Would you say that you were angry

00:47:48with John that night?

00:47:50Yes.

00:47:53Could you have been angry enough

00:47:55and slightly drunk

00:47:57because he had annoyed you,

00:47:59that in the fit of rage,

00:48:00you just backed up and tried to tap him?

00:48:01Never.

00:48:02Not to try to kill him, but try to...

00:48:04To tap him with my 6,000-pound full-size SUV.

00:48:07To hit John's body with my car.

00:48:10No.

00:48:16But the prosecution is building a case

00:48:18that claims she was angry

00:48:20and she did have a motive.

00:48:22According to court filings,

00:48:23John's niece and nephew,

00:48:25who live with them,

00:48:26told law enforcement

00:48:27that their relationship was strained.

00:48:29The niece said she'd overheard John

00:48:31recently tell Karen

00:48:33that their relationship had run its course.

00:48:37Is it possible that that anger

00:48:39sent you into a fit of rage,

00:48:42coupled with the fact that he

00:48:44apparently had wanted to break up

00:48:46or insinuated that?

00:48:48He never insinuated

00:48:49that he wanted to break up.

00:48:51I have been angry with John.

00:48:53I was angry with him that night.

00:48:55But being angry with someone

00:48:57and being angry with them

00:48:58and wanting to physically hurt them

00:49:00with a 6,000-pound piece of machinery

00:49:06is another hemisphere of intention.

00:49:14Early in the a.m.

00:49:15when she first leaves John,

00:49:17Karen Reed is texting

00:49:19and sending message after message.

00:49:21I think she called him like 50 times.

00:49:23No response.

00:49:24John, I f***ing hate you!

00:49:26I'm here with your f***ing kid.

00:49:28You are f***ing using me right now.

00:49:30You're a f***ing loser.

00:49:32F***ing pervert.

00:49:34What's the prosecution's theory on this?

00:49:36That supposedly a murderer,

00:49:39having just killed her boyfriend,

00:49:41and calls him up and says,

00:49:43I hate you.

00:49:44Why would she then call him

00:49:4549 times after that,

00:49:47trying to find him?

00:49:48Maybe she's actually being very clever.

00:49:53I've never met someone that clever.

00:49:55This is Occam's razor.

00:49:56The simplest answer is usually the right one.

00:49:58The prosecution says Occam's razor is

00:50:00she backed up, she hit this guy,

00:50:02he died in the snow,

00:50:04end of story.

00:50:05Uh, no.

00:50:08There has been nothing as divisive as this case.

00:50:11The district attorney of this county

00:50:13had to come out and say,

00:50:15you have to stop harassing witnesses.

00:50:16It was getting crazy.

00:50:18Chasing us, calling us names.

00:50:21Booing at us.

00:50:22Calling us cop killers.

00:50:26We had state police protection

00:50:27to get us to the car.

00:50:30We were surrounded.

00:50:32We were surrounded.

00:50:43The Karen Reed case put Canton on the map

00:50:46for all the wrong reasons.

00:50:48There has been nothing as divisive as this case.

00:50:51Any idiot knows that Karen Reed is innocent.

00:50:55The O'Keefe family is appalled and outraged

00:50:57by the public accusations, protests, and harassment

00:51:00of people closest to John and his family.

00:51:02I think where you see it is at the town meetings.

00:51:05When they get those open mic moments,

00:51:08you'll hear it.

00:51:09And you'll hear it from both sides here.

00:51:11But there's a faction of that community

00:51:13that no longer trusts their police

00:51:16and their government.

00:51:17There are people that I know that have, you know,

00:51:19ceased relationships with others because they disagree.

00:51:26All the while, local blogger Aiden Carning,

00:51:28known as Turtle Boy,

00:51:29continues to stir up debate over the case.

00:51:31On his website, he's posting video of himself

00:51:33confronting prosecution witnesses in public.

00:51:36He organizes what he calls a rolling rally,

00:51:39going from one witness's home to the next.

00:51:41Aiden Carning is eventually charged himself

00:51:44with multiple counts of witness intimidation,

00:51:46picketing a witness, and conspiracy to intimidate witnesses,

00:51:50charges he denies and has pleaded not guilty to.

00:51:53He claims his behavior should be protected

00:51:56by the First Amendment as a journalist.

00:51:58Those charges are still pending.

00:52:01Later, he's also barred from the courtroom

00:52:03during Reid's trial when certain witnesses

00:52:06named in the case against him testify.

00:52:08One of the most unusual things about this case

00:52:11is there's such a fervor among, you know,

00:52:14this online movement that the district attorney

00:52:18of this county had to come out and say,

00:52:20the witnesses in this case have done nothing wrong.

00:52:23The harassment of them has to stop.

00:52:26What's happening to the witnesses,

00:52:28some with no actual involvement in the case, is wrong.

00:52:31It is contrary to the American values of fairness

00:52:34and the constitutional value of fair trial.

00:52:37It needs to stop now.

00:52:40Alan Jackson takes the opportunity

00:52:42to rally more support for Karen in their case.

00:52:46We won't stop.

00:52:48So Michael Morrissey decides he wants to issue this statement

00:52:51and give you a threat and give us a threat.

00:52:54He wants us to just shut up and quit.

00:52:56He wants you to shut up and quit.

00:52:59Just go home and quit.

00:53:02Well, I have something to say directly to Mr. Morrissey

00:53:05right here, right now.

00:53:07So listen up, sir, and I'll speak slowly so you understand.

00:53:11Michael Morrissey, we ain't got no quit.

00:53:16This team will not quit.

00:53:21We won't stop.

00:53:25But beyond prosecution witnesses

00:53:27who authorities say are being harassed,

00:53:29John O'Keefe's own family and friends say

00:53:32they're stunned when defense-supporting crowds

00:53:34begin directing anger towards them as well.

00:53:38We've been yelled at on the way into court

00:53:40that we're disgusting,

00:53:42that we're defending the real murderers.

00:53:44I think at times they said that we have been brainwashed.

00:53:48Brainwashed by who?

00:53:51Brainwashed by who?

00:53:53I didn't know any of the people

00:53:56that were being blindly accused of committing this crime.

00:54:03We're leaving the courthouse, and they follow us.

00:54:06And we had state police protection to get us to the car.

00:54:10We all got into the car safely, but we were surrounded.

00:54:13And I remember this woman putting her face up

00:54:16to the window of where I was sitting,

00:54:19and she was screaming cop killer at me.

00:54:25I've never heard of such a thing in my life.

00:54:28We thought, okay, they're going to call us names, they boo us.

00:54:32Okay, but they're not going to boo John's family, right?

00:54:38Then they did.

00:54:40It was getting crazy.

00:54:42Chasing us, calling us names.

00:54:44Booing at us.

00:54:46Calling us cop killers.

00:54:48It created a lot of anger.

00:54:50Yeah, not so much anger, but when you walked in,

00:54:53the anxiety, we were shaking going in because it was just...

00:54:56Every time we went in, yeah.

00:54:58But then after maybe the 4th time, we were just like,

00:55:01all right, let's just hold our head up high

00:55:04and walk through this with Johnny.

00:55:06Hold your head up high

00:55:08and do what we have to do as a family.

00:55:11I think everyone should be in agreement

00:55:13that the O'Keeffes don't deserve this treatment.

00:55:16With the trial just days away,

00:55:18Karen is prepping with her lawyers.

00:55:20This is no life.

00:55:22I'm not in prison, but this is no life.

00:55:26I'm stressed every day.

00:55:28I'm waiting for the next shoe to drop.

00:55:38With the trial just days away,

00:55:40Karen is in her hotel making final preparations with her lawyers.

00:55:44So I'm at a hotel.

00:55:46I need to be here to be near the attorneys

00:55:48so we can prep for trial.

00:55:50I don't have a car, I don't have a license,

00:55:52so trying to meet them from the suburbs every day

00:55:55just wouldn't be efficient.

00:55:58The change of scenery is actually welcome.

00:56:01My home has become like the Alamo.

00:56:04Just constantly looking out the window.

00:56:06I mean, three times in two years I've had the state police come in,

00:56:10and two of those three times they've arrested me.

00:56:12Three of the three they've taken my cell phone.

00:56:14Once your sanctuary's been breached,

00:56:16it's...

00:56:18You can't...

00:56:20You can't relax there.

00:56:22This is no life.

00:56:24Like, this... I'm not in prison,

00:56:26but this is no life.

00:56:28I'm stressed every day.

00:56:30I'm waiting for the next shoe to drop.

00:56:32I can't live like this. I mean, I will.

00:56:34I just really don't want to is what I should say.

00:56:37But hiding out like this,

00:56:39you just watch the world pass you by,

00:56:41and you're going through the motions,

00:56:44pun intended,

00:56:46and you know it could all end.

00:56:49I could be convicted, and this is the end of everything.

00:56:52So it just feels like a kind of purgatory.

00:57:02I've prepared for every scenario.

00:57:04That's just how I have to live.

00:57:06So I've thought through everything.

00:57:08I've thought through where will I celebrate when this is over?

00:57:10Who do I want to live?

00:57:12Who do I want to surround myself with?

00:57:14But I've also thought, all right, if I'm convicted,

00:57:16what are the next steps?

00:57:18Look at all my court clothes.

00:57:21Nothing fun, nothing for a trip,

00:57:23but just lots of suits.

00:57:25I just want to communicate that I'm still confident.

00:57:29I don't like the position I'm in,

00:57:31but I'm confident I'm doing everything I can,

00:57:34and that includes looking professional for court,

00:57:37dressing like my attorneys.

00:57:39That's the sign of respect for what's happening

00:57:41when you're in court.

00:57:43I just got this suit from the tailor

00:57:45because the sleeves were too long,

00:57:47and it's a pet peeve of my mother's

00:57:49to see people with sleeves that are too long.

00:57:51Do you think about your mother when you get dressed?

00:57:53Yes, all the time.

00:57:55It's funny she tells me that.

00:57:57Um...

00:57:59She, uh...

00:58:03Yeah, she probably taught me how to dress

00:58:06and tells me how to dress,

00:58:08and not in a way that mothers may nag their daughters,

00:58:13but I've never seen my mother ever in my whole life.

00:58:18She doesn't compliment me, tell me I look nice.

00:58:22I don't know if she knows that I'm aware of that,

00:58:26that even when I've been in the thick of this,

00:58:30even getting out of jail,

00:58:32you know, she's always saying something positive to me

00:58:35as soon as I see her.

00:58:38It's funny you asked me that.

00:58:40I didn't even realize that I think about her

00:58:42whenever I get dressed.

00:58:43I do, because I'm thinking she's going to see me.

00:58:46And I don't usually cry.

00:58:47I guess if you ask about my parents, I will.

00:58:49I can't even talk about them.

00:58:55Was there a concern, Renee,

00:58:57that amidst all of the noise of this,

00:59:00that John was being lost?

00:59:02He was lost in this whole circus.

00:59:06I think that's the saddest part of this whole situation,

00:59:08that he is not remembered as who he is and who he was

00:59:13during the whole thing.

00:59:16I think that might be one of my favorite pictures

00:59:19because he was always the light in this family.

00:59:22He was always the sun, like...

00:59:25Oh, the photobombing.

00:59:26So that picture there, he would photobomb every picture.

00:59:29There's a lot of pictures of Angie's birthday party.

00:59:32My surprise 40th,

00:59:33he's literally in every background of every photo,

00:59:36photobombing.

00:59:37And there were small treasured moments at home with the kids,

00:59:41like dancing with his niece to California Girls by Katy Perry.

00:59:49And his badge number is 2490.

00:59:52So I have his badge number on my necklace.

00:59:54We have stickers that we put on our phones.

00:59:56We have stickers on the car.

00:59:58Renee and I both got tattoos with this badge number.

01:00:032490 was Johnny's badge number,

01:00:05and that's become the numerical symbol of finding justice for him.

01:00:10Justice for J.J.! Justice for J.J.!

01:00:14You know, we all have one goal.

01:00:20All eyes will be on this courthouse in Denham.

01:00:23There are a lot of people who believe fervently

01:00:26in the innocence of Karen Reed

01:00:28and believe that she is a victim of a mass conspiracy.

01:00:31But will the jury believe the prosecutors

01:00:33who claim that Karen Reed killed John?

01:00:36We love you, Karen!

01:00:56This is a case that is all over the news.

01:00:59The trial of Karen Reed is now underway.

01:01:01She's accused of killing her boyfriend, a Boston police officer.

01:01:04A story unlike one I've ever seen that has many layers to it.

01:01:09Billboards, trucks, people with signs,

01:01:13people chanting bullhorns on the courthouse steps.

01:01:16This just doesn't happen in normal cases,

01:01:19and this case was anything but normal.

01:01:21Opening statements are set to begin today.

01:01:24This has all the elements of a made-for-TV movie

01:01:28except this is real life.

01:01:31Karen, are you ready for today?

01:01:33After 15 months of waiting, it's time for triumph.

01:01:37We love you, Karen!

01:01:38Karen Reed arrives looking polished and conservative,

01:01:41flanked by her defense team.

01:01:45There are a lot of people who believe fervently

01:01:47in the innocence of Karen Reed

01:01:49and believe that she is a victim of a mass conspiracy.

01:01:52They took two weeks to find and seat a jury.

01:01:55Now all eyes will be on this courthouse in Denham.

01:01:58But others buy into the prosecution's much simpler narrative

01:02:02that Karen Reed had been drinking

01:02:04and later struck and killed John O'Keefe with an SUV.

01:02:08Twelve jurors and five alternates have been selected to decide Reed's fate.

01:02:12The courtroom is, in a word, cramped.

01:02:15When you get into the courtroom and you're physically situated,

01:02:18it was shocking how close you were to the defense table.

01:02:22I think it could be described as borderline claustrophobic.

01:02:25It's time for opening statements.

01:02:27Big difference between the prosecution and defense in this case.

01:02:30I mean, Alan Jackson, a seasoned former prosecutor,

01:02:33but what he really is is a great storyteller.

01:02:37Much different than Adam Lally.

01:02:39The defendant, Karen Reed, is guilty of murder in the second degree,

01:02:42striking the victim, Mr. O'Keefe, with a car.

01:02:45In opening statements, prosecutors attempt to use Reed's own words against her.

01:02:50They had asked about the origination of some of those injuries.

01:02:53The defendant stated repeatedly, I killed him, I hit him, I hit him.

01:02:58The defense counters by claiming Reed wasn't making a statement,

01:03:01she was asking a question.

01:03:03Did I hit him? Could I have hit him?

01:03:06That was what she was saying, both to herself and to other people.

01:03:12Co-counsel David Iannetti lays out the defense's controversial theory

01:03:16that someone else killed John O'Keefe.

01:03:19Karen Reed was framed.

01:03:22Her car never struck John O'Keefe.

01:03:25She did not cause his death.

01:03:28And that means that somebody else did.

01:03:35The prosecution presents multiple witnesses to speak about the night O'Keefe was killed.

01:03:39You know about what time it was that Mr. O'Keefe and the defendant came into the waterfall?

01:03:43It would have been, I think, between like 11 and closing.

01:03:47And the invitation to go back to Brian Albert's house,

01:03:51was that something that was extended to the entirety of the table?

01:03:54I took it as an open invitation to the people that were together at the table, yes.

01:04:00John never came into my house that night.

01:04:02He would have been welcomed, and the defendant would have been welcomed with open arms

01:04:07had they come in, and I wish they had. I really do.

01:04:11Your next witness, Mr. Lally?

01:04:13Yes, Your Honor. The comment of the call, Ms. Nicole Albert to the stand?

01:04:16Did either of those people come into your house?

01:04:18No, they never came into my home.

01:04:20Call multiple call, Jennifer McCabe to the stand.

01:04:23I am woken up to my phone ringing.

01:04:27And do you know what time it was?

01:04:284.53.

01:04:30Does the defendant get on the phone with you?

01:04:32She does.

01:04:33She proceeds to scream my name multiple times,

01:04:37and she tells me that John didn't come home, they got into a fight.

01:04:42After that, the three of us got in the car, and we drove to Fairview.

01:04:47It was really bad driving.

01:04:49Karen was frantic, she wouldn't put her seatbelt on,

01:04:52and I was getting nervous because we were driving in a blizzard.

01:04:55And all of a sudden, Karen starts screaming,

01:04:59there he is, there he is, and she's banging to get out.

01:05:02Karen was laying on top of him, and I told her to get off him,

01:05:05because I was going to do CPR.

01:05:07And I said, Jen, you need to call 911.

01:05:10The Commonwealth will call Mr. Anthony Flamati to the stand.

01:05:15So the only response that I was personally given was just,

01:05:19I hit him, I hit him, oh my God, I hit him.

01:05:23Fight a fight of Flamati and put a 10% chance of survival for Mr. O'Keefe.

01:05:31Ms. Reed was visibly upset.

01:05:34She kept saying, this is all my fault, this is my fault, I did this.

01:05:39The defense questioned Sarif about his memory.

01:05:42Yesterday you said, my client said,

01:05:45quote, it's all my fault, I did this.

01:05:48Yes.

01:05:49Remember that?

01:05:50That yes?

01:05:51Yes, sir.

01:05:53But you didn't say that at the grand jury.

01:05:55No.

01:05:56And you didn't say that to Trooper Proctor.

01:05:58No, sir.

01:05:59And you didn't put it in your report.

01:06:01That's correct.

01:06:02So you would wonder what was her motive if she did kill him

01:06:06for murdering her boyfriend.

01:06:10The prosecution has an answer to Karen Reed's motive.

01:06:13They paint a picture of that rocky relationship between John O'Keefe and Karen Reed.

01:06:19They say there were fits of jealousy, there were arguments, allegations of cheating,

01:06:24and they say that set the stage for murder.

01:06:27Did he tell you or did you begin to notice that it was maybe nearing an end?

01:06:33After Aruba.

01:06:34After Aruba.

01:06:36She thought he kissed somebody and he did not.

01:06:38He hugged somebody and she had a scene.

01:06:41Just a month before his death, O'Keefe, Reed, and many of his friends and family

01:06:46went on a tropical vacation.

01:06:49But according to Marietta Sullivan, the quiet paradise soon got real loud.

01:06:54She was just very loud.

01:06:56She very, you know, energetically screamed for me to go f*** myself.

01:07:00Johnny was trying to calm her down.

01:07:02Sullivan says she incurred the wrath of Reed for an innocent hug with O'Keefe

01:07:07in the hotel lobby.

01:07:08This was my first interaction with her.

01:07:10I had never been fully introduced to her at all.

01:07:15The Aruba incident by itself could be chalked up to having a bad day.

01:07:19But the prosecution will attempt to show a pattern of Reed's behavior

01:07:23by playing those volatile voicemails to the jury.

01:07:26John, I f***ing hate you!

01:07:29I'm here with your f***ing kids. You are f***ing using me right now.

01:07:32You're a f***ing loser. F***ing pervert.

01:07:36The prosecution painting a picture about the level of rage

01:07:40Ms. Reed could have been capable of on the night in question.

01:07:43But outside the courthouse, support is growing for Reed.

01:07:49We love you, Karen.

01:07:51You're actually an innocent woman walking.

01:07:54I've covered a lot of cases at Court TV,

01:07:57sometimes involving celebrities, sometimes involving public enemies.

01:08:02But in this case, it was different.

01:08:04This was a college professor who shows up at the courthouse

01:08:08and there is an absolute sea of pink there to support her.

01:08:13The pink of the crowd is a show of solidarity with Reed and her favorite color.

01:08:19There's enough evidence to point that she's been framed.

01:08:22Back inside, lead counsel for the defense, Alan Jackson,

01:08:26is arguing a much different story than the prosecutors.

01:08:29You are making allegations that there is conspiracy, cover-up, corruption

01:08:34in this part of Massachusetts.

01:08:36Are you willing to stake your career and your legacy on this case?

01:08:40100%. Because I know that the truth is on our side.

01:08:43She didn't do this.

01:08:44Describe sort of what you observed from this particular item.

01:08:48That's a piece of red and clear apparent plastic.

01:08:51While both sides agree those taillight pieces found by investigators

01:08:55are from Reed's SUV, they disagree on how the pieces wound up at the scene.

01:09:01The defense argued that Karen Reed's taillight was broken someplace else

01:09:06and the pieces of the taillight were returned to the scene

01:09:09and planted by investigating officers.

01:09:12The fundamental problem with this argument from the defense

01:09:15is that the prosecution had pretty much every single piece

01:09:18and they reassembled it in the trial for the jury to see

01:09:22that every piece of the taillight was actually at the scene.

01:09:26As far as the items and where they were,

01:09:30when they were located by members of your team,

01:09:32they were photographed as they lay, is that correct?

01:09:34Correct, sir. As they were discovered, they were photographed.

01:09:37Here's the most shocking thing about this entire case,

01:09:41is that there's no eyewitness and that night, remember,

01:09:44you've got people inside the house,

01:09:46you've got people showing up, you've got people coming to pick people up

01:09:50and no one sees what happens to John O'Keefe.

01:09:54But with gavel-to-gavel coverage, everyone sees what happens to Karen Reed,

01:09:59including her scolding from the judge.

01:10:02Excuse me, this is funny, Ms. Reed. All right, we're done.

01:10:06All rise for the court, please.

01:10:09Hi, Karen.

01:10:11I would love to play poker with Karen Reed.

01:10:14We love you, Karen!

01:10:16She wears it on her face.

01:10:18Her response to everything, she showed you.

01:10:21The judge wasn't happy with it.

01:10:23Excuse me, this is funny, Ms. Reed. All right, we're done.

01:10:27All rise for the court, please.

01:10:32Her attitude, her tone, her behavior,

01:10:36her attitude is smug.

01:10:38She's the happiest murder defendant in America.

01:10:41Reed is seen, but will she be heard?

01:10:44If I had to guess it, I'd say she's not going anywhere near the witness stand.

01:10:48For now, Alan Jackson is doing all the talking.

01:10:51She will be vindicated. She'll never be convicted.

01:10:54And the defense believes Karen Reed will be found not guilty

01:10:58after this man starts talking.

01:11:01Trooper Michael Proctor, PROCTOR.

01:11:04Trooper Proctor is the lead investigator on the Karen Reed case,

01:11:08but in a dramatic twist, there's a separate investigation going on

01:11:12that may impact this trial.

01:11:15It turns out there's talk of a federal investigation into the Reed case.

01:11:19The U.S. Attorney's Office won't comment,

01:11:21but lawyers on both sides of the Reed trial have mentioned it in court.

01:11:25What has surfaced is that Michael Proctor

01:11:27was found to be sending derogatory text messages about Reed

01:11:31from his personal cell phone to his friends and superiors

01:11:35during his investigation.

01:11:37Once Trooper Proctor took the stand,

01:11:40that's when everything changed here.

01:11:44If you could, just read the responses from yourself, sir.

01:11:47Okay, these came from me.

01:11:49She's a whack job.

01:11:54So these are your words, Trooper Proctor?

01:11:56Yes, Your Honor.

01:11:57Go ahead and say them.

01:11:59Yeah, she's a babe.

01:12:01Weird Fall River accent, though.

01:12:03No ass.

01:12:04Why would I believe this guy?

01:12:07He's completely eviscerated on the stand.

01:12:11The prosecutor, Adam Lally,

01:12:13does the best he can to deal with Proctor's damning texts,

01:12:16insisting that the prosecution's case is still solid

01:12:19while also trying to rehab Proctor's reputation on the stand.

01:12:22What, if any, impact did that have

01:12:24as far as your investigation was concerned regarding this?

01:12:29These juvenile, unprofessional comments

01:12:31have zero impact on the facts and the evidence

01:12:34and the integrity of this investigation.

01:12:37The defense disagrees,

01:12:38basically alleging bias against Reed by Proctor was clear.

01:12:42You weren't so much as objectively investigating her

01:12:46as objectifying her in those moments, correct?

01:12:51Again, Mr. Jackson, it was a poor choice of words

01:12:54and a joke that I should not have texted out.

01:12:57Proctor was officially suspended without pay,

01:13:00the Massachusetts State Police telling ABC News

01:13:03their internal investigation is ongoing.

01:13:06And inside that courthouse, Jackson reminds jurors

01:13:09of the way that the Canton Police Department

01:13:11collected blood evidence at the scene.

01:13:14We utilized cups, plastic cups.

01:13:17Those were red Solo cups, right?

01:13:19That's correct.

01:13:20The same kind of red Solo cup you'd drink beer out of

01:13:23at a barbecue?

01:13:24Yeah, sure, you could.

01:13:25The defense also notes the unusual manner

01:13:28in which the evidence was transported.

01:13:30You see a bag in the middle of the photograph?

01:13:33Yes.

01:13:34Can you read what's on that bag?

01:13:36Stop and shop.

01:13:37That does not look like an evidence bag, does it, sir?

01:13:40No.

01:13:41Matter of fact, it looks like a grocery bag.

01:13:43Correct.

01:13:44Is that right?

01:13:45Yes.

01:13:46They may have done the best they could,

01:13:48but visually this is not a good look

01:13:51for the police department.

01:13:53The defense pointed out that that does not conform

01:13:55to protocol, and the prosecution's response

01:13:57to that was basically, who cares?

01:14:00It doesn't impact the forensic integrity of the evidence.

01:14:03The defense also disputes the prosecution's theory

01:14:06that those jagged wounds on O'Keefe's arm

01:14:09were a result of being hit by Reed's car.

01:14:12How did those injuries occur?

01:14:14Is this something from the undercarriage of the vehicle?

01:14:17Is this because he rolled over glass?

01:14:19What exactly occurred?

01:14:21And the problem is, they've never addressed it.

01:14:26Call Jennifer McCabe to the stand.

01:14:29And then there's that Google search by Jennifer McCabe,

01:14:32who was with Reed when O'Keefe's body was discovered.

01:14:35Karen was screaming, my hands were shaking,

01:14:38and she was saying, Google hypothermia,

01:14:41how long does it take to die in the cold?

01:14:43The prosecution claims the search took place at 6.23 a.m.

01:14:47The defense says it was made at 2.27 a.m.,

01:14:51long before O'Keefe's body was discovered.

01:14:54According to Alan Jackson, that means the witness

01:14:57knows more than she's letting on,

01:14:59something prosecutors and Jennifer McCabe vehemently deny.

01:15:03And you never made any search like that at 2.27 in the morning, correct?

01:15:08I did not, no.

01:15:10Did you delete that search because you knew

01:15:13that you would be implicated in John O'Keefe's death

01:15:16if that search was found on your phone?

01:15:19Objection.

01:15:20Could you answer that, please?

01:15:21I did not delete that search.

01:15:23I never made that search.

01:15:25I never would have left John O'Keefe out in the cold to die

01:15:29because he was my friend that I loved.

01:15:33So two competing versions of what happened.

01:15:35Reed, Karen, Reed!

01:15:37After eight weeks of testimony, the case is about to go to the jury.

01:15:41And up to the jury to figure out what they believe the truth was.

01:15:45Everyone's presumed innocent, but someone isn't.

01:15:48When do we get to the answer to that most important question?

01:16:00The court is now open. You may be seated.

01:16:0222-117, the Commonwealth versus Karen Reed.

01:16:05It's closing arguments, and each side has one final hour to persuade the jury.

01:16:11Look the other way.

01:16:15Look the other way.

01:16:16Four words that sum up the Commonwealth's entire case.

01:16:20Four words that sum up the hopes of those who have tried to deceive you.

01:16:27The prosecution says there's no evidence of any of this.

01:16:30Prosecutor Lally's closing statement mirrors his opening statement.

01:16:34Simply put, Karen Reed did it, and she told people she did it.

01:16:39I hit him. I hit him. I hit him. I hit him.

01:16:44With the words of the defendant, four times we heard testimony from four different witnesses

01:16:50who overheard and observed those statements from the defendant on January 29, 2022.

01:16:56To me, that's an enormous moment for the prosecution

01:17:00because you have someone who's not connected to the investigation saying that she confessed.

01:17:06The problems that the prosecution had is that there were some problems with some of their witnesses.

01:17:11Most notably, their lead investigator had big problems.

01:17:16The defense makes sure to remind the jury of the name Michael Proctor.

01:17:20Alan Jackson will reference him 33 times.

01:17:24And low be tied anyone who might find ourselves in the crosshairs of a Michael Proctor.

01:17:31Lally says Proctor's name only three times.

01:17:33There is no conspiracy. There is no cover-up. There is no evidence of any of that.

01:17:40Two things can be true at the same time.

01:17:43The texts from Trooper Proctor are distasteful.

01:17:46There is no defense to them.

01:17:49And the defendant killed John O'Keefe.

01:17:51When you start talking about a conspiracy and try to tell a jury that it's impossible for this to happen

01:17:58and your lead investigator has serious, serious issues,

01:18:02it makes you stop and say, well, wait a minute.

01:18:06Even folks that love a good conspiracy story know

01:18:08if there's more than one person involved, somebody winds up talking.

01:18:12All right, jurors.

01:18:14Judge Canone gives her instructions to the jury.

01:18:17You'll soon deliberate for the purposes of reaching a verdict in this case.

01:18:22It's hard to explain the feeling as the jury was deliberating.

01:18:26It wavered between dread and hopefulness.

01:18:28I could see a juror getting caught up on it saying, listen, I think she confessed,

01:18:34but I also think he could have framed her.

01:18:37All the doubt hasn't been erased that that's a possibility.

01:18:41So if it's just a possibility, that's reasonable doubt.

01:18:45After five days of deliberations, the jury informs the judge they're deadlocked.

01:18:50The jury telling the judge for a third and final time they were unable to reach a consensus.

01:18:55Your service is complete. I'm declaring a mistrial in this case.

01:19:01So I think we were all waiting for that to be finally over so we can finally grieve.

01:19:06I mean, that could be another 18 months.

01:19:09It could be another five years.

01:19:11And we're going to be there. Absolutely.

01:19:14Reid's legal troubles are now stacking up. She faces a second criminal trial.

01:19:18In addition to a retrial, the O'Keefe family has also filed a wrongful death civil suit

01:19:24against Reid and the Waterfall and C.F. McCarthy bars.

01:19:28The suit alleges they over-served Reid on that snowy January night.

01:19:33Reid's legal team and the two bars had no comment.

01:19:36For now, both sides are preparing for the next criminal court date.

01:19:40But Reid, she's got no intention of staying quiet.

01:19:43This week she met with supporters in Massachusetts who held rallies across the state.

01:19:49And organizers say those rallies extend as far south as Florida.

01:19:53Reid says she would like to meet all of her supporters.

01:19:57So at this point, as we sit now after the mistrial, we are sitting at halftime.

01:20:02And we have got a second half to let play out.

01:20:05And we hope that that will end up with a conviction.

01:20:11Karen Reid's retrial is scheduled for early next year.

01:20:14And by the way, John O'Keefe's family and friends tell us they'll be back in court again every single day.

01:20:20That's our program for tonight. Thanks so much for watching. I'm David Muir.

01:20:23And I'm Deborah Roberts. From all of us here at 2020 and ABC News, good night.

20-20 - Karen Read

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