The Defense Wastes No Time Dropping a NUKE on the Lead Investigator in the Homicide Trial of a Boston Cop
Over two years after the incident, months of anticipation, and an infinite number of hours of wild speculation, the murder trial that has preoccupied Massachusetts has begun at last. The case of Karen Read, being tried for homicide in the death of her boyfriend, Boston Patrolman John O'Keefe, has acted as a black hole of attention from which no Masshole can escape. Everyone has a theory about what happened on that snowy night in Canton in late January of 2022. Most of us know the major parties involved. A smaller but still healthy percentage can name all the minor players as well. But only those directly involved no what actually happened.
Here's a primer to get you up to speed on it:
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But to boil all the claims and counter claims until they're all reduced to elevator pitch length, Read has been charged with backing into O'Keefe outside the house of his fellow BPD officer Brian Albert and leaving him for dead. The defense's claim - bolstered by dozens of Twitter accounts and the general public - believe Read dropped O'Keefe off and drove home. He went into the house, where a fight broke out, he was beaten badly, then dragged out to the edge of the street to make it look like Read did it. Then the investigation was taken over by Michael Proctor of the MA State Police, who is a family friend of the Alberts.
Obviously there's more. Metric tons more. Enough to fill the inevitable documentaries and true crime dramas that will surely follow. Where you won't find all of it is here. I'm not spending my days riveted to the live feed. Though there are thousands of people who will. I know. I hear from them. I get accused of Both Sides-ing this topic. And I wear those accusations like a medal on my chest. I've had long text threads with people on both sides. Each thanking me for blogging about the case. Each demanding I join their side. Each firing shots at me for refusing to see how clearly right they are and what a collection of blatant, shameless liars there are on the other side. I've got friends who don't believe a thing they read on the internet taking every word of what's said about this trial as gospel. Which is all the proof I need I'm handling this whole issue correctly. If you expect gavel-to-gavel coverage, or definitive affirmation of all your opinions, you've come to the wrong blog. Only a Sith deals in absolutes.
However, here is an absolute. The defense absolutely nuked the prosecution's lead investigator from orbit. Even as I remind you that the first and last thing the judge tells the jury is that what the lawyers say is not evidence, only witnesses sworn testimony and exhibits can be considered evidence, this opening statement from the defense attorney is a warning shot across the bow of the entire case against his client:
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To recap, Read's side is claiming that the lead investigator tasked with finding out how a Boston cop was found dead outside the house of another Boston cop never knocked on the door. And no one inside came out to see what the ruckus was about. That they have the records from Proctor's personal phone. That he was texting with old high school friends, said he hoped the dead officer's girlfriend kills herself, that he was going through her phone without a search warrant and was looking for nudes. And in the biggest bombshell of all, that he told his boys Albert would be protected because he's Boston PD.
To say the very least: Big, if true. And how did they get this information? From the federal investigation into this entire matter and how it's been handled by state and local law enforcement. Implying that the feds got one of the "high school buddies" to flip. Which probably wouldn't be hard to do given that all this implies a scandalous coverup in the murder of a police officer.
The attorney went on to describe to the jurors other facets of the case, like when exactly Read's tail light was found to be broken when someone in the house searched Google to ask how long a body takes to die in the cold. Which, while important pieces of the overall puzzle, don't resonate in nearly the same way as accusing a State Police investigator of protecting the actual killer while framing the victim's girlfriend for his murder.
At some point the defense is going to have to back up the shocking claim they're alleging. If they don't, it'll suggest it's been all smoke and mirrors all along and they've got nothing. If they do, it'll be a major scandal that will shock this state to the foundations as much as anything Whitey Bulger or the Boston Archdiocese was involved in. No matter which side you come down on, the one thing we can all agree on is this trial everyone's waited two years for is not going to disappoint. Gird your loins.