Night Watch: Karen Read & John O’Keefe Part 3

Summary

Crime House Daily – Night Watch: Karen Read & John O’Keefe Part 3

Date: September 17, 2025
Host: Katie Ring
Co-host: Alan Jackson

Overview of the Episode

In this third installment covering the Karen Read and John O’Keefe case, Crime House Daily delves into the evolving defense strategy in Karen Read’s high-profile wrongful death suit and criminal trial. The episode critically examines the alleged conspiracy to frame Read for the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe. Through witness testimony, cross-examination recaps, and analysis of investigative missteps, Host Katie Ring and Alan Jackson dissect the complicated web connecting the main suspects, suspicious behaviors by law enforcement officers, and new evidence that could upend the prosecution’s theory.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Suspicious Witness Behaviors at 34 Fairview

• Defense’s Third-Party Culprit Theory:

  • After an anonymous tip to Karen Read's attorney suggesting the real killers were inside 34 Fairview, the defense built a theory that others, not Karen, are responsible for John’s death ([03:12]).
  • The defense highlights the odd hostility and amnesia of Fairview party witnesses, suspiciously frequent “butt dials,” disposal of phones before subpoenas, coordinated stories via group chats, and even the rehoming of the family dog and sale of their house ([03:12]–[05:30]).

• Potential Alternative Suspects:

  • Brian Higgins: ATF agent, texting Karen behind John's back, present at 34 Fairview that night ([05:56]).
  • Brian Albert: Homeowner, Boston cop with a history of aggression, quickly erases evidence ([04:40], [22:06]).
  • Colin Albert: Nephew with a violent reputation and unexplained hand injuries ([04:15]).
  • Chloe the Dog: Possible involvement due to unexplained bite marks on John ([04:40]).

• Notable Quote:

  "These people who should just be regular witnesses are oddly hostile... They have a shocking amount of butt dials. They get rid of their phones the day before they're subpoenaed to preserve them."
  — Katie Ring ([03:12])

2. Conflicts of Interest & Investigator Credibility

• Lead Investigator Michael Proctor’s Compromised Position:

  • Proctor is revealed to have close, undisclosed family and social ties with the Alberts, including shared family gatherings and babysitting connections ([07:56], [08:25]).
  • A text message from Julie Albert implying a “thank you gift” for Proctor after the case raises bribery concerns ([08:40]).
  • Proctor’s own sister texts about the family wanting to “thank” him—he deflects to his wife ([08:45]).

• Proctor’s Inappropriate Conduct:

  • Upon seizing Karen’s phone, Proctor texted colleagues:

    "no nude so far"
    — Michael Proctor (defense evidence, [09:35])

  • He also referred to Karen as a “nut bag” and far worse:

    "He called her a, quote, nut bag and... whack job C word."
    — Katie Ring ([10:35]) "Hopefully she kills herself."
    — Michael Proctor (text to his sister, [11:22])

• Fallout:

  • Proctor suspended post-trial, then fired after an internal investigation revealed drinking on the job ([15:46]).
  • Sergeant Yuri Buchenik, his supervisor, is implicated for supporting Proctor's misconduct and refusing to acknowledge his lead role ([15:46], [17:10]).

• Notable Quote:

  "So let me get this straight. Julie Albert...wants to send the lead investigator of the Karen Read case a thank you gift. If that's not grounds for conflict of interest, I don't know what is."
  — Katie Ring ([08:45])

3. Breakdown of Law Enforcement Actions & Evidence

• Police Mishandling & Lack of Transparency:

  • Key suspects and witnesses (Higgins, Albert) conveniently dispose of their phones just before being subpoenaed ([22:06]).
  • Brian Albert never had his house searched by police, despite highly suspicious circumstances ([22:06]–[22:40]).
  • Both Brian Higgins and Albert conveniently erase all data from their phones; Higgins visits the FBI forensic lab with his phone, which is against federal law ([22:06], [23:10]).

• Questionable Conduct During Evidence Collection:

  • Karen’s car damage is pivotal: Original taillight damage was modest, but it was completely shattered when police documented it in the impound—implying post-incident tampering ([24:04]).
  • Forensic evidence like glass shards and John’s hair found on Karen’s car remained inexplicably intact through a blizzard and towing ([25:10]).

• Crime Scene Cleared with Leaf Blowers:

  • Investigators used leaf blowers to move snow—an unusual choice—and initially found nothing but broken cocktail glass ([26:06]).
  • Later, a different team “magically” discovered taillight evidence, raising suspicions of staged evidence ([27:00]).

• Notable Quote:

  "Investigators didn’t find anything the first time they checked the property...The second time, a different investigative team comes back. And get this. They magically discover plenty of evidence, evidence that could frame Karen Reed."
  — Katie Ring ([27:00])

4. Witness Testimonies & Their Links

• Conflicts of Interest Among Emergency Responders:
  • EMT Katie McLaughlin, a supposed neutral party, appears to have a much closer relationship to Kaitlyn Albert than she admits, as proven by photographs ([23:23]).
  • Defense accuses McLaughlin of perjury for allegedly lying about her relationship to the Albert family ([24:20]).

5. Physical Evidence Challenges

• Alternative Explanation for Car Damage:
  • Surveillance video shows Karen bumping John’s car as she reversed out in search of him; the defense posits this as the likely cause of the tail light crack, not striking John ([25:10]).
  • No blood or DNA found on the glass shards prosecutors claim came from the fatal blow ([25:40]).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Michael Proctor’s Texts

  "You write nut bag, as Chief would say, Correct?...And then you write what? She's got a leaky balloon knot to protector. Explain to the jurors what a balloon knot is. ...That's what you were referring to about Ms. Reed. Yes."
  — Alan Jackson cross-examining Michael Proctor ([14:12]–[15:03])

• On Proctor’s Morality and Suspension

  "Don't worry. Michael isn't getting away with this behavior. Because after the first trial, Michael was suspended during an internal investigation into his behavior. And on March 19, 2025, he was formally fired because Canton PD found out he was drinking on the job."
  — Katie Ring ([15:46])

• On Karen’s Car Evidence

  "The shards that the investigators say they found at the crime scene didn't have any blood or DNA on them. If Karen really did hit John, wouldn't there be some traces of him on the glass?"
  — Katie Ring ([25:40])

• On Potential Cover-Up

  "It's not far fetched that cops would cover for a fellow officer."
  — Katie Ring ([22:40])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:12] – Recap of previous episode and third-party culprit theory explained
• [07:56] – Michael Proctor’s background and connections to the Albert family
• [09:35] – Revelation of Proctor’s inappropriate texts about Karen’s phone
• [14:12] – Proctor reads his derogatory messages aloud in court
• [15:46] – Proctor’s suspension and firing
• [17:10] – Sergeant Buchenik’s refusal to admit Proctor’s lead role
• [22:06] – Brian Higgins and Brian Albert’s phone disposals, Higgins' FBI visit
• [23:23] – EMT Katie McLaughlin’s testimony and connection to the Alberts
• [24:04] – Questions around Karen’s car damage
• [26:06] – Police use of leaf blowers at the crime scene and evidence discovery
• [27:00] – Switch in investigative teams and sudden appearance of evidence

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Episode Tone

Katie Ring’s delivery is urgent but skeptical, maintaining an investigative, advocacy-driven tone throughout. The language is direct, sometimes incredulous, especially when highlighting law enforcement failings or suspicious actions by those involved with 34 Fairview.

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Closing

The episode closes by teasing the next installment, promising deeper coverage of the newly discovered evidence by the cert team and the crucial question: Is the frame-job theory enough for the jury, or is it all just conjecture?

“Is the third party culprit theory enough to convince 18 people that Karen is being framed? Or is it too much conjecture?”
— Katie Ring ([31:04])

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Listeners are encouraged to share theories and continue the discussion on social media, as the series follows the case through its evolving legal and factual labyrinth.

Transcript

[Alan Jackson]

This is Crime House. The bulk of Jennifer McCabe's testimony came during cross examination. The defense is trying to show the jury that she is part of this conspiracy to frame Karen Reed. My testimony is an officer was asking her what his name was and different things about him.

[Katie Ring]

And at that point she.

[Alan Jackson]

She was saying, I hit him, I.

[Katie Ring]

Hit him, I hit him.

[Alan Jackson]

Which officer? I do not recall. This brings us to the next question in our investigation. Was Brian Albert's behavior suspicious? Question is the homeowner gonna catch any answer? Nope. He's a Boston cop, too.

[Katie Ring]

Witnesses to John o' Keefe's death take the stand one by one. They deny knowing anything about John's death besides the fact that Karen Reed said she hit him. But Karen's team has evidence to prove that she didn't. Who was in the house when John died? And who is covering up for them?

[Alan Jackson]

Foreign.

[Katie Ring]

Hi, I'm Katie Ring, a true crime analyst, self defense instructor, and fierce advocate for victims. And this is Crime House Daily, your essential true crime companion. Every weekday morning and night here at Crime House Daily, we will be taking an investigative approach to true crime. So we'll stay on the cases and trials making headlines now where justice is still in motion, arrests are still being made, and where new evidence is still coming to light. Every morning, we will make sure you're up to speed on today's biggest crimes with our first watch episodes. And every night, we go deeper with our night watch episodes. If you want to follow a case from the first 911 call to the final verdict, you're in the right place. Make sure to follow us at Crime House Daily. Wherever you get your podcasts, leave a review. Hit five stars. And for ad free listening, subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. For video content, head to our YouTube channel @CrimeHouseDaily. Right now, a Massachusetts woman named Karen Reed is trying to get rid of charges in a wrongful death lawsuit from her boyfriend's family. Karen was on trial earlier this summer for the death of a Boston cop named John o'. Keefe. We'll talk about the events leading up to that trial. But today, Karen is still rushing to the finish line. Will Karen Reid finally be able to move on? So good, so good, so good. New fall arrivals are at Nordstrom Rack stores now. Get ready to save big with up to 60% off Vince, Kurt, Geiger, London and more. How did I not know Rack has Adidas?

[Alan Jackson]

Cause there's always something new.

[Katie Ring]

Join the Nordy Club at Nordstrom Rack to unlock exclusive discounts on your Favorite brands, shop new arrivals first and more. Plus, get an extra 5% off every rack purchase with a Nordstrom credit card. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack. Okay, quick recap of the last episode. We started with the anonymous call Karen's lawyer, David Yannetti received from an unknown number. The one where the caller told him that Karen was actually innocent and the real killers were inside 34 Fairview, the house whose lawn John O' Keefe was found on. This leads their team down a rabbit hole to craft a third party culprit theory to convince the jury that their client is innocent and someone else was responsible for John's death. The trial starts with opening statements on April 29, 2022. Countless people tune in to watch the defense team present all of the suspicious activities the people inside of 34 Fairview were up to after John's death. For all of those details, make sure to go back and watch episode two. But these are some of the top hits. First off, these people who should just be regular witnesses are oddly hostile. They don't seem to recall anything at all except a few details about Karen. And they don't explain why their stories keep changing. They have a shocking amount of butt tiles. They get rid of their phones the day before they're subpoenaed to preserve them. They get together to create timelines. They call each other. They have extremely suspicious group chats. They sell their childhood home, and they re home their family dog of seven years. So all of this is suspicious to say the least. But the question is, why the shady behavior? Well, the defense theory goes like this. Around midnight on January 29th, Karen dropped John off at the Albert house. Once he was inside the house, John got into a fight with someone. The defense hints that it could potentially be one of three people. Could it maybe be Brian Higgins, the man Karen was texting on the side? Was he frustrated Karen had ghosted him and then was ignoring him at the bar? And he wanted to confront John to tell him what was actually happening and get back at her. Could it be the homeowner, Brian Albert, the hot headed cop with prior allegations of swinging at another cop? Or could it be Colin Albert, Brian Albert's nephew, who despite claiming he had never been in a fight except with his brothers, was caught fighting and making violent threats on video. He also had suspicious cuts on the top of his knuckles that he claimed he got from falling on the ice when landing with a closed fist, which many argue would never actually happen. Then there's the dog, Chloe, who had been rehomed after the incident, John had marks on his arm that looked like dog bites or scratches. Did she interfere and try to protect someone? The defense then claims that it was likely that the people inside the house didn't mean to kill John. But when John fell and hit his head, the injuries were too far to recover from. And this is a house full of cops who know in cases like this, intention doesn't matter. And if they don't make this look like an accident, someone inside the house is going to jail. So they drag him and leave him on the front lawn. And we're originally going to blame the plow driver, but when Karen started freaking out the next morning and asking if she could have done this, they found the perfect scapegoat. This may all seem a bit far fetched, but the defense also points to Jen McCabe's Google search for Hoss long to die in cold before John's body was even discovered. And this does become a battle of the experts later on, but it still does not look good. They also bring up the butt dials and the group chats corroborating their stories that that we went over in the last episode. Let's just say nothing is adding up and something smells fishy. But the suspicious behavior of the partygoers alone isn't enough to convince the jury and the public of their theory. But when they start diving into the details of this investigation and all of the missteps of almost everyone involved in this case, the many members of the public are convinced that this may actually be a full blown conspiracy and that Karen Reed is in fact being framed. And things only get worse for the prosecution when the defense introduces one of the most controversial characters in this entire case, the lead investigator, Michael Proctor. If you watch any detective show, you know how crucial it is that law enforcement officers recuse themselves from a case if they have any conflict of interest because it can taint the entire investigation and lose the trust of the public if they do. The Canton Police Department ended up recusing themselves when they revealed that the lawn that John was discovered on belonged to Brian Albert, the brother of one of their own officers, Kevin Albert. So the case was passed off to the Massachusetts State Police and a trooper named Michael Proctor takes on the role of lead investigator. And trooper Michael Proctor will become one of the most notorious figures in this trial. Quick background on Michael Proctor. He has been in law enforcement for 12 years. He has a wife named Elizabeth, a young son and and a sister named Courtney. The case was handed over to the Massachusetts State Police and Specifically, Michael Proctor, because he wasn't supposed to have any ties with anyone involved in the case. But after Janetti got the tip, Karen starts browsing social media to find ties between the McAlberts and the New investigators in the case. And it turns out that Michael Proctor's family and the Alberts were are good family friends. Take a look at this picture from July 15, 2016, listeners, you can see that image on our YouTube @Crime House daily, which shows Michael's mom at a birthday party with Colin Albert, Brian Albert's nephew, and Chris Albert's son, Julie Albert Collins. Mom also has connections to the Proctors. Julie went to Michael Proctor's sister's wedding and babysat her kids. She also called Courtney many times when Karen was arraigned in February 2022. And she babysat Michael's son just 10 days before John died. In other words, their connection was fresh and thriving. But here's the real kicker. Alan Jackson reveals that on February 1, just a few days after John died, Michael. Courtney sent Michael a text that said, quote, just saw Julie. And Julie said, when this is all over, she wants to give you a thank you gift. And Michael told her to get his wife Elizabeth one instead. Possibly a way to avoid accusations of a bribe. So let me get this straight. Julie Albert, the mother of a violent boy who was at 34 Fairview on January 28, wants to send the lead investigator of the Karen Reed case a thank you gift. If that's not grounds for conflict of interest, I don't know what is. And that's not even the most disturbing thing. The defense finds out about Michael. After Michael sees Karen's phone for the investigation, he started looking through it for things unrelated to the murder trial. When Karen's lawyers got access to Michael's phone, they found out that he had texted his cop buddies, including his boss and his boss's boss, quote, no nude so far. Which means he was looking through Karen's phone for nude pictures of her, the woman he's trying to put behind bars. He's supposed to be looking for evidence for John's killer, not intimate images of the main suspect. While on this case, Michael also says some horrible things about Karen. He called her a, quote, nut bag and a, quote, whack job. C word. He also said that Karen has no butt and he makes fun of her for having Crohn's disease and multiple sclerosis. Just when it seems like things can't get any worse, it does. The defense brings up a truly diabolical text. Michael Proctor sent To his sister, that completely ruins his credibility. He said, quote, hopefully she kills herself.

[Alan Jackson]

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[Katie Ring]

So the lead investigator in Karen's case said that he thinks his number one suspect should commit suicide. That's not a comment that the defense takes lightly. During his testimony, Allan asks Michael to read the horrible things he said about Karen out loud in court. Let's listen to it.

[Alan Jackson]

A person by the name of Doc writes, is that chick a smoke? Correct. Correct. Who's the chick? Misread. And you write, eh. Eh, Right? Yes. And then you write nut bag, as Chief would say, Correct? Correct. Who's Chief? A friend of mine. And then you write what? She's got a leaky balloon knot to protector. Explain to the jurors what a balloon knot is. You're essentially, I guess, your rectum area. Your anus. Yes. That's what you were referring to about Ms. Reed. Yes.

[Katie Ring]

After the trial, Michael did an interview with ABC and tried to clear up his name. He says this.

[Alan Jackson]

At what point did you develop such strong negative feelings about Karen Reed that you would say things like, hopefully she kills herself for calling her the C word. Those feelings developed as the case went on. I mean, can you see how people might think he was caught in this instance speaking about a suspect in this way? Maybe it's happened in other cases as well. I 100% understand why people would think that. But when you have, you know, a fellow police officer around my age, two kids of his own, it generates an emotion.

[Katie Ring]

Don't worry. Michael isn't getting away with this behavior. Because after the first trial, Michael was suspended during an internal investigation into his behavior. And on March 19, 2025, he was formally fired because Canton PD found out he was drinking on the job. Michael isn't the only law enforcement officer that is acting shady. His boss, sergeant Yuri Buchanik, who was on the group text about the no nude so far asked, actually gave a thumbs up to that no nude so far comment. The fact that Proctor was not reprimanded for this behavior tells you a lot about the culture of the Massachusetts State Police. Despite the Canton police recusing themselves, Proctor and Buchanik tow Karen's car to the Canton police station instead of the Dighton police station which was much closer to Karen's house and would have been a much easier trip in a blizzard. It seems like Buchanak is also covering up for one of the characters in this story, Brian Higgins. He warns Higgins that if anything in his text messages with Karen or the victim was edited, they would know because they have both of their phones and he would get in trouble. In a very odd back and forth with the defense on the stand, he also refuses to admit that the text between Higgins and Karen were flirtatious despite being obvious to everyone else that they were very flirtatious. In another tense cross, he also refuses to admit that Proctor was the lead investigator and goes as far to say that they don't even have lead investigators. More witnesses take the stand throughout the course of this eight week long trial and the jury is presented with a lot of conflicting evidence as a prosecution and defense battle it out. Now here's where we'll pick up where we left off. As a reminder, Higgins is a federal ATF agent who lived in Canton, Massachusetts, the city of the alleged crime. He was flirting with Karen behind John's back and he was at 34 Fairview the night before John was found dead on the front lawn. The defense establishes that Higgins has a motive to kill John. He was attracted to Karen, John's girlfriend. The morning of January 29, Higgins did a few weird things to say the least one he was one of the guys who claimed he butt dialed with his friend Brian Albert, the homeowner, at 2:22 in the morning. Two he went to the police station where Karen's car was taken in as evidence on his day off. He got there about 90 minutes after the SUV was brought to the garage. Higgins testifies he was just using the garage as a cut through path and that he didn't look at Karen's car. But it turns out Higgins had actually been at the station earlier that night. To get the full story, Alan Jackson turns to Sergeant Yuri Buchenik, Michael Proctor's Boss who is helping with this investigation. Buchenik, testifies that he recovered video from the Canton Police Department that shows Brian Higgins at the station very early in the morning. That John died. For those of you listening, you can check out this video on our YouTube page at crime House Daily. Keep in mind that this surveillance footage wasn't presented as evidence in the 2024 trial. So this is new evidence. The video is set at 1:30am on January 29, 2022, which means that Higgins, after a night of drinking, headed directly to the police station. And for reference, that's about four and a half hours before John's body was discovered. And if you ask me, Higgins is acting super shady. You can see him roaming around the station with his hoodie pulled up over his head, like he doesn't want anyone to recognize him. First, we see Higgins walk up to the Sally Port lot. Then we see him stroll through the station's hallway with his hand in his pockets. We also see him leave the station while talking on the phone, despite claiming he never talked on the phone. And this all happens within a five minute span. Let's rewind. In the 2024 trial, Allen asked Higgins why he was at the station the morning John died. And Higgins said he was there to move two cars. But after playing the surveillance footage for the court in the 2025 trial, Allen points out the obvious. In the few minutes Higgins spent at the station, he never moved any cars.

[Alan Jackson]

Imagine.

[Katie Ring]

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[Alan Jackson]

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[Katie Ring]

Switch upfront payment of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month required new customer offer for first 3 months only speed slow after 35gb of networks busy taxes and fees extra see mintmobile.com we're not done with Brian Higgins yet Allen asked Buchenik why he didn't seize Higgins phone later on January 29, especially since the footage shows Higgins using it that morning. Buchenik doesn't have any answer for that. In fact, the contents of Brian Higgins phone will never be known because he disposed of it the day before he was subpoenaed to preserve it. Remember we mentioned in the last episode that on January 30, 2022, a day after John died, Higgins paid a visit to the FBI forensic lab to pull pull information off his phone, which is against federal law. You cannot use federal resources for personal gain. Higgins not only tried to pull info off his phone, he got rid of it all together. He even went to a military base to throw it away because allegedly a target of one of his investigations found his personal cell phone number online. And Higgins isn't the only one who got rid of his phone in the aftermath of John's death. Another character both Proctor and Buchenik seem to be ignoring or maybe potentially covering for is Brian Albert. We talked about him in the last episode because he is the owner of the house that John was found dead in front of. Brian is a Boston police officer and remember, like his friend Brian Higgins, Brian Albert also got rid of his phone and upgraded it the day before he was subpoenaed to preserve it. This is also the Boston cop Proctor was referring to in his texts with his friends when they asked if the homeowner was going to catch S and he replied nope, homeowner is a Boston cop too. If this was anyone else's house, there is no way they wouldn't have asked to search the house. Presumably, since Albert was a Boston cop, they never once asked to search his house. Albert was not suspected despite coincidentally trading in his phone a day before the court ordered him to preserve it. He testified that he upgraded his old cell phone and traded it in for a new one on September 22, 2022. And conveniently that upgrade erased all the data on his phone and set his phone back to factory settings. But it is also something that looks very suspicious given the circumstances. We know from the last episode that after John's death, Brian Albert also got rid of his dog Chloe, but he didn't stop at that. He got rid of his whole house. He put 34 Fairview on the market. Ten months after John died, He basically got rid of the entire crime scene. He says this had nothing to do with the crime and that he and his wife Nicole had been considering selling for a while. And finally, Brian is questioned about why he didn't go outside of his house the morning Karen Reed found John on his lawn. Even when Karen was screaming loud enough to wake up the neighbors. Well, at least that's what Matt McCabe said to his wife when she showed up to their house first. And the police and firefighters were right below his window where all of this commotion was going on. And he still stayed inside. He claimed that he slept through all of it, but the defense thinks he just didn't want to get caught. It's not far fetched that cops would cover for a fellow officer. But there is another key witness introduced, and her name is Katie McLaughlin. And she is one of the first responders who came to 34 Fairview on January 29th. When Jen McCabe called the police during the first trial, she testified that she heard Karen say, I hit him. I hit him. I hit him. When she found John's body. And this is the first time we ever heard that phrase. She was only 27 years old when she responded to Jen's 911 call and seemingly doesn't have any affiliation with the family. So she has no reason to help protect or lie for this family. Right. Well, at least that's what we think until Jackson starts crossing her. Coincidentally, Katie is about the same age as Brian Albert's daughter, Kaitlyn Albert. Katie McLaughlin testifies under oath that she just knows a girl named Caitlin Albert. But they weren't just high school acquaintances. They actually ran track together. And on the stand during the second trial, Katie testifies that she had known Kaitlin for six years, but again denies that they had a personal relationship. And that's when the defense shows a picture of Katie and Kaitlyn at a baby shower together in June 2021, just eight months before John died. This means that they stayed in touch after high school and remain close. So is Katie telling the truth? The defense even suggests that she committed perjury, meaning she lied on the stand. At this point, Karen's team has built a pretty solid argument for their third party culprit theory. They're arguing that someone inside of 34 Fairview killed John and that someone outside 34 Fairview is trying to save face for them. But I want to go back to the crime Scene because the investigation could have a lot of clues as to what happened to John. On January 29, 2022, the police went to Karen's parents house to formally interview her after John died. We talked about this in episode one. So if you want to revisit the events leading up to Karen's arrest, make sure to go back and check out that episode. Sergeant Nicholas Barros, who was one of the first people to see Karen's car when they questioned her since, said that the taillight had a hole missing from it that was about the size of a dollar bill. But get this. By the time the police actually pictured it in the impound lot, the entire taillight was completely shattered. Pieces of red and clear plastic were missing. There were scratches on the back bumper and there's a dent on the trunk tailgate. The defense is suggesting that someone, maybe someone inside the house like Brian Higgins or maybe one of the investigators, like Proctor, further damaged Karen's car and placed the pieces in the snow. Between January 29 and February 4. When asked about the damage to her car, Karen's defense team shows a video of Karen on January 29th leaving John's house in her car. At that point, she had just realized he's not home yet, so she leaves to find him. If you're listening to this, you can find the footage on our YouTube crime house daily. But let's watch this video closely. Karen is in her big black Lexus suv. She puts the car in reverse and then she bumps into John's car with her right rear tail light at 5:07 in the morning, the same taillight that was broken. And the defense argues that her damaged taillight is from this slight accident which she made in a rush to go find John. And the evidence, or lack thereof, might support this theory. The shards that the investigators say they found at the crime scene didn't have any blood or DNA on them. If Karen really did hit John, wouldn't there be some traces of him on the glass? Besides the absolutely shattered taillight, investigators find a strand of John's hair on the back of Karen's car that has curiously stayed perfectly perched through an entire toe during a massive blizzard. They also find a few pieces of glass also curiously, perfectly perched on the bumper of Karen's car that did not slide off during this tow in a massive blizzard. So let's turn back to the crime scene. If someone tampered with the evidence, the defense needs to prove how they did it. And the defense has a pretty good explanation for that. On January 29, investigators at 34 Fairview spent a couple of hours trying to find evidence that might help them figure out what happened to John. Since it was snowing that day, they needed to clear the snow to search the ground. So they decided to use leaf blowers to clear the area. And despite this not being commonplace, they were apparently very proud of this. But after clearing the area, they thought they found a piece of Karen's car, but they didn't. It was actually a broken cocktail glass. And they later found out that John had taken a cocktail glass from the waterfall bar before he left to go to 34 Fairview. Investigators didn't find anything the first time they checked the property. Not a single piece of taillight was ever found. This first time around, the snow starts coming down even harder. So they are forced to stop and take a break and the crime scene is left unattended all day until hours later at around 5:30, a different investigative team called the cert team comes back. And get this. They magically discover plenty of evidence, evidence that could frame Karen Reed. Tomorrow we'll find out what the cert team finds in the second search. Is the evidence enough to convince a jury of Karen's guilt? Find out in part four of our coverage in the Karen retrial. What do you guys think? Is the third party culprit theory enough to convince 18 people that Karen is being framed? Or is it too much conjecture? In the meantime, make sure to drop your facts, theories and anything you have in the comments below. I want to hear it all. And what should we cover next? Tell us rimehouse24.7 on TikTok and Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube rimehouseDaily for ad free listening and more. Join Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. Until then, you stay curious and I'll stay on the case. We'll see you tomorrow.

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