Center of the Storm

Summary

Dateline NBC Podcast Summary: "Center of the Storm"

Episode Information

• Title: Center of the Storm
• Host/Author: NBC News
• Release Date: June 24, 2025
• Description: This episode delves into the gripping true-crime story of Karen Reed and the tragic death of John O'Keefe, exploring the courtroom battles, emerging conspiracy theories, and the profound impact on the families involved.

---

1. Introduction

"Center of the Storm" chronicles the turbulent journey surrounding the death of Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe and his girlfriend, Karen Reed. The episode examines the events leading up to O'Keefe's death, Reed's subsequent arrest, the contentious trials, and the explosive social media frenzy that amplified conspiracy theories questioning the integrity of the investigation.

---

2. The Tragic Night: January 29, 2022

The story begins on a stormy January night when Karen Reed and John O'Keefe were out drinking in Canton, Massachusetts. After leaving a bar, they decided to attend an after-party at the home of fellow police officer Brian Albert around midnight.

Key Events:

• Arrival at the After-Party House: "We walked in and it's, oh, hey, over here. How's it going?" [04:06]
• Departure from the Party: John left the party with a glass in hand, while Karen remained behind, driving their Lexus LX.

Reed explains she felt fine despite having "several drinks" and drove back to their home after waiting for John at the house, only to find no return.

---

3. Discovery of John O'Keefe's Body

Concerned by John's absence, Reed called him over 50 times without success. Eventually, she, along with friends Jen McCabe and Carrie Roberts, went searching for him in a blizzard. At 6 AM, they discovered John's body on the front lawn of Brian Albert's house.

Notable Quote:

• Karen Reed: "I saw him immediately. His eyes were swollen shut. He had blood dripping out of his nose. I didn't know what the hell happened." [08:44]

Emergency responders were called, but John succumbed to his injuries and hypothermia, prompting Reed to be placed under psychiatric observation.

---

4. Karen Reed's Arrest and Initial Charges

Subsequent investigations led to Reed's arrest on charges including manslaughter, negligent motor vehicle homicide, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. Prosecutors claimed Reed, under the influence, intentionally backed her SUV into John, causing fatal injuries.

Key Evidence Presented:

• Tail Light Incident: "The rear right passenger side tail light was shattered. Pieces missing from the red and clear areas." [22:04]
• Medical Evidence: John's injuries were consistent with a vehicle impact, including blunt force trauma and hypothermia.

---

5. The First Trial and Mistrial

During the first trial, Reed pleaded not guilty but the defense introduced a conspiracy theory suggesting that other partygoers, including Brian Albert and investigator Michael Proctor, may have been involved in orchestrating John's death to frame her.

Critical Developments:

• Digital Evidence: Defense uncovered Jen McCabe's deleted Google search for "how long to die in cold" at [02:27], suggesting premeditation.
• Investigator’s Conduct: Text messages from Proctor revealed derogatory remarks about Reed, leading to accusations of bias and misconduct.

Notable Quote:

• John O'Keefe: "She said, I hit him. I hit him. I hit him." [30:37]

Despite the prosecution's case, the jury failed to reach a verdict, resulting in a mistrial.

---

6. Rise of Conspiracy Theories and Social Media Influence

The mistrial fueled speculation and conspiracy theories, notably propagated by a blogger known as "Turtle Boy" (Aidan Kearney), who amassed significant support for Reed's defense. This period saw increased harassment of John's family and intensified public debate over the case's integrity.

Key Points:

• Public Backlash: "Shame on you." [34:45] and "Ass. Correct?" [47:55]
• Legal Battle Intensifies: Reed's legal bills surged, and her defense team continued to challenge the prosecution’s evidence.

---

7. The Second Trial: A Tactical Shift

In April 2024, Reed's second trial commenced with a new special prosecutor, Hank Brennan, who aimed to solidify the prosecution's case by dismissing the initial conspiracy theories and focusing on physical and digital evidence.

Prosecution's Strategy:

• Reinforcement of Tail Light Evidence: Demonstrations showed how the tail light could cause the type of injuries John sustained.
• Advanced Digital Forensics: New data from an SD card and John's phone supported the timeline of the alleged collision.

Defense's Approach:

• Discrediting Proctor: Leveraged Michael Proctor’s text messages to suggest investigator bias.
• Alternative Theories: Presented expert testimonies proposing that John's injuries could have resulted from a dog attack or a beating inside the house.

---

8. Key Testimonies and Expert Opinions

Prosecution:

• Accident Reconstructionist's Testimony: Highlighted the mechanical impact consistent with Reed’s vehicle striking John at approximately 24 mph, sufficient to cause the observed injuries. [74:50]

Defense:

• Biomechanical Expert: Argued that John's arm injuries were inconsistent with a vehicle impact, suggesting alternative causes. [83:10]
• Forensic Pathologist: Supported the defense’s claim that the head injuries did not align with the prosecution's vehicle collision theory. [80:35]

---

9. Closing Arguments and Verdict

After seven weeks of intense courtroom battles, both sides presented their final arguments. The prosecution emphasized the physical evidence of the SUV collision, while the defense focused on procedural misconduct and alternative explanations for John's death.

Notable Closing Statements:

• Prosecutor Brennan: "The seeds for this crime were planted weeks earlier... she knew her actions could be deadly." [86:03]
• Defense Attorney Jackson: "This case was corrupted from the start... Trooper Proctor's misconduct infected every single part of this case." [86:16]

The jury deliberated for four days before reaching a verdict of not guilty on the murder charges but guilty of operating under the influence, resulting in one year of probation and mandatory alcohol education for Reed.

Verdict Announcement:

• Judge: "Not guilty of murder. Guilty of operating under the influence of liquor by operating a motor vehicle." [87:37]

---

10. Aftermath and Ongoing Struggles

Reed's acquittal ignited further controversy, with John's family expressing profound disappointment and frustration over the influence of external forces on the judicial process.

Family Reactions:

• Beth O'Keefe: "She has put my family through hell... justice for Johnny." [88:52]
• Public Harassment: The O'Keefes faced online harassment and threats due to the conspiracy theories surrounding the case.

Legal Consequences for Others:

• Turtle Boy's Indictment: Facing charges of witness intimidation for his role in amplifying the conspiracy, although some charges were dismissed. [64:56]

---

11. Continuing Legal Battles and Future Proceedings

Reed remains resilient, continuing her fight for justice and maintaining her innocence through media appearances and ongoing legal strategies. John's family, however, remains steadfast in their pursuit of accountability and closure.

Current Status:

• Reed's Legal Fund: Over $1 million raised through innovative fundraising methods, including raffles and exclusive events. [65:11]
• Second Trial Preparations: The defense explores new evidence and expert testimonies to support their case in future court proceedings.

---

12. Conclusion

"Center of the Storm" encapsulates a complex narrative of love, tragedy, legal intrigue, and the pervasive impact of social media on justice. The case of Karen Reed and John O'Keefe highlights the challenges inherent in high-profile criminal investigations and trials, emphasizing the delicate balance between evidence, perception, and truth.

Final Reflection:

• Beth O'Keefe: "It's been three years that we've been hopeful and patient... the verdict was heartbreaking." [89:21]
• Dennis Murphy: "The victim here is John, who's being forgotten about." [87:26]

The episode leaves listeners contemplating the multifaceted nature of justice and the enduring quest for truth amidst swirling storms of doubt and deception.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Karen Reed: "I hit him. I hit him. I hit him." [30:37]
• John O'Keefe: "She said, I hit him. I hit him. I hit him." [30:37]
• Beth O'Keefe: "You have to take accountability and do the right thing." [67:19]
• Michael Proctor (Investigator): "I would never do something like that." [61:56]
• Prosecutor Adam Brennan: "She knew her actions could be deadly." [86:03]
• Defense Attorney Alan Jackson: "This case was corrupted from the start." [86:16]
• John O'Keefe: "She left a man who was kind and Generous and thoughtful. She left him alone." [86:58]

---

Timestamp Highlights:

• [08:44] Karen Reed describes finding John's body.
• [22:04] Tail light evidence introduced.
• [30:37] Karen's declaration of hitting John.
• [74:50] Prosecution's accident reconstruction testimony.
• [83:10] Defense's biomechanical expert testimony.
• [87:37] Verdict announcement.

---

This comprehensive summary provides a detailed account of the podcast's exploration into a deeply emotional and legally complex case, offering insights into the individuals involved, the unfolding legal strategies, and the broader societal implications.

Transcript

[Karen Reed]

Wait. You're not a Hotels.com member, so you're choosing to pay full price? Did you not hear the song?

[Dennis Murphy]

How could you not be a member and save up to 20%? That's less than 50%. But it's more than zero percent.

[Karen Reed]

You're welcome. See, the math is mathing.

[Dennis Murphy]

Save up to 20% on hundreds of thousands of hotels. With Hotels.com.

[Andrea Canning]

Building a business may feel like a big jump, but on deck small business loans can help keep you afloat. With lines of credit up to $100,000 and term loans up to $250,000, OnDeck lets you choose the loan that's right for your business. As a top rated online small business lender, Ondeck's team of loan advisors can help you find the right business loan to fit your needs. Visit ondeck.com for more information. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by Ondeck or Celtibank. Ondeck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender appro.

[Lester Holt]

Tonight on Dateline.

[Karen Reed]

I ran over to him and his eyes were swollen shut. He had blood dripping out of his nose. I didn't know what the hell. What the hell happened?

[Andrea Canning]

The wait is over.

[Lester Holt]

A verdict in the gripping, grueling Karen Reed murder trial. John o' Keefe was a good man.

[John O'Keefe]

Boston police officer. She got drunk.

[Lester Holt]

She hit him.

[John O'Keefe]

She left him to die. John o' Keefe was not hit by a car. Their investigator was corrupted from the start.

[Karen Reed]

The narrative was that I just became enraged and decided to nail him in the snow.

[Dennis Murphy]

Was she to blame?

[Andrea Canning]

What really happened that stormy night?

[Lester Holt]

People love a conspiracy.

[Dennis Murphy]

What do you want to say to anyone who believes that you framed Karen Reid?

[Lester Holt]

It did not happen.

[Brian Albert]

Karen Reed is a warrior. Many women relate to her.

[Beth O'Keefe]

Johnny was lost in this process. We never got the opportunity to grieve his loss.

[Lester Holt]

Now the jury has decided.

[Dennis Murphy]

Mr. Foreman, members of the jury, have.

[Lester Holt]

You agreed upon a burden?

[Dennis Murphy]

Yes.

[Lester Holt]

Two different stories about that night.

[Andrea Canning]

Two dramatic trials and one stunning ending.

[Lester Holt]

I'm Lester Holt, and this is Dateline. Here's Andrea Canning with Center of the Storm.

[Dennis Murphy]

It's a case that transfixed the nation.

[John O'Keefe]

She said, I hit him. I hit him. I hit him. There was no collision with John o' Keefe. There was no collision.

[Dennis Murphy]

A story of love and death and the search for justice at its heart. Karen Reed.

[Karen Reed]

I felt like I was living in a nightmare.

[Dennis Murphy]

How did her boyfriend, a beloved Boston police officer, end up dead in the snow?

[Beth O'Keefe]

Johnny is where the focus should be and not on the defendant, it should be about the fact that Johnny died.

[Dennis Murphy]

Did she kill him?

[Karen Reed]

We heard.

[Beth O'Keefe]

She get justice for John.

[Dennis Murphy]

Or was she set up? Did you frame Karen Reid?

[Lester Holt]

Absolutely not.

[Dennis Murphy]

A disgraced former investigator speaks out. People see those text messages and they instantly jump to a conclusion about you.

[Lester Holt]

I could see how people make that leap.

[Dennis Murphy]

Three years, two trials.

[Lester Holt]

Thank you, you, Honor.

[Dennis Murphy]

And a verdict on murder in the second degree. What say you?

[Lester Holt]

Sure, that's fine.

[Dennis Murphy]

We began covering this case more than two years ago. That's when my colleague, Dennis Murphy sat down with Karen Reed. The story she told of one awful night in January 2022 launched a drama that endures. A nor' easter was blowing into town. Karen joined her boyfriend, Boston police Officer John o' Keefe, for drinks at a bar in Canton, Massachusetts, around 8:30. That's her greeting, John on security video.

[Karen Reed]

We were happy, having fun, laughing, just very normal.

[Lester Holt]

So there comes a point where you're out of that place, huh?

[Karen Reed]

Yeah. We left after about 90 minutes and.

[Dennis Murphy]

Crossed the street to another bar. There they are, joining friends.

[Karen Reed]

We walk in and it's, oh, hey, over here. How's it going? And you walk around, you say hi to everyone.

[Lester Holt]

The vibes, as we used to say in the old days, were good.

[Karen Reed]

The vibes were good? Yes. Yeah, the vibes were good.

[Lester Holt]

And you're there for how long do you think?

[Karen Reed]

Till midnight? Just after midnight. Till it closed.

[Dennis Murphy]

That's John leaving with a glass in hand. He and Karen had been invited to an after party at the home of another Boston police officer, Brian Elbert. He'd been at the bar with them.

[Karen Reed]

We're going to Brian Albert's house.

[Lester Holt]

Brian Albert?

[Karen Reed]

Yeah. Which I'd never been to.

[Lester Holt]

You're driving?

[Karen Reed]

I'm driving.

[Lester Holt]

What are you driving? What's your vehicle?

[Karen Reed]

I have a Lexus lx, which is the full size of the truck.

[Lester Holt]

That's a monster truck, right?

[Karen Reed]

Yes. Yep.

[Lester Holt]

How were you doing with drink at that point?

[Karen Reed]

Yeah, I'd had several.

[Lester Holt]

You? Probably.

[Karen Reed]

But I felt fine. I mean, I felt like I had had a couple drinks, but I.

[Lester Holt]

You didn't say, I'm legless here. This is.

[Karen Reed]

No, I didn't feel impaired.

[Lester Holt]

So you get to this address, huh?

[Karen Reed]

We get to the house, it didn't look like it was busting at the seams with, I'm still on the street and I have the passenger side facing the driveway. And he said, john, can you just run in there and like, you know, can we make sure we're welcome here? And it's somewhere we Want to be? He said, yeah, I'll be right back. And he got out of the car.

[Lester Holt]

Goes to the front door of the house.

[Karen Reed]

Yes, I see him go to the door and start to cross the threshold. And I looked down at my phone and in a matter of seconds I look up and he's not there. And then I waited for him to re emerge, which I assumed was going to be in moments or that he yelled to me from the front door, kay, it's good, come on in. Yeah, come on in.

[Dennis Murphy]

But that never happened.

[Karen Reed]

He didn't come back. And it pissed me off because one, I didn't really want to be there. Two, I had to go to the bathroom.

[Lester Holt]

But where is he? Yeah, what happens next?

[Karen Reed]

I left.

[Lester Holt]

You're in your car. Will you say I'm out of here?

[Karen Reed]

No, I kind of slow rolled it off the street. And I'm hoping that as I slowly edge my way down the street, he's going to say, wait, Karen, where are you going?

[Lester Holt]

Okay, so there you are. You're headed home.

[Karen Reed]

Yeah, I went home. I was home within probably seven minutes.

[Dennis Murphy]

Home was John's place.

[Lester Holt]

And what do you do?

[Karen Reed]

I laid on the couch and I just called him. I called them just over 50 times.

[Lester Holt]

50 times?

[Karen Reed]

Yep, yep. And they would just go into voicemail.

[Lester Holt]

It's getting very early in the morning at this point.

[Karen Reed]

Yeah, I fell asleep. When I woke up after four, I knew, I knew something was wrong.

[Dennis Murphy]

She began calling John's friends and got ahold of Jen McCabe, Brian Albert's sister in law. Jen was at the after party and.

[Karen Reed]

I said, jen, where is John? And she said, I don't know what's going on. I said, he didn't come home. And she said, let me hang up with you and call my sister. This is Brian Albert's wife, the homeowner of the property where I last saw John. And she calls me back in a few minutes and she says, I talked to Nicole. She said, you guys never came in.

[Lester Holt]

She said what?

[Karen Reed]

She said, you guys never came in.

[Lester Holt]

Your John never came in the door?

[Karen Reed]

Yep.

[Dennis Murphy]

She said, okay.

[Lester Holt]

So you're hearing the Twilight Zone music at this point?

[Karen Reed]

Yeah. Like what the hell happened? So she said, why don't you come get me and we'll go searching for him in the meantime, I called another friend of John's and she picked up and I said, her name's Kerry. I said, I don't know where John is and I can't find him and I'm worried. And she hung up with me and Started calling around. She called the police. My name is Carrie.

[John O'Keefe]

I'm calling because my friend's boyfriend did.

[Dennis Murphy]

Not come home last night. Karen says she drove to Jen's house, picked her up and together they went back to John's to make sure he hadn't returned. That's the two of them. At about 5:30am on Ring Video, Carrie Roberts joined them But John wasn't home. So the women got into Carrie's car with Karen in the backseat and drove to the Elbert. 6am Blizzard conditions in the dark. They crept toward the house.

[Karen Reed]

And we turn a corner and I see him immediately. I see his body immediately. It was windswept lawn and there was just a heap.

[Lester Holt]

And this is on the front lawn of the after party house?

[Karen Reed]

Yep, on the perimeter. I couldn't see his face or his hair, but I knew it was him. I mean he's a big guy. He was 6, 2, 2, 20.

[Lester Holt]

Do you run out of the vehicle and start screaming?

[Karen Reed]

I said there he is. So I jump out, out of the passenger side and I fell on the street and I ran over to him and his eyes were swollen shut. He had blood dripping out of his nose.

[Lester Holt]

Was he alive?

[Karen Reed]

He seemed like he could be. I'm only out there for a minute or two and then Kerry runs over and then Kerry and I take turns between mouth to mouth resuscitation and chest compressions.

[Lester Holt]

911, what's the emergency?

[Dennis Murphy]

Jen McCabe called 911. Do you need someone to come immediately?

[Lester Holt]

What's going on?

[Karen Reed]

There's a guy unresponsive in the snow.

[Dennis Murphy]

This dash cam video from one of the first responders vehicles shows Karen running back and forth clearly agitated. John was rushed to the hospital.

[Karen Reed]

I actually texted my father and I said I think John's dead. And he called me and I said dad, I don't want to be alive. Like I don't want to live. And I didn't know what the hell happened. How did the night end up like this?

[Dennis Murphy]

Karen was also taken to the hospital.

[Karen Reed]

That morning and I am put under a psychiatric watch. And then eventually, just before noon, my father comes into the room that I'm in and I said dad, how's, how is he? And he said he's gone, John's gone. Karen and I just collapsed on the floor.

[Dennis Murphy]

A 16 year veteran of the Boston Police Department dead. In the months ahead, his family would ask one question.

[Beth O'Keefe]

Thinking about Johnny is no longer here. How does this happen?

[Dennis Murphy]

Karen Reed's defense team had a theory to John's Family. To anyone who calls this a crazy conspiracy, what do you say to them?

[John O'Keefe]

There's nothing crazy about it.

[Dennis Murphy]

Did you crack the taillight to make it look a certain way?

[Lester Holt]

Absolutely not.

[Dennis Murphy]

All that would matter, really was what 12 people believed about that night, about what one woman did or didn't do.

[Beth O'Keefe]

For the defendant, it was a show for her lawyers and it was a show for her family.

[Dennis Murphy]

We now know the name of the Boston police officer whose body was found outside. The awful news was spreading that winter morning in 2022, police officer John O' Keefe was dead.

[Lester Holt]

Investigators may find out how one of their own died.

[Dennis Murphy]

Johnny, to his family and friends. Only 46 years old, his body discovered lying in front of another officer's house. It made no sense.

[Beth O'Keefe]

We didn't know if he had, you know, passed out in the snow and, you know, at that point, we didn't know what had happened.

[Dennis Murphy]

Beth is part of John's extended family. She didn't want her last name used. It's like, that's not possible.

[Beth O'Keefe]

It's not. It was unfathomable. I couldn't even think that this could potentially be happening.

[Dennis Murphy]

How did you hear about John's death?

[Lester Holt]

I got a call from Johnny's brother. He told me. He said, we lost Johnny. I kind of knew. I knew what he meant, but I didn't really know what he meant, you know, I didn't want to know what he meant.

[Dennis Murphy]

Tom Hubbard and John had been best friends since first grade. You obviously thought very highly of John. I mean, being friends with him for that long.

[Lester Holt]

Yeah, so he was just a great, great guy and, you know, a great friend. When we were six, he was a great friend when we were 46.

[Dennis Murphy]

So you also say that he really connected people. He kept everyone together.

[Lester Holt]

Yes. He would text me, you around all the time, you know, go have a beer, go get something to eat. And, you know, I think it's very easy as you get older that people don't kind of take those, but he always, always did.

[Dennis Murphy]

John always knew what he wanted to do with his life.

[Lester Holt]

I don't remember where he didn't want to be a police officer. He was set on. He wanted to be a police officer. That's all he cared about.

[Dennis Murphy]

And a big part of being a police officer, of course, is helping people.

[Lester Holt]

Yeah. The way he operated his life was he always kind of put other people.

[Dennis Murphy]

First when tragedy struck. That's exactly what John did. In 2013, his 39 year old sister Kristin learned she had brain cancer.

[Beth O'Keefe]

Kristen was diagnosed in May of 2013, and passed away Veterans Day of 2013.

[Dennis Murphy]

Oh my goodness. So fast.

[Beth O'Keefe]

So fast. It was just a few months and Johnny spent a lot of time at the hospital with her.

[Dennis Murphy]

Two months later, another death. This one almost incomprehensible. Kristen's husband had a heart attack. How does your family deal with that? Two deaths so close together?

[Beth O'Keefe]

It was, it was a lot. It was a lot. And just the shock of the two of them passing so quickly, both under 40. And then it was, you know, after the shock wore off, it was the children, the children, what are we gonna do?

[Dennis Murphy]

The young couple left behind a six year old girl and a boy, almost three. So John stepped up. He took a desk job at the police department and moved from Boston into his sister's house in Canton to raise his niece and nephew. It's the beginning of like a TV drama, right?

[Beth O'Keefe]

Exactly.

[Dennis Murphy]

The Bachelor takes in the kids.

[Beth O'Keefe]

Yes. Yep.

[Dennis Murphy]

A life juggling work and kids. They called him jj. That looks a little sticky. Yeah.

[Lester Holt]

So then we take Marshmallow, Right?

[Dennis Murphy]

He was up for anything.

[Lester Holt]

Maybe we can use the home.

[Dennis Murphy]

TikTok challenges, silly dances and ninja warrior gyms.

[Beth O'Keefe]

He was the fun uncle, you know, he was always making jokes and trying to make the time really fun for them.

[Dennis Murphy]

In 2020, when the pandemic struck, John reconnected with an old girlfriend, Karen. They'd briefly dated in their 20s. This time it felt right.

[Karen Reed]

I found him to be a very different person, but in an very interesting way. There was more depth there after what he had been through.

[Dennis Murphy]

Karen had been through her own challenges, including a diagnosis of Ms. Like John, she'd never married. She worked as an equity analyst and taught college courses in finance as an adjunct professor. How did the kids take to Karen?

[Beth O'Keefe]

They, you know, they liked her. They liked her a lot.

[Dennis Murphy]

But all that ended on a cold January morning. John's family went to the hospital and identified his body. That's when they heard Karen, who was there under that psychiatric watch.

[Beth O'Keefe]

She was screaming down the hallway, you know, is he dead? Is he dead? Screaming, screaming, erratic to the point that they sectioned her, you know, because she was threatening to harm herself.

[Dennis Murphy]

The o' Keeffes left, went to John's house to tell the kids, by then 14 and 11. And then Karen arrived. That's her on the ring video. She'd been released from the hospital into her parents care and wanted to see the children.

[Beth O'Keefe]

I wasn't there, but I do know that she had sat with the kids for, you know, for a short time. And then she and her father went upstairs to the bedroom, gathered a bunch of her belongings, and then Karen walked out the door with her father and her brother.

[Dennis Murphy]

So she just left.

[Beth O'Keefe]

She just left, never said goodbye. And at that point, it had been almost two years that she had been in their lives.

[Dennis Murphy]

What did the kids think as she just disappears?

[Beth O'Keefe]

The kids at that point were so lost.

[Dennis Murphy]

The whole family was. They couldn't figure out how John ended up dead on a lawn. And Karen seemed to be acting strangely. Beth's sister Erin later told investigators about a troubling call she'd had with Karen after Karen left the o' Keeffe home.

[Beth O'Keefe]

And what Karen said to her was, we'll probably never see each other again. And, you know, Erin said to her, what do you mean? We're friends? And, you know, she didn't really have an answer to that. So it started to feel like something had happened.

[Dennis Murphy]

But what? The Massachusetts State Police opened an investigation and they began to develop an unsettling theory that Karen might be responsible for John's death.

[Beth O'Keefe]

The only word that can come to mind is just complete shock. You're just sitting there thinking, is this real life?

[Andrea Canning]

Building a business may feel like a big jump, but On Deck small business loans can help keep you afloat. With lines of credit up to $100,000 and term loans up to $250,000, on deck lets you choose the loan. That's right, as a top rated online small business lender, OnDeck's team of loan advisors can help you find the right business loan to fit your needs. Visit ondeck.com for more information. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by Ondeck or Celtic Bank. Ondeck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval.

[Dennis Murphy]

Create an oasis with Thuma, a modern design company that specializes in furniture and home goods, by stripping away everything but the essential. Thuma makes elevated beds with premium materials and intentional details using the technique of Japanese joinery. Pieces are crafted from solid wood and precision cut for a silent stable foundation. Assembly takes just 5ish minutes with no tools required. To get $100 towards your first bed purchase, go to Thuma Co Pandora. That's Thuma Co Pandora. Hey everyone, I'm Jenna Bush Hager from the Today show and I'm excited to share my podcast Open Book with Jenna. It is back for Seven Season 2. Each week, celebrities, experts, friends and authors will share candid stories with me about their lives and new projects. Guests like Rebecca Yarros, Kristin Hannah, Ego Wodom, and more like a Good book. You'll leave feeling inspired and entertained. Join me for my podcast Open Book with Jenna. Listen now on Apple Podcast. Karen Reed's meeting with the o' Keeffes took place only hours after John had been declared dead. She remembers it differently than the family. She'd been alarmed by the mood at the house.

[Karen Reed]

I felt some tension with John's mother. She seemed to be keeping her distance and it felt uncomfortable. She wasn't really addressing me and she did not seem to want the kids near me.

[Dennis Murphy]

Karen says that's why she left and went straight to her parents house. Later that afternoon, the lead investigator, Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, arrived with a colleague to talk about what happened the night before.

[Karen Reed]

The questioning was very brief. I wasn't asked about what happened at that house. Nothing about where did he go, did he enter in, how did I come to find him, who did I call? It was how much did I have to drink? And could you have done a three point turn? And before they left, they took my phone and they asked for my car key.

[Dennis Murphy]

The troopers took her SUV and Karen called a lawyer, Boston attorney David Yannetti.

[Lester Holt]

She sounded young to me.

[John O'Keefe]

My first thought was, this is a teenager. I'm going to have to talk to the parents.

[Lester Holt]

But then as she started to tell me the situation she was in, I was thinking that, you know, she's probably.

[John O'Keefe]

Going to need some help.

[Dennis Murphy]

He was right. Two days later, 7:30pm, police swarmed Karen's house.

[Karen Reed]

There was a good eight to ten cops. They went all around my house, shining lights in and started banging on the doors. And then they all just flooded my house.

[Dennis Murphy]

She was charged with John's death. Three crimes, manslaughter, negligent motor vehicle homicide, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. Karen spent the night in jail.

[Lester Holt]

The nightmare had begun.

[Dennis Murphy]

Nathan Reed is Karen's brother.

[Lester Holt]

Someone was going to pay a cost for John losing his life. And so was I surprised that there were charges? No, I wasn't surprised.

[Dennis Murphy]

The next morning, minutes before her arraignment, Karen met her lawyer in person for the first time.

[Karen Reed]

And David had one copy of the charging documents and he held them through the bars and we read them together. And there are a few things in there that stood out right away to me that worried me.

[Dennis Murphy]

At the arraignment, prosecutor Adam Lally laid out a damning case. The prosecutor said troopers noticed something when they impounded Karen's suv.

[Lester Holt]

The rear right passenger side tail light was shattered. Pieces missing from the red and clear areas.

[Dennis Murphy]

And at the scene Investigators found plastic taillight pieces on the lawn where John's body was discovered.

[Lester Holt]

Discovered also consistent with the broken tail light on the Lexus suv.

[Dennis Murphy]

The state's theory of the case was simple. John and Karen arrived at the party house following a night of heavy drinking. John got out of the car, she backed into him, then drove off, leaving John lying there, badly injured.

[Lester Holt]

Approximately six bloodied lacerations varying in length on his right arm. The cuts extending from his forearm to his bicep. Both of the victim's eyes were swollen shut in black and blue. Approximately 2 inch laceration to the back of his head.

[Dennis Murphy]

Initial reports indicated John died from blunt force trauma to the back of the head and hypothermia. Karen pleaded not guilty and was released on bail.

[Lester Holt]

Karen, was this an accident?

[Dennis Murphy]

So, family's reaction to the arrest and finding out that there's been an arrest of Karen Reed, Relief.

[Beth O'Keefe]

If she did this, she's going to be held responsible for it. And at this point, we didn't think that it was necessarily on purpose. We just know something happened. She hit him and she left.

[Dennis Murphy]

It's hard to imagine that any family would have to go through something like this.

[Beth O'Keefe]

Yes. You know, Johnny died on Saturday and then Karen is arrested on Tuesday night and they're at court on Wednesday. There is zero time to grieve.

[Dennis Murphy]

Days after the arraignment, John o' Keefe was laid to rest.

[Beth O'Keefe]

The line to get into the church was probably about a half a mile down the street.

[Dennis Murphy]

Says so much about John.

[Beth O'Keefe]

It does, it does. And then the procession to the graveside was long. You know, we took a route through Braintree where Johnny grew up, and then made our way to the grave.

[Dennis Murphy]

Very hard to say goodbye.

[Beth O'Keefe]

Very hard.

[Dennis Murphy]

Karen wasn't at the funeral. She knew she was in a world of trouble. Her attorney was already building his case.

[Lester Holt]

Maybe somebody else had a motive and maybe somebody else would have caused the.

[John O'Keefe]

Death of John o' Keefe.

[Dennis Murphy]

It wasn't looking good for Karen Reed. She was facing prison time for manslaughter. Then her lawyer got a tip that would change the trajectory of her case, that John had been beaten by people at the party house, including Brian Albert. Karen says when she found John in the snow, it didn't occur to her that he could have been beaten.

[Karen Reed]

I had seen John and he was bloodied in the face and he had cuts that were bleeding on his face and his eyes were purple. But I didn't know when I saw him that he looked like he got beaten up. I mean, I was just focused on trying to revive him.

[Dennis Murphy]

The tipster would eventually deny to police any knowledge of what happened at the party house. But the story became the beginnings of a defense.

[Lester Holt]

We were off and running.

[Karen Reed]

Yeah, we were off and running.

[Dennis Murphy]

But the case against Karen Reed was about to take another big turn. The state had convened a grand jury and heard from John's niece and nephew that Karen and John were argued frequently and that John wanted to end the relationship. The prosecutor also presented toxicology evidence indicating Karen was drunk when she allegedly backed into John. In June 2022, she was arrested again on upgraded charges, including manslaughter while driving under the influence and second degree murder. The news was an earthquake for John's family. She did this on purpose, is the accusation.

[Lester Holt]

This just kind of took it to a whole, whole different level now. It was just unimaginable.

[Dennis Murphy]

Is the anger building? It is.

[Beth O'Keefe]

It is because it didn't have to happen.

[Dennis Murphy]

Karen insisted it didn't happen at all.

[Karen Reed]

The narrative was that I just became enraged and decided to nail him in the snow.

[Dennis Murphy]

She wanted a fresh take on the facts, so she reached out to a high powered criminal defense attorney out of LA named Alan Jackson.

[John O'Keefe]

She had not held out complete hope that I would make contact with her, but in point of fact, I was very interested.

[Dennis Murphy]

Alan Jackson joined David Yannetti on Karen's team. You come in as an outsider into this tight knit community, do you tread lightly?

[John O'Keefe]

Yeah, I don't know how to tread lightly. I tread toward the truth, period. And if that ruffles feathers, so be it. If that pisses people off, so be it. Get over it.

[Dennis Murphy]

Jackson did a deep dive into the digital data. And in early 2023, he struck gold on a cell phone that belonged to Jen McCabe. Jen was one of almost a dozen people at the party that night. She turned her cell over to police. In the initial days of the investigation, a Google search on that cell made early morning got Jackson's attention. At 2:27, she did a search saying how's long to die in cold? Presumably how long to die in cold? Right. This is well before John's body has been found.

[John O'Keefe]

Correct.

[Dennis Murphy]

Jackson believed the Google search undermined what Jen told investigators, that she didn't know John was missing until Karen called her around 5am it's hard to oversell this.

[John O'Keefe]

It's that dramatic.

[Dennis Murphy]

What's more, Jackson said they found the search in a deleted file on Jen's cell.

[Karen Reed]

She turned it into that. That tells me she, she thought, she.

[John O'Keefe]

Thought that it was gone.

[Karen Reed]

It was clean.

[John O'Keefe]

100.

[Dennis Murphy]

But at the heart of the case, the right tail light on Karen's suv. The state said it shattered when Karen hit John around 12:30am the defense said it was cracked hours later but not shattered. When Karen went out looking for John, Karen told Dennis Murphy there it was on ring camera, video in backing up.

[Lester Holt]

Did you bang into his car?

[Karen Reed]

Yeah, I did, yep.

[Lester Holt]

Did you feel it? Did you hear it?

[Karen Reed]

Yeah, I felt a little. And I.

[Lester Holt]

On your back, right?

[Karen Reed]

On my passenger back, right? Yep.

[Dennis Murphy]

Okay, so this is obviously not Karen Reed's suv. Right. But this is similar, similar tail light. So what do you think?

[John O'Keefe]

Yeah, it's a similar size, this is a different make and model, but it's similar size and similar situation for the tail light. You could pound on this all day long and you're not going to be able to break this one with your hand, with your fist. You'll break your hand before you'll break this.

[Dennis Murphy]

But it wasn't just that the taillight seemed unbreakable. The defense also concluded John's injuries were not consistent with a car accident.

[John O'Keefe]

You cannot ignore the plethora of evidence that establishes that John was not struck by a car and left to die at 12:31am or 12:34am and the only other reasonable way for him to have been killed and suffer those injuries is for him to suffer a beating inside that house.

[Dennis Murphy]

The defense team concluded that people at the party, all connected to law enforcement in some way conspired to cover up the beating and frame Karen for John's death. Karen's father Bill and brother Nathan.

[Lester Holt]

There's just too many things here that don't add up. You need a handful of powerful, influential.

[Brian Albert]

Individuals in key positions to get this done.

[Dennis Murphy]

A conspiracy. The Alberts, along with other partygoers and the o' Keeffe family called that theory crazy. It's hard to keep a secret of that magnitude.

[Beth O'Keefe]

It's hard to keep any secret. You know, if it was one person, that would be one thing. But if the way we're looking at this conspiracy, it is everyone in the house. So it's just, you know, sometimes the truth is just the truth.

[Dennis Murphy]

But the conspiracy theory caught hold and before long, people were turning out in droves to support Karen Reid joining a crusade spearheaded by this man. We ain't got no quit, we ain't.

[Beth O'Keefe]

Got no, no weeds out.

[Lester Holt]

Good afternoon, your honor.

[Dennis Murphy]

Karen's team quickly got down to business pushing its conspiracy theory at her pre trial hearings.

[John O'Keefe]

John o' Keefe was inside the house.

[Dennis Murphy]

The prosecution was just as quick to fight back.

[Lester Holt]

There's absolutely no evidence Mr. O' Keefe ever entered the residence at Fairview.

[Dennis Murphy]

That's when the case exploded out of the courtroom and into the social media feeds of thousands, thanks to this guy.

[John O'Keefe]

What's up?

[Dennis Murphy]

Loses. How's everyone doing tonight? Aiden Kearney, AKA Turtle Boy. All right, guys, so big day today. He's a former high school teacher turned blogger, part reporter, part showman, part instigator. We ain't got no quit. We ain't got no quit. No, we don't. He told NBC10 Boston that he stumbled onto Karen's story in April 2023.

[John O'Keefe]

It wasn't getting much coverage, and then.

[Dennis Murphy]

I was just blown away that night when I read all the court documents.

[John O'Keefe]

And I just couldn't believe, is this really happening?

[Dennis Murphy]

He posted immediately, and he's been at it ever since, amplifying the defense theory like a relentless human bullhorn to frame.

[John O'Keefe]

An innocent woman and cover up for the murder of a Boston police officer.

[Dennis Murphy]

Sue O' Connell is a commentator for NBC 10 Boston. The social media on this case was off the charts, including, you know, of course, the main player who seemed to be Turtle Boy.

[Brian Albert]

There's never been, I think, a situation like this in the greater Boston or New England area where you have Turtle Boy. Aidan Kearney, who is a blogger who doesn't operate by any regular standards of what you would call journalism.

[Karen Reed]

Cock killers.

[Dennis Murphy]

That's what they are.

[John O'Keefe]

They're cock killers.

[Dennis Murphy]

Before long, Turtle Boy created his own series about the case called Canton Cover up, racking up tens of thousands of of views, holding nothing back, portraying Karen Reid as the real victim.

[John O'Keefe]

What we know for sure, 100%, was.

[Lester Holt]

She did not run him over.

[Dennis Murphy]

A local murder story went national. Why do you think this story, this case, has grabbed the attention of so many people?

[Brian Albert]

I think all the questions to this are what make it really intriguing. Is it a romance that went wrong? Is it a night of partying that went wrong? Or did something else happen?

[Dennis Murphy]

So we're here to make our voices heard.

[John O'Keefe]

And the movement has grown as a result of that.

[Dennis Murphy]

And that's not all that grew. A defense fund for Karen Reed, fueled by Turtle Boy's crusade, raised almost half a million dollars. The o' Keefes watched the growing frenzy with horror. And they became targets themselves, reviled on social media by Turtle Boy and his supporters, often forced to run a when they went to court.

[Beth O'Keefe]

His followers have got into all of our faces prior to for hearings. We would have to walk through these people screaming at us. We have all been called Idiots and stupid for not believing her conspiracy theory.

[Dennis Murphy]

Turtle Boy called the family maggots.

[Beth O'Keefe]

Yes.

[Dennis Murphy]

You are a disgrace to your brother, dude.

[John O'Keefe]

A disgrace.

[Lester Holt]

I've never heard of a criminal case where the victim's family is harassed both online but on their way to court.

[Beth O'Keefe]

Johnny is where the focus should be and not on the blogger and not on the defendant. It should be about the fact that Johnny died.

[Dennis Murphy]

Shame on you.

[Andrea Canning]

Shame on you.

[Brian Albert]

Regardless of what you think happened, the fact that these parents and siblings and friends and family of John o' Keeffe were not embraced in a way borders on criminal.

[Dennis Murphy]

The o' Keefe's believed Karen and her lawyers were in on the act. John's brother, he's essentially accusing you of producing, in his words, the Karen Reid show.

[John O'Keefe]

That's a joke. And when you have nothing else to say about the evidence, you just attack the person who's presenting the evidence.

[Dennis Murphy]

Did you bring Turtle Boy into all of this?

[John O'Keefe]

Absolutely not.

[Dennis Murphy]

If they didn't bring him in, they certainly helped him along. Karen admits she and Turtle Boy spoke on the phone 189 times in the year leading up to the trial.

[Karen Reed]

It was almost every day for like 20 minutes. Like, what do you make of this? Or what do you think we talk about after court? Oh, my God. Can't believe the judge said this.

[Dennis Murphy]

In late 2023, prosecutors charged Turtle Boy with multiple counts of witness intimidation. He pleaded not guilty. As the Karen Reed trial approached, the judge ordered demonstrators to stay 200ft from the courthouse. That didn't dent their enthusiasm. We just can't let, you know, roll.

[Beth O'Keefe]

Over and let them just do this to an innocent person.

[Brian Albert]

It's the biggest cover up I think.

[Dennis Murphy]

That we've ever seen in this country.

[Lester Holt]

You going to get a fair trial.

[Dennis Murphy]

Finally, April 2024, the trial was set to begin with a prosecutor determined to prove Karen's guilt.

[Karen Reed]

She said, I hit him, I hit him, I hit him.

[Andrea Canning]

Building a business may feel like a big jump, but on deck small business loans can help keep you afloat. With lines of credit up to $100,000 and term loans up to 250,000, OnDeck lets you choose the loan that's right for your business. As a top rated online small business lender, Ondeck's team of loan advisors can help you find the right business loan to fit your needs. Visit ondeck.com for more information. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by Ondeck or Celtibank. Ondeck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to Lender approval. I'm Josh Mankiewicz and I hope you'll.

[Dennis Murphy]

Join us for season four of Dateline Missing in America. In each episode of Dateline's award winning series, we will focus on one missing persons case and hear from the families, the friends and the investigators, all desperate to find them. You will want to listen closely. Maybe you could help investigators solve a mystery.

[Andrea Canning]

Search Dateline Missing in America to listen on Apple Podcasts.

[Dennis Murphy]

For almost a decade, gospel music and the sermons of Pastor Roy Whiteed made the Sunday morning service soar.

[Lester Holt]

He was a good preacher, you know, he had the way with the word.

[Dennis Murphy]

In the first week of May 2024, something happened that seemed almost impossible to believe.

[Lester Holt]

The 64 year old pastor vanished.

[Dennis Murphy]

For White County Sheriff Steve Page, Roy's case is personal. Me and Roy are friends.

[Andrea Canning]

Sheriff Page says he will not rest until he finds Roy.

[Dennis Murphy]

I believe somebody knows something. They just haven't come forward yet.

[Andrea Canning]

Maybe you could be the key to solving his case. DATELINE Missing in America Available wherever you get your podcasts, listen now.

[Dennis Murphy]

It had been more than two years since John o' Keefe was found dying in the snow. His girlfriend, Karen Reed was about to stand trial for his murder. How anxious were all of you with this trial starting so intense?

[Beth O'Keefe]

It's so intense. It's the wanting to get it done with, to be able to just grieve Johnny in private, you know, not in front of everybody.

[Dennis Murphy]

And everybody, it seemed, was there. In April 2024 at the no. Norfolk County Courthouse for day one of testimony.

[Lester Holt]

Good morning.

[Dennis Murphy]

Prosecutor Adam Lally opened with his long held theory that Karen Reed was amped up on alcohol and anger and intentionally backed her SUV into John o' Keefe, leaving him to die in the bitter cold.

[Lester Holt]

The defendant, Karen Reed, is guilty of murder in the second degree.

[Dennis Murphy]

He said the seeds for this crime were planted weeks earlier. John and Karen had been arguing about their failing relationship. She'd also been flirting with another man.

[Lester Holt]

Defendant responded, you're hot. I responded, are you serious or messing with me? Defendant responded, no, I'm serious. I responded, failing is mutual. Is that bad?

[Dennis Murphy]

He was ATF Agent Brian Higgins.

[Lester Holt]

The defendant kissed me. And how did she kiss you? Not like a friend.

[Dennis Murphy]

He says Karen is the one who initiated contact with him.

[Brian Albert]

Yep, Karen is definitely pursuing him. And there was definitely a plan in Karen's texting that they would have some relationship and I might guess an off ramp from her relationship with John o' Keefe.

[Dennis Murphy]

A state police investigator testified that in the hours leading to his death, John and Karen Were fighting over text.

[Lester Holt]

Ms. Reed says, you start a number of fights from your end. John writes back, I've explained it a few times already.

[Dennis Murphy]

Not doing it again.

[Lester Holt]

How does the defendant respond to that? So you're not into this anymore? And then John says, not into fighting all the time. Correct.

[Dennis Murphy]

Then the prosecutor turned to that January night. Brian Albert testified to having drinks with friends, including John and Karen, at the Waterfall Bar, before inviting everyone back to his place.

[Lester Holt]

John never came into my house that night. He would have been welcomed and the defendant would have been welcomed with open.

[Andrea Canning]

Arms had they come in.

[Lester Holt]

And I wish they had.

[Andrea Canning]

I really do.

[Dennis Murphy]

Former Massachusetts prosecutor Katherine Loftus followed the story, but wasn't involved in the case.

[H]

The people in the house said John never came in the house, Karen never came in the house. They were outside in a vehicle where the witnesses say that they saw the vehicle was close to where John o' Keefe's body was found.

[Dennis Murphy]

One of those witnesses was Jen McCabe. She described the dramatic call from Karen hours after the party broke up.

[Karen Reed]

She tells me that John didn't come.

[I]

Home, they got into a fight, and.

[Karen Reed]

That she left him at the waterfall.

[H]

Jan McCabe had to remind her, no, you were actually in front of the house. But then you left.

[Karen Reed]

And I say, karen, we saw you outside of my sister's.

[Lester Holt]

And what was her response to that?

[Karen Reed]

She told me that she didn't remember going there.

[Dennis Murphy]

And yet she testified it was Karen who insisted on going back to the Alberts in the middle of a blizzard to look for John. It was Karen who found his body beneath a mound of snow. And it was Karen who shouted the unthinkable as paramedics tried to save him.

[Lester Holt]

Is that something that she said once or more than once?

[I]

Three times. I hit him.

[Karen Reed]

I hit him. I hit him.

[Dennis Murphy]

And as for Jen's misspelled how long to die in the cold? Google search. The prosecutor anticipated the defense would bring it up, so he asked her about it. She adamantly denied she did the Google search at 2:27am and deleted it, insisting she did it after they found John's body and only because Karen asked her to.

[I]

At that point, she grabbed my hands and she said, google hypothermia.

[Karen Reed]

Google how long it takes to die in the cold. I believe I did it multiple times.

[I]

Because as I was typing it, I.

[Karen Reed]

Don'T know what else was coming up. She was screaming. My hands were shaking.

[Dennis Murphy]

A data expert had a simple explanation for the time discrepancy. The timestamp reflected the time Jen first opened her browser tab not when later searches were done.

[Lester Holt]

The timestamp is not updated.

[Dennis Murphy]

The prosecutor kept mining the digital and physical evidence investigators collected in the of case.

[Lester Holt]

So this is 10 seconds of data.

[Dennis Murphy]

This trooper focused on the data from Karen's SUV to show she hit him.

[Lester Holt]

So it's going straight. It stops and gets placed in reverse and then goes backward.

[Brian Albert]

The prosecution took data from the black box that they say shows that Karen backed up a number of feet.

[Lester Holt]

So the vehicle was traveling in reverse up to 24 miles per hour.

[Dennis Murphy]

And then there was the tail light. Trooper Michael Proctor, the lead investigator, who would become a lightning rod, took the stand.

[Lester Holt]

The right rear tail light had large pieces missing from it. Those are all items that you recovered from the front lawn area, is that correct? Correct. Essentially, the condition that they were in when you recovered them on that. On those respective dates, yes.

[Dennis Murphy]

Medical specialists testified these marks on John's arm showed how the broken tail light would have ripped his skin. Make no mistake, said the prosecutor, this was a crime committed when Karen rammed her SUV into John after a night of heavy drinking.

[Lester Holt]

She retrieves a drink from the table and appears to consume it.

[Dennis Murphy]

Bar security video showed Karen drinking vodka sodas earlier that evening.

[Lester Holt]

The video shows nine drinks being consumed.

[Dennis Murphy]

By the defendant at the hospital after John's body was found. Her alcohol level was just over the legal limit for driving.

[Lester Holt]

This is the retrograde extrapolation report that I did.

[Dennis Murphy]

A state toxicologist extrapolated that data and calculated that Karen's blood alcohol level must have been three times higher when she hit John.

[Lester Holt]

The result was a 0.292 gram percent.

[Dennis Murphy]

The prosecutor argued that as Karen left the scene in a rage, she continued venting in a series of voicemails.

[Lester Holt]

With the court's permission, if I could play that to the jury.

[Dennis Murphy]

Yes. John, I hate you.

[Brian Albert]

We only heard Karen Reed's voice in the courtroom a couple of times. We hear these loud, screaming, chaotic, frantic, vulgar, angry voicemails of Karen's that she left for John.

[Karen Reed]

Nobody knows what the you are, you pervert.

[Dennis Murphy]

These voicemails from Karen were intense. She used a lot of profanity.

[Brian Albert]

You could see the jurors. I saw the jurors, some of them looking at Karen.

[Karen Reed]

You're a loser yourself.

[Brian Albert]

And it was really a startling and stark experience for them.

[Dennis Murphy]

The prosecution rested. It was the defense's turn to stun the jury. Karen's lawyers had their case to present with a different theory, a different cast of villains.

[John O'Keefe]

You were looking for naked photographs of Ms. Reed as you sat in your office at 9:44pm.

[Dennis Murphy]

A few weeks into her trial, as Karen Reed drove to court with her attorneys, the sheer number of prosecution witnesses appeared to be taking its toll.

[Karen Reed]

I swear, this is like you do start to think they're really trying to bleed me dry here. What is the point of all these witnesses?

[Dennis Murphy]

In court, David Yannetti said the case wasn't just about John o' Keefe or Karen. It was about overzealous prosecutors, corrupt investigators, and people at the party house with a lot to hide.

[Lester Holt]

Karen Reed was framed. Her car never struck John o' Keefe. She did not cause his death. And that means that somebody else did.

[Dennis Murphy]

On cross, Alan Jackson asked the commonwealth's crash investigator why he was so certain Karen hit John.

[John O'Keefe]

If his arm, elbow, took the brunt of that entire neck, how do you account for the fact that he would suffer a broken bone? I don't know. He got hit in the arm and somehow got spun around. Just the arm, by the way. And spins his entire body around. 217 pound man. And launches him that way.

[Dennis Murphy]

It made no sense responding to another of Karen's attorneys. Even the state's own medical examiner couldn't say what exactly exactly caused the gash in the back of John's head.

[Karen Reed]

It could be any blunt object.

[Dennis Murphy]

It could also be the result of being struck with a large object, such as a baseball bat or a barbell. It's possible. And independent experts in crash reconstruction testified about John's injuries.

[Lester Holt]

The fact that we only have that head injury is inconsistent in this case with being struck by that tail light.

[John O'Keefe]

So was the tail light damage consistent or inconsistent with striking an arm?

[Lester Holt]

It's inconsistent for a number of reasons.

[Dennis Murphy]

But the defense still had a problem.

[I]

Three times I hit him.

[Karen Reed]

I hit him.

[I]

I hit him.

[Dennis Murphy]

Multiple witnesses said that they heard Karen say, I hit him.

[John O'Keefe]

Totally false. 100% false.

[Dennis Murphy]

Karen didn't take the stand to explain herself. This is what she told Dennis Murphy.

[Karen Reed]

I said, could I have hit him? Did I hit him?

[Lester Holt]

How could that have been? I mean, you dropped him all the time.

[Karen Reed]

I don't know what else could have been. I thought, did he somehow try to flag me down and maybe trip? And I ran over his foot and then he passed out drunk. I mean, I didn't think I hit him. Hit him. You're a loser yourself.

[Dennis Murphy]

As for those angry voicemails, the defense argued Karen left them because John had abandoned her in the car. John, I hate you. Then there was what happened at the bar earlier that night. ATF agent Brian Higgins was there Even though Karen had been flirting with him, she snubbed him. Jackson implied that was a motive to hurt John.

[John O'Keefe]

It bothered you enough to send her a text that said with six M's behind it.

[Lester Holt]

Okay.

[John O'Keefe]

And his text to her was? Well, as in what about me?

[Dennis Murphy]

What about us? Yeah, what about us?

[John O'Keefe]

Where do I fit in all this?

[Dennis Murphy]

When they all went to the party, Jackson insisted John went into the house, too. The defense's digital forensics expert said John's iPhone health data showed he was using stairs inside.

[Lester Holt]

This indicates three sets of floors. That represents elevation change, so it doesn't.

[Beth O'Keefe]

Indicate to us up or down.

[Dennis Murphy]

That was contrary to a prosecution expert who said that data showed John was in Karen's car on a hilly stretch of road. Jackson suggested those inside the house attacked John, maybe including Brian Albert, a former Marine.

[John O'Keefe]

Did you have any training in hand to hand combat?

[Dennis Murphy]

Yes. The defense attorney tried to pin him down.

[John O'Keefe]

Obviously, any detective would be trained in techniques that culprits might use or suspects might use to cover up crimes to thwart investigations, correct?

[Lester Holt]

No.

[John O'Keefe]

Never been trained in the fact that, I don't know, somebody might want to clean up blood at a scene.

[Andrea Canning]

No.

[Dennis Murphy]

Then a defense expert in emergency trauma testified John's arm had been mauled by.

[Karen Reed]

An animal, possibly a large dog.

[Dennis Murphy]

There's parallel lines and those were inflicted.

[Karen Reed]

By either teeth or claw marks.

[Dennis Murphy]

At the time of John's death, the Alberts owned a German shepherd mix named Chloe. The defense said that was covered up.

[John O'Keefe]

Your family got rid of Chloe.

[Andrea Canning]

Chloe was rehomed in May 2020.

[John O'Keefe]

We can use whatever words we want to rehomed, rehoused, whatever. But you got rid of her. She's no longer part of the Albert family, right?

[Andrea Canning]

Right.

[Dennis Murphy]

Jackson argued there was more evidence of a cover up. Albert and Higgins called each other around 2am Albert said they were butt dials.

[John O'Keefe]

Why Was there a 2:22am call between Brian Albert and Brian Higgins? Why five minutes later was Jen McCabe Google searching how long it takes to die in the cold? Why was all this happening? That that is all evidence of a.

[Dennis Murphy]

Massive cover up to John's family. To anyone who calls this a crazy conspiracy, what do you say to them?

[John O'Keefe]

There's nothing crazy about it. And conspiracies simply mean agreements. There were agreements to hide evidence, to obscure evidence that were all brought out during the course of the trial.

[Dennis Murphy]

But the defense saved its greatest firepower for Trooper Michael Proctor.

[John O'Keefe]

This case involves a Boston cop whose family you are actually connected to, correct?

[Lester Holt]

Loosely.

[Dennis Murphy]

Jackson took aim at the state's Key evidence, the taillight. Arguing it was corrupted by the lead investigator, he suggested Proctor could have smashed the taillight and planted the pieces at the scene.

[John O'Keefe]

Well, who had access to the taillight? Michael Proctor. Who had access to the scene? Michael Proctor.

[Dennis Murphy]

Proctor denied manipulating evidence to frame Karen Reed.

[John O'Keefe]

Trooper Proctor, you don't get to pick a suspect and then try to find evidence to support your choice, right?

[Lester Holt]

Correct.

[John O'Keefe]

But in this case, it's exactly what you did, isn't it?

[Lester Holt]

Absolutely not.

[Dennis Murphy]

The most explosive moments in the trial came as Jackson nailed Proctor on text messages he'd sent about Karen soon after his investigation began.

[John O'Keefe]

What did you write after you talked about going through the, quote, retarded client's phone?

[Lester Holt]

No nudes so far.

[John O'Keefe]

No nudes so far.

[Lester Holt]

Correct? Correct.

[John O'Keefe]

You were looking for naked photographs of Ms. Reed on a Wednesday night as you sat in Your office at 9:44pm.

[Lester Holt]

It was an inappropriate joke.

[John O'Keefe]

Do you believe that your text messages were reflective of an objective investigator?

[Lester Holt]

I believe poor jokes have, in unprofessional language, have no bearing on the integrity and the facts and physical evidence of this case.

[Dennis Murphy]

Jackson read Proctor's harshest texts, like this one.

[John O'Keefe]

Hopefully she kills herself. You believed, Trooper Proctor, that your life would be much easier if Karen Reed was just dead, didn't you?

[Lester Holt]

No, not at all. I had said it was a figure of speech. My emotions got the best of me. Based on, you know, the fact that Ms. Reed hit Mr. O' Keegan with her vehicle and left him to die on the side of the road.

[John O'Keefe]

She's a bitch. Is that right?

[Lester Holt]

Yes.

[John O'Keefe]

A whack job, Correct?

[Lester Holt]

Yes.

[Dennis Murphy]

No.

[John O'Keefe]

Ass. Correct?

[Lester Holt]

Yes.

[John O'Keefe]

Would you agree, Trooper Proctor, that you have dehumanized Karen Reed during the course of your investigation?

[Lester Holt]

I would say, based off that language, yes.

[Dennis Murphy]

Why out of the gate does he have this animosity for Karen Reid?

[John O'Keefe]

Why did he go so hard at Karen? The more emphasis that's on her, the less emphasis is on the homeowner.

[Dennis Murphy]

Could you see how the jury was reacting hearing those messages that Proctor sent?

[Brian Albert]

For me, watching the jury, it was probably the most compelling days where the visible disgust on many of the jurors faces was completely apparent.

[Dennis Murphy]

After eight weeks, the case was in the hands of the jurors. They were out for days. Then a stunning announcement. They could not reach a verdict. Your service is complete. I'm declaring a mistrial in this case for Karen. The mistrial meant more time, months to plan a new strategy for a new day in court.

[John O'Keefe]

We will not stop fighting. We have no quit for others like.

[Dennis Murphy]

Michael Proctor, the battle was just beginning. Did you crack the taillight to make it look a certain way?

[Lester Holt]

Absolutely not.

[Andrea Canning]

Building a business may feel like a big jump, but On Deck small business loans can help keep you afloat with lines of credit up to $100,000 and term loans up to 250,000, on deck lets you choose the loan that's right for your business. As a top rated online small business lender, OnDeck's team of loan advisors can help you find the right business loan to fit your needs. Visit ondeck.com for more information. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by Ondeck or Celtibank. Ondeck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval. DATELINE True Crime Weekly Andrea Canning and the Dateline team cover breaking crime news around the country. And now a special series with daily updates from the trial of Sean Combs.

[Dennis Murphy]

I'll be talking to NBC News correspondent Chloe Meloss every day after court about what she's seeing inside, the witnesses, the evidence and what it all means.

[Andrea Canning]

DATELINE True Crime Weekly Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dennis Murphy]

Today is the worst day of Abby's life. The 17 year old cradles her newborn son in her arms.

[Karen Reed]

They all saw how much I loved him. They didn't have to take him from me.

[Dennis Murphy]

Between 1945 and the early 1970s, families shipped their pregnant teenage daughters to maternity homes and forced them to secretly place their babies for adoption in hidden corners across America. It's still happening. My parents had me locked up in the godparent home against my will. They worked with them to manipulate me and to steal my son away from me. The godparent home is the brainchild of controversial preacher Jerry Falwell, the father of.

[Lester Holt]

The modern evangelical rite and the founder.

[Dennis Murphy]

Of Liberty University, where powerful men emboldened by their faith determine who gets to be a parent and who must give their child away. Follow Liberty Lost on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. Karen Reed would get another shot at clearing her name. But for lead investigator Michael Proctor, there was no do over. Immediately after the mistrial, he was fired. His wife Elizabeth.

[I]

Within two hours, a major from the state police called Mike when when we were both here and said, you need to turn in your badge. You need to turn in your gun.

[Dennis Murphy]

Within two hours.

[I]

Within two hours.

[Dennis Murphy]

Despite the defense portraying her husband as the villain in this case, she says that characterization is unfair. Who is Michael Proctor to you?

[I]

He is my best friend. He's an incredible father. He's loyal, he's a hard worker. And it's so frustrating, as his wife, to see that he's painted one way. And who I know him as and his family and his friends know him as is the complete opposite.

[Dennis Murphy]

She says her family has received death threats and ominous voicemails about kidnapping their dogs and their children.

[I]

These last two, two plus years have been a nightmare for our family.

[Dennis Murphy]

Was there a moment where you had to say to them, him, Is there something to this? Is there something you need to tell me?

[I]

Never.

[Karen Reed]

Nope.

[I]

Never. It never would have crossed my mind that he would do anything unethical with his job, because I know how much he does the right thing and how much he cared about this job and cared about getting justice for Officer John o' Keefe.

[Dennis Murphy]

Elizabeth admits she was caught off guard by her husband. He talked to her about them before he testified. So did he sit you down one night and say, there's something I need to tell you?

[I]

He didn't tell me the extent of what was said in the text messages because he didn't remember, like, the specific details of it. But he did say, there are some really embarrassing text messages that I have to read. And I said, okay, well, own it. And when he was reading them, it was, you know, very uncomfortable, and I understand why. It was shocking for everybody to hear that.

[Dennis Murphy]

You're his wife. How did it feel for you to hear?

[I]

I know what he said was immature, stupid, juvenile. So I wasn't deeply offended by his words, but it's still, you know, I would be lying if I wasn't mad. We've had many conversations since then, and it's. He's incredibly remorseful. But, you know, I'm not making excuses for his behavior because it's. It's inexcusable. The language that was used.

[Dennis Murphy]

It's one thing to be juvenile and say things to your buddies. When he's saying these things about her and he's the investigator, you know, that side of it looks really bad.

[I]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I absolutely can understand the. The public viewing it that way. And at the end of the day, you know, it was the evidence pointed to her, not his bias.

[Dennis Murphy]

Did Michael ever ask for your forgiveness for what he did?

[I]

Mm, absolutely. He did, you know, when he came home from. When he testified, and even over, you know, this last year, he has. Because he saw what. What the text message. The text messages have done to our entire family.

[Dennis Murphy]

Michael Proctor agreed to answer questions in the family's backyard. With everything that's happened, what is the most important thing to you that you want people to know out of all of this?

[Lester Holt]

I guess for people to know is that those text messages, as juvenile as they are, it doesn't. It's not me as a person. I vented after being involved in an investigation of a police officer and used words that I regret.

[Dennis Murphy]

People see those text messages, and they instantly jump to a conclusion about you, that you must be biased. You must be a bad person. And I'm sure many other.

[Lester Holt]

Yeah, yeah, I can see how people make that leap, because that's all they know about me. They don't know who I am. They don't know the kind of person that I am. They just see those text messages, and they immediately just assume I'm a bad person.

[Dennis Murphy]

What do you want to say to anyone who believes the narrative, the defense's narrative, that you are corrupt, that you framed Karen Reed?

[Lester Holt]

I. I laugh because it's such a ridiculous accusation. There's not one piece of evidence or fact to support that because it did not happen. I would never do something like that. Alan Jackson. Instead of arguing the facts and data, he's creating this Hollywood tale, calling me the boogeyman, saying I was running around town planting evidence and conspiring with witnesses.

[Dennis Murphy]

Did you crack the taillight to make it look a certain way?

[Lester Holt]

Absolutely not.

[Dennis Murphy]

Did you frame Karen Reid?

[Lester Holt]

Absolutely not.

[Dennis Murphy]

Proctor believes he should not have been fired for those text messages. He points out they were found on his personal phone obtained from his icloud account. He is fighting to get reinstated as a Massachusetts state trooper. Why do you believe you should get your job back?

[Lester Holt]

In 12 years, I've never had a single complaint. I've never been subject of any disciplinary actions. All my employee evaluations are either outstanding or excellent. And I still love the job. I still want to be a trooper, and I'm fighting for it. You know, I'm going through the appeals.

[Dennis Murphy]

Process now, and to anyone who thinks you should not get your job back.

[Lester Holt]

Because of this, I would say what's in your phone? What's in your private phone? Your personal phone. Private conversations. Have you ever had a. A moment of a prolapse of judgment where you're just airing stuff out on your personal phone? You have an expectation of privacy in that little device.

[Dennis Murphy]

He says even though these past few years have been tough for him and his family, he knows it's been far worse for the o' Keefes.

[Lester Holt]

No one's kind of been struggling more, I imagine, than the o' Keefe family. Losing a loved one, you know, a son, a Brother, a father figure.

[Dennis Murphy]

And the o' Keeffe struggle would continue as they waited for the next trial.

[Beth O'Keefe]

No matter what, we have to deal with justice for Johnny.

[Dennis Murphy]

Meanwhile, Karen Reed wasn't going anywhere. Neither were her supporters.

[Brian Albert]

Some are directly giving Karen a gift certificate to buy a certain suit, designer suit, that they want her to have it for herself.

[Dennis Murphy]

As Karen Reed's second trial approached, the fallout from the first one continued to ripple through the community. Ryan Albert had taken an early retirement from the Boston Police Department. His reputation tarnished, with some still questioning whether he played a role in John's death.

[Brian Albert]

No, I think that's a very loud but small group of people who are forwarding this idea of him being a suspicious character. But at the same time, there's nothing, no direct evidence that ties him to anything that could have possibly happened to John o' Keeffe.

[H]

It's difficult to take this sort of off your reputation. You know who you are anywhere you go, that anyone specifically locally is going to know who you are. And so I think it's difficult to underestimate the impact that this case has had on some of the civilian witnesses lives.

[Dennis Murphy]

Turtle Boy still faces witness intimidation charges.

[Lester Holt]

Six of them were dismissed. So I still have a handful left.

[Dennis Murphy]

As for Karen Reed, her hefty legal bills kept growing.

[H]

Attorney Jackson asserted that, you know, her legal bills just for her attorneys, was someplace close to $5 million.

[Dennis Murphy]

She sold her house and encouraged her supporters to keep fundraising. And this time, the Free Karen Reid movement got innovative.

[H]

What they do is, you know, raffle off, you know, private dinners with Alan Jackson and Karen Reed, sort of inviting somebody into sort of the intimate, you know, conversations that they're having. There's a lot of people who want to engage in that and therefore donate money to the raffles. And so she has a legal defense fund that is just over a million dollars.

[Brian Albert]

Now, it is not normal for a defense attorney to fundraise with a client in a celebrity sort of way. Alan Jackson cooks for the small group of people for these high money donors. And some are directly giving Karen not just money for her defense fund, but a gift certificate to buy a certain suit, designer suit, that they want her to have it for herself, not just to pay for the, you know, the defense team.

[Dennis Murphy]

Karen didn't let up on her media campaign, continuing to push her side of the story. Talking to Vanity Fair, Boston 25 News.

[Karen Reed]

I've seen the more information the public has, the more they, they understand what we already know.

[Dennis Murphy]

And appearing in a docu series that aired on I D I don't think.

[Karen Reed]

Anyone with any logic would think I killed John on purpose by hitting him.

[Dennis Murphy]

John o' Keefe's family found it hard to watch. They would have preferred to hear Karen tell her story in the courtroom. It's okay for tv, not for the courtroom.

[Beth O'Keefe]

Exactly.

[Dennis Murphy]

Her firsthand account.

[Beth O'Keefe]

Exactly. I think that's also a big part of the defense is let's get a narrative out there, you know, and see what we can do and see who grabs hold of it. We wanted to do our talking in the courtroom and we wanted the evidence and we wanted the witnesses to tell the story of what happened that night.

[Dennis Murphy]

As the prosecution prepared for the next trial, John's family was ready. And the family is 100% on board with that.

[Beth O'Keefe]

We are indeed. You know, again, no matter what, we have to deal with justice for Johnny.

[Dennis Murphy]

What would you say to Karen Reed?

[Beth O'Keefe]

I just wish you would admit what.

[Dennis Murphy]

You did through your eyes. She has put your family through hell.

[Beth O'Keefe]

She has put my family through hell. She has put other people's families through hell to save herself, take accountability and do the right thing.

[Dennis Murphy]

For trial number two, Karen Reed still faced charges of second degree murder, manslaughter, and leaving the scene of an accident.

[Brian Albert]

Most people believe that Karen Reed was overcharged with murder. And here we are again. Second trial overcharged with murder.

[Dennis Murphy]

This time, a special prosecutor was brought in to lead the team. Hank Brennan is a former prosecutor turned defense attorney who defended infamous crime boss Whitey Bolton.

[H]

I think that he was able to come in, look at what happened during trial number one, look at the evidence in the case and really reevaluated, how are we going to try this case? Don't get into the defense theory. Don't call anybody. That is unnecessary to the case.

[Dennis Murphy]

Nine months passed. Another explosive trial was about to get underway. And this time it would be different. No new evidence from Karen's car.

[Lester Holt]

There was a SD card or a micro SD card that was on the circuit boards of one of the modules that was never looked at.

[Dennis Murphy]

And new information from John's phone.

[H]

The phone battery temperature drops, drops, drops precipitously throughout the night.

[Lester Holt]

My opinion is that the device never moved far away from the flagpole.

[H]

The phone never went in the house.

[Andrea Canning]

Building a business may feel like a big jump, but OnDeck Small Business Loans can help keep you afloat with lines of credit up to $100,000 and term loans up to 250,000. OnDeck lets you choose the loan that's right for your business. As a top rated online small business, lender OnDeck's team of loan advisors can help you find the right business loan to fit your needs means. Visit ondeck.com for more information. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by On Deck or Celtic Bank. On Deck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval.

[Dennis Murphy]

As the day wraps up, get the scoop on what's been happening with here's the Scoop, a new podcast from NBC News, with me, your host Yasmin Vasugian, along with Morgan Chesky and Brian Chung. We'll take a deep dive into the day's top stories with NBC News's trusted journalists. It's a fresh take that's shown, sharp, thoughtful and it's informative, bringing you closer to the headlines and conversations that are shaping our world. From the front page to the zeitgeist, all in 15 minutes or less, here's the scoop from NBC News. Listen daily on Apple Podcasts hey everyone, I'm Jenna Bush Hager from the Today show and I'm excited to share my podcast Open Book with Jenna. It is back for season two. Each week, celebrities, experts, friends and authors will share candid stories with me about their lives and new projects. Guests like Rebecca Yarros, Kristin Hannah, Ego Wodem and more Like a good book, you'll leave feeling inspired and entertained. Join me for my podcast Open Book with Jenna. Listen now on Apple Podcast.

[Lester Holt]

You ready for the second round?

[Dennis Murphy]

Karen from the outset, Karen Reid's second trial looked different from the first. Gone was the carnival like atmosphere outside court.

[H]

There was a buffer zone that was ordered by Judge Kanoni, even wider than.

[Dennis Murphy]

The one in place a year earlier.

[Brian Albert]

People were not allowed to have shirts on or signs or gather in any way around the courthouses. It really brought a level of gravitas to the trial that it should have had. I think from the beginning that this was a murder trial.

[Dennis Murphy]

New rules applied inside court as well. Reporters and bloggers competed for seats through a lottery system, sidelining outspoken figures like Turtle Boy. So I haven't been able to get in the courtroom as much and so that's why you haven't seen me. Also missing from the action, previous high profile witnesses Brian Higgins, Brian Elbert and Michael Proctor.

[John O'Keefe]

Thank you, your Honor.

[Dennis Murphy]

Special prosecutor Hank Brennan would not be putting them on the stand. A tactical shift in the Commonwealth's case.

[H]

From I think Attorney Brennan's perspective. If the defense wants to, you know, call Brian Albert, if they want to call Michael Proctor, if they want to question individuals inside the house, they can do that, but they're not necessarily necessary to my case.

[Lester Holt]

You're going to hear from her own.

[John O'Keefe]

Lips in many of her statements. Her admissions to extraordinary intoxications, her admissions.

[Lester Holt]

To driving the alexis, her admissions to.

[John O'Keefe]

Being angry at dawn that night, he.

[Dennis Murphy]

Played clips from that docu series that aired on id.

[Karen Reed]

I have had a few cocktails. I didn't black out. John and I argued the morning of the 28th, Friday morning.

[Dennis Murphy]

And this one from her dateline interview.

[Karen Reed]

I didn't think I hit him, hit him, but could I have clipped him? Could I have tagged him in the knee and incapacitated him?

[Dennis Murphy]

But the heart of his case lay in new evidence recovered from Karen's SUV and John's cell phone.

[Lester Holt]

How close is the phone to that flag pole? I believe very close.

[Dennis Murphy]

The prosecution's cell phone expert used a unique way to track John's movements after the couple arrived at the house. His iPhone battery temperature.

[Lester Holt]

There's a temperature sensor built inside the phone within the battery.

[Dennis Murphy]

He testified John's iPhone battery was 77 degrees when he and Karen were in the SUV. Then the battery temperature dropped.

[H]

What the commonwealth wants you to take from the the battery temperature is that you can almost see when he gets out of the vehicle and the phone battery temperature drops, Drops. Drops precipitously throughout the night.

[Lester Holt]

The battery temperature data never indicates that the device went from a cold environment to a warm environment. My opinion is that the device never moved far away from the flagpole.

[H]

So really, what? The point of that testimony is to show that the phone never went in the house. Right. That it was in the front lawn, that it was on John o' Keefe, that he never went anyplace else but that front lawn.

[Dennis Murphy]

A digital analyst for the prosecution testified he made a critical discovery in Karen Reed's Lexus.

[Lester Holt]

I discovered that there was a SD card or a micro SD card that was on the circuit boards of one of the modules that was never looked at.

[Dennis Murphy]

The prosecutor said that tiny card yielded a massive clue about the timing of the the crime.

[Lester Holt]

When the vehicle is powered on, this clock starts to run.

[Dennis Murphy]

By comparing the clocks on the Lexus and John's iPhone, the analyst deduced the time he believed Karen hit John.

[Lester Holt]

The time of that event with the clock variance adjusted is between 12:32:04 and 12 hours, 32 minutes and 12 seconds.

[H]

There was real strength to what he evaluated on that SD card, and it really enhanced the credibility of the commonwealth's argument.

[Dennis Murphy]

Good morning, sir. Then the prosecution's key witness took the stand.

[Lester Holt]

I'm an accident reconstructionist and biomechanical engineer.

[Dennis Murphy]

Using an animation he created from the SUV's black box, he detailed the moment Karen allegedly struck John. There was her Lexus arriving to the party house.

[Lester Holt]

So that's the vehicle, the Lexus pulling forward and then it accelerated in reverse.

[Dennis Murphy]

The prosecution's theory was the same as in the first trial. Karen kept her foot on the gas, accelerating to about 24 miles per hour when she hit John.

[Lester Holt]

The vehicle is going backwards, approximately 23.9 miles per hour.

[Dennis Murphy]

The prosecution experts said hitting John at nearly 24 miles per hour was more than enough speed to break the taillight.

[John O'Keefe]

Have you reached an opinion whether the Defendants Lexus struck Mr. John O' Keefe on January 29, 2022 around 12:32am yes.

[Lester Holt]

Based on the totality of the evidence, with the regional degree of scientific certainty, that is what happened.

[Dennis Murphy]

What's more, he used 3D laser scans to show Karen could not have broken the tail light when her Lexus bumped John's car about five hours later.

[Lester Holt]

What we know is that when it first came to a stop right before that, it was going about 0.7 miles per hour.

[Dennis Murphy]

He said that was too slow to break the taillight.

[John O'Keefe]

In any of the videos that you have that show Mr. O' Keefe's vehicle after the defendant's Lexus touches it, do you ever see any remnants or shards or fragments of tail light on the ground?

[Dennis Murphy]

I do not to explain John's arm injuries. He went low tech blue paint on a replica Lexus.

[Lester Holt]

And then I have backed up sideways side, shuffled into the Lexus with my arm out, basically where someone of Mr. O' Keefe's height's arm would contact the rear tail.

[H]

If the Commonwealth is saying this is what happened, it does help to see a, you know, a real visual, physical representation of it.

[Lester Holt]

I show the paint transfer onto my arm. The approximate location of the tail light lines up with the approximate location of the lacerations.

[Dennis Murphy]

This time around, the prosecution made a bigger deal out of what John was wearing. Brennan said John's hoodie had holes in the right side sleeve caused by the jagged edges of the broken tail light. And a state crime lab analyst examined fragments that came from his clothing.

[Karen Reed]

One clear piece of plastic as well as several pieces of red plastic.

[Dennis Murphy]

She determined they matched Karen's tail light.

[H]

It ultimately, really, from my perspective, does come down to the physical evidence. It does come down to the microscopic pieces in his sweater that were discovered.

[Dennis Murphy]

The prosecutor argued the pieces could only have ended up there if Karen had smashed her suv into John, Likely in a jealous fury. He replayed her angry voicemails.

[John O'Keefe]

You other girl, you're there.

[Dennis Murphy]

Jen mccabe said infidelity was very much on Karen's mind when they later searched for John.

[Karen Reed]

And at that point, she. She had asked if John could be cheating on her. I didn't know what the hell she was talking about.

[Dennis Murphy]

She said. Her shock was quickly overshadowed by what came next. Karen's reaction. After finding John's body, Jen repeated her testimony from the first trial.

[Karen Reed]

I hit him. I hit him. I hit him.

[Lester Holt]

Your honor, the commonwealth rests.

[Dennis Murphy]

The prosecutor rested the commonwealth's case. And the defense was ready to attack. Hack all of it.

[John O'Keefe]

Did the vehicle control history record whether there was any history of a collision on that car ever?

[Lester Holt]

No.

[Dennis Murphy]

As the marathon trial shifted to the defense, More of Karen's supporters gathered to cheer her on.

[Karen Reed]

I think the video speaks for itself.

[Dennis Murphy]

Reporters scrambled to get her daily take on the proceedings. How are you feeling after today?

[Karen Reed]

I feel very good, thank you.

[Lester Holt]

How do you feel about the defense case so far?

[Karen Reed]

I feel strong.

[John O'Keefe]

There was no collision with John o' keefe.

[Dennis Murphy]

Karen byrne's team finally was telling its story to a second jury. That she was framed for murder and hounded by a corrupt investigator.

[John O'Keefe]

This case carries a malignancy, One that has spread through the investigation. It spread through the prosecution from the very start. From the jump. A cancer that cannot be cut out. A cancer that cannot be cured. And that cancer has a name. His name is Michael Proctor.

[Dennis Murphy]

But the defense would not be calling Proctor to the stand. Instead, it would introduce his infamous text through other witnesses. It would also present its own scientists testing and data to prove Karen's innocence.

[Brian Albert]

We are kind of back to an old fashioned trial where we are seeing the defense just trying to bring enough reasonable doubt in every single pillar to hope the jury finds not guilty on all accounts.

[Dennis Murphy]

The team called a new medical expert to the stand. A forensic pathologist said John's head injury did not indicate a fall to the ground as the prosecution claimed.

[Brian Albert]

If you fell back on grass, you.

[Dennis Murphy]

Would tend to see.

[Brian Albert]

You might see grass in the wound.

[Dennis Murphy]

Or you would tend to see an.

[Brian Albert]

Irregular kind of crisscross pattern of the flattening grass.

[Beth O'Keefe]

And that's not what we have here.

[Dennis Murphy]

On Mr. O' Keefe. The defense didn't call Brian Albert or Brian Higgins, but did nod to the conspiracy theory that John was likely beaten inside the Albert home and attacked by their dog. Good afternoon and welcome back, Dr. Russell. The defense asked this dog bite expert if her Opinion on what caused those marks had changed since the first trial. It had. They were inflicted as the result of.

[H]

A dog attack and through either the.

[Karen Reed]

Action of the dog or the decedent pulling away the teeth made these abrasions.

[Dennis Murphy]

The defense also rolled out a parade of crash experts.

[Lester Holt]

I practice in the field of accident reconstruction.

[Dennis Murphy]

The first testified that data on the newly discovered SD card didn't prove the timing of a collision. And he said there was no data showing Karen's SUV even hit John.

[John O'Keefe]

Is there a data recorder on the SUV? 570 that's designed to record impact?

[Lester Holt]

Yes.

[John O'Keefe]

Did the vehicle control history record whether there was any history of a collision on that car ever?

[Dennis Murphy]

No.

[Lester Holt]

This is the liftgate tail light assembly this side.

[Dennis Murphy]

Expert conducted tests using a Lexus like Karen's and a dummy dressed in clothing exactly like John's.

[John O'Keefe]

What were you trying to find out?

[Lester Holt]

What happens when you impact an arm with a Lexus tail light at various speeds. So you're looking at a top down drone video with the Lexus here on the left that will accelerate in reverse up to 24 miles an hour.

[Dennis Murphy]

He testified at 24 miles per hour. The dummy's army broke the exterior plastic of the tail light but not the underlying layer the way it was broken on Karen's suv.

[Lester Holt]

There is a very small crack right here in the underlying diffuser. But all of the remaining part of the diffuser in terms of this portion here and here are all intact and same with this portion of it.

[Brian Albert]

What the defense did here, I think is took a warts and all scientific experiment and said, sure, tail light could have been cracked at this speed, but in order for it to be broken to the amount that the commonwealth alleges, it would have been going faster than Karen Reed's vehicle traveled.

[Lester Holt]

Based upon the test results, it's inconsistent with striking an arm.

[Dennis Murphy]

After seven weeks of trial testimony, the defense's final expert witness took the stand.

[Lester Holt]

I do biomechanics, so I look at injury causation.

[Dennis Murphy]

He said if Karen Reed's Lexus had struck John O' Keefe at 24 mph, more damage would be evident. In John's arm X rays and autopsy.

[John O'Keefe]

Photos, would you expect to see bruising, at least? Bruising all over the arm at the points of contact?

[Lester Holt]

Absolutely.

[John O'Keefe]

Did you see any trauma on John o' Keeffe's arm that was suggestive of an impact of that nature, of that size of that force?

[Lester Holt]

There was no trauma. There were no fractures. There was nothing at the alleged point of contact which would Indicate an impact that produces thousands of pounds of force on the arm. No evidence of it whatsoever.

[Dennis Murphy]

He testified the 36 scratches on John's arm should have caused a corresponding number of holes in John's hoodie.

[John O'Keefe]

How many defects were noted by the crime lab in Mr. O' Keefe's right sleeve?

[Lester Holt]

Nine defects.

[John O'Keefe]

In your opinion, were any of the injuries that you saw suffered by John o' Keefe consistent with having been struck by the subject, Lexus?

[Dennis Murphy]

No, they are not on cross. Prosecutor Brennan attacked the expert for ignoring what was found in the snow on that freezing January day.

[Lester Holt]

Do you know how this tail light light shard got there? That wasn't part of my analysis.

[John O'Keefe]

Did you do any analysis how these broken tail light shards got into Mr. O' Keefe's clothes?

[Lester Holt]

No, I did not.

[John O'Keefe]

Mr. O' Keefe's hat. Did you consider how that hat ended.

[Lester Holt]

Up on the ground in front of 34 Fairview? No, sir.

[John O'Keefe]

Do you add a little bit of common sense in the equation? When you're considering the evidence, it's considering.

[Lester Holt]

All of the evidence, right? You look at the physics, it tells you what it is. I mean, if you don't like it and you don't think it fits, well. Sorry. It is what it is. That's the science.

[Dennis Murphy]

It was time for closing arguments. Then the case would be in the jurors hands. Karen, once again at their mercy.

[Lester Holt]

You had said before, you have. You have butterflies at this stage. Are you feeling those?

[Karen Reed]

Yeah.

[Dennis Murphy]

For seven weeks, jurors watched a battle of titans, top tier attorneys arguing over how John o' Keefe died. Now each side had a final shot to persuade the jurors jury.

[Karen Reed]

What can we expect to hear? All the facts, all the truth.

[Dennis Murphy]

The defense went first.

[John O'Keefe]

There is no evidence that John was hit by a car. None. How much more reasonable doubt could there be?

[Dennis Murphy]

Jackson attacked the police investigation, especially lead investigator Michael Proctor.

[John O'Keefe]

This case was corrupted from the start. And most fatally, it was corrupted by a lead investigator whose misconduct infected every single part of this case, from the top to the bottom.

[Dennis Murphy]

The prosecution was quick to counter by focusing on the data, saying everything else was a distraction.

[John O'Keefe]

We know exactly, step by step, where they were. We know in that window, she hits him because he never moves again.

[Dennis Murphy]

Brennan insisted her actions added up to second degree murder, that it didn't matter if Karen wanted to kill John. All that mattered was that she knew her actions could be deadly.

[John O'Keefe]

She doesn't even have to know she hit him. But she did.

[Dennis Murphy]

She did.

[John O'Keefe]

And she left a man who was kind and Generous and thoughtful. She left him alone.

[Lester Holt]

She left him alone to die.

[Dennis Murphy]

Finally, after 49 witnesses and theatrics inside and outside the courtroom, you may retire and deliberate your verdict. The case went to the jury. While jurors deliberated, the crowds outside grew.

[H]

I'm here to support Karen and her entire family.

[Dennis Murphy]

I mean, it's been hell the last.

[Beth O'Keefe]

Three and a half years watching this.

[Dennis Murphy]

Poor family be tortured. The victim here is John, who's being forgotten about.

[Karen Reed]

And I think that justice needs to.

[Brian Albert]

Be serve for John.

[Dennis Murphy]

Then, on the fourth day of deliberations, a verdict. Karen Reed would finally learn her fate.

[Lester Holt]

Murder in the second degree.

[Dennis Murphy]

What say you?

[Lester Holt]

Is the defendant of fire?

[Dennis Murphy]

Guilty or not guilty? Not guilty. Operating under the influence of liquor by operating a motor vehicle.

[Lester Holt]

The blood alcohol level of 0.08 or greater.

[Dennis Murphy]

So say you, Mr. Foreman? Yes, ma' am. Leaving the scene after accident resulting in deaths. Defendant not guilty or guilty. Not guilty of murder only guilty of operating under the influence. The least serious charge. The judge sentenced her to one year probation and a mandatory driver alcohol education program. Three and a half years after John o' Keefe died, Karen Reese Reed walked out of court a free woman, she and her team giving the love sign to a mob of adoring fans jubilant over the jury's decision.

[Karen Reed]

I could not be standing here without these amazing supporters who have supported me and my team financially and more importantly, emotionally. No one has fought harder for justice for John o' Keefe than I have.

[Dennis Murphy]

Beth, a member of John's extended family, was outraged by that claim.

[Beth O'Keefe]

The defendant did not fight for justice for Johnny. She and her family have not fought for anything except for Karen Reed.

[Dennis Murphy]

It was not what you were looking for.

[Beth O'Keefe]

It was definitely not what we. What I was looking for. You know, it's been three years that we've been hopeful and patient and trusting the process and, you know, to hear the verdict was heartbreaking.

[Dennis Murphy]

Does it make you mad? Sad?

[Beth O'Keefe]

You know, at first there's grief, then it's anger. It's anger that outside sources, outside people can influence what happens in a courtroom and can impact the results of a pretty cut and dry case.

[Dennis Murphy]

One good thing you told me about this is that you can finally have this chapter of all of this behind you.

[Beth O'Keefe]

A positive is Johnny can be at peace in the family and friends.

[H]

Can.

[Dennis Murphy]

Grieve, and you have each other.

[Beth O'Keefe]

It's very true.

[Dennis Murphy]

Homeowner Brian Albert and others accused of trying to frame Karen Reed released a statement today. We mourn with John's family and lament the cruel reality that this prosecution was infected by lies and conspiracy theories spread by Karen Reed her defense team and some in the media Happy I'm happy Karen isn't finished with the justice John's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her so then we take marshmallow Right So now John's family and friends hold onto memories and think about what might have been he should be with his family. Yep.

[Beth O'Keefe]

You know he loved his family he loved his friends Johnny just loved being there and being a role model do.

[Dennis Murphy]

You ever go to his grave I.

[Lester Holt]

Don'T yeah I guess what I do there is between me and him.

[Dennis Murphy]

How much do you miss him?

[Lester Holt]

You kind of go your whole life and you hope you make a couple good friends and he was one of them and he was one in a million and yeah I miss him There isn't anybody that knew Johnny o' Keefe that doesn't feel his loss. That's all for now I'm Lester Holt thanks for joining us It.