← Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield
Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield
"I Saw Nothing": Snow Plow Driver Stands Firm | Karen Read Trial Day 27
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Ashley Banfield
Foreign I'm Ashley Banfield and this is drop dead serious day 27 of the Karen Reed trial. And it brought two very different witnesses to the stand who both seem to corroborate Karen Reed's version of events. After all, we are in the defense's case. A snowplow driver who says he circled Fairview Road again and again on the night that John o' Keefe died and says he saw nothing. And a friend who says the last thing she saw between Karen Reed and John o' Keefe that night was love. A forehead kiss, a warm goodbye, and two people walking towards Karen Reed's suv. And there was one other revelation made in court today, not by a witness, but by the judge. And it will have a significant impact on how court plays out for the rest of the week. I'll tell you all about that in a hot minute. That's a clue. But first, let's dive right into today's testimony. The day began with Brian Loughran, the Canton snowplow driver who told jurors that he passed by 34 Fairview Road multiple times on that snowy night. That John o' Keefe was found frozen in the front yard. Every time Loughran passed by the house, he said he saw nothing. Not a body, not a person, not even a disturbance on the lawn outside of Brian Albert's house. He said the area around the flagpole was empty over and over again, even as he drove past in 20 minute intervals between 2:45am and 3:30am and when asked directly if he saw a six foot man lying in the snow, his answer was blunt. Quote, I saw nothing. He told the jury he would have noticed something out of the ordinary, especially because he knew that house well, said he delivered pizzas there and that he grew up in that neighborhood. And folks, this matters because prosecutors say Karen Reed killed John o' Keefe with her SUV just after midnight. So if that's true, John's body would have been lying there by the flagpole each and every time that Brian Loughran drove his snowplow past 34 Fairview Road. And if you haven't seen a picture of that house, flagpole is out front on the lawn, way down by the street. But then cross examination began. Prosecutor Hank Brennan pressed him about earlier statements, pointing out that Loughran had changed the timeline of his snowplow route since first speaking with the defense. Brennan asked about the visibility that night, about whether he saw dumpsters or whether he missed details or might have just been mistaken. At one point, Brennan even brought up the fact that Loughran once hit a portable basketball net while plowing. Did you see it? Brennan asked. Loughran said yes, but admitted that he just didn't adjust properly. Loughran said yes, but admitted that he didn't adjust properly. And then Brennan brought up Turtle Boy. That's right. Brennan suggested that Loughran's testimony may have been influenced or even harassed by the controversial blogger who's been covering the Reid case from day one, a man whose handle on YouTube is turtle boy. Loughran said he wasn't intimidated by Turtle Boy, but admitted that he did pose for a photo with people from the blog just to avoid confrontation. He said he didn't want the attention, but that the attention found him. Later, Brennan asked about a photograph released during the first trial, one that allegedly tried to link Loughran to the Albert family that lived at 34 Fairview Road. Loughran admitted it was aggravating and that he never gave anyone perm to post it. And that was that for the snowplow driver. Next up, Karina Kithis. The defense's next witness was a local mom from Canton who knows both the McCabes and John O' Keefe because their kids play sports together. She was at the Waterfall Bar and Grill at the same time as Karen Reed and John o' Keefe that fateful night. Karina said the mood at the bar was upbeat and and even affectionate. At one point, she said she saw John o' Keefe kiss Karen Reed on the forehead and told the jury, quote, that's the sweetest thing I've ever seen. She said she left around midnight with Karen and Jennifer McCabe and described something unusual. As they were walking out. She said Jen McCabe put her arm around Karen and started saying, quote, you're coming with me. You're coming with me. Karen looked confused, asking, where are we going? And after that, Karina said she saw Karen leave with John and the last image she had was of the two of them walking towards Karen's suv. Karina said she didn't think it was the problem that Karen was driving that night, even though they had all been drinking on cross. The prosecutor, Hank Brennan, kept it brief. He asked if Karina remembered Karen heading towards the driver's side of the suv. Karina said yes. He asked about the atmosphere that night. Was it celebratory? Yes. Did she see Karen hugging Jennifer McCabe? She did. He asked about John O' Keefe. Was he kind, generous, thoughtful? Karina said, absolutely. And then her spin on the witness stand was over. No redirection. No further questions. With the Testimony wrapped up. Judge Beverly Canoni called the attorneys to sidebar to talk about scheduling. And the judge let the jury go early and told them, guess what? You are getting Thursday off. And why? Because it's going to be hot. Literally. The weather is going to be scorching and the courthouse is expected to get noisy with fans and AC units running non stop. And since this trial is already ahead of schedule, everyone agreed to give the jurors the day to cool off. And I want to give you a note here about a former colleague of mine at Court TV, Vinny Politen. Vinny talks about a case about 20 years ago in this courthouse that he covered. Apparently, it was scorching hot. There was not AC or at least not enough of it. And one of the witnesses was sweating like crazy. And that is important because if a witness is sweating, maybe the jurors can't tell if it's the heat or the nerves, right? So better you get an accurate, you know, rendition of your witness. Court is still expected to resume on Friday, though, with a full day of testimony. So what do we learn today? A snowplow driver who says he saw nothing. No body, no chaos, just a quiet, empty lawn each time he passed the house. On the night the Commonwealth says Karen Reed killed John o' Keefe with her SUV and then just left him there to freeze out in front of 34 Fairview Road. And we heard about a mother who says the last thing she saw that night was love, a kiss on the forehead and two people walking off happily together. But the more important question is, what will the jury make of all of this? We'll be back on Friday with another full day inside the courtroom. Until then, I'm Ashley Banfield. Thanks so much for listening. And remember, the truth isn't just serious, it's drop dead. Seriously.