A (33:30)
Kearney's goal was to intimidate witnesses. He repeatedly called them cop killers and tried to mess with their heads. Not only was this illegal, but there was a chance his methods could actually turn public opinion against Karen. Kearney didn't seem to care, but the courts certainly did. A month later, the district attorney released a video statement condemning Kearney's actions and warning against harassing witnesses. The DA also said he didn't buy the conspiracy claims. For a second, he suggested if Kearney's allegations were true, it meant multiple police departments, EMTs, fire personnel, the medical examiner and prosecutors were all in on a cover up. And that simply wasn't possible. There was one problem with the DA's argument, though. Just a year before John's death, a real cover up had happened involving a Canton woman and police officers from Stoughton, a town less than five miles away. In 2021, a 23 year old woman named Sandra Birchmore was found dead in her Canton apartment. She was also pregnant. The state medical examiner ruled her death a suicide and the DA's office said there was no evidence of foul play. This was the same DA's office that was now prosecuting Karen Reed. But a forensic pathologist hired by Sandra's estate came to a very different conclusion. He found evidence that Sandra had been strangled. He also discovered that both a rape kit and fetal tissue collected during the autopsy had never been tested for DNA. Further investigation revealed that three Stoughton police officers had sexually exploited Sandra. One of them, Detective Matthew Farwell, had begun a sexual relationship with her when she was only 15 years old. Before she died, Sandra had told friends that Farwell was the father of her unborn child. Farwell was also the last person to see her alive. Eight months after John Okeefe's murder, the allegations of Farwell's involvement in Sandra's death became public. He and the other officers involved resigned and eventually Farwell was charged with murder. Blogger Aidan Kearney regularly referenced Sandra Birchmore's death. He argued that if police from the next town over could do something so heinous to Sandra, then Canton authorities could do the same in John's case. But Kearney was walking a fine line and by October 2023, his time was up. That month he was arrested on charges of witness intimidation related to to the case. Kearney insisted he was exercising his First Amendment rights. But even with Kearney off the streets of Canton, his influence was still felt amongst Karan's supporters. And the movement he fueled had no signs of slowing down. As jury selection began in mid April 2024, protesters gathered outside the courthouse with Free Karen Reed signs and T shirts. Inside, John's family and friends sat quietly wearing justice for JJ buttons. When the trial officially started on April 29, it followed two competing narratives. One built on forensic evidence, the other on distrust. Karen's lawyers laid out the claims that had filled headlines that Karen was the victim of a vast conspiracy between law enforcement agencies. Meanwhile, the prosecution set out to dismantle their story point by point. First there was the taillight. Karen's Lexus had a shattered taillight at the time it was seized by police. Karen's attorneys claimed she'd clipped the car pulling out of the garage the morning she went to go find him. But the lead investigator, State Trooper Michael Proctor, claimed he'd found three pieces of the taillight near where John o' Keefe was found at the Alberts house. Michael said this proved Karen hit her boyfriend with her car. But Karen claimed he'd planted the evidence in the courtroom. The prosecution was able to show the jury that fragments of Karen's taillight weren't just found in the snow, but also on John's clothing. If that was true, it was difficult to believe the evidence had been planted there after the fact. The prosecution also addressed the inconsistencies in the timeline provided by Trooper Michael Proctor. Michael wrote in his report that he seized Karen's car at 5:30pm Just minutes later across town at the Alberts house, police found the three pieces of taillight. But Karen claimed the report was wrong. She and her family and a local cop witnessed Michael seize the car at 4:12pm Giving him plenty of time to bring pieces of her broken taillight to Albert's house to plant his evidence before their discovery at 5:30pm in court, prosecutors said the discrepancy was simply a clerical error and that Michael fixed it later. Yes, there had been 78 minutes where Karen's car and more importantly the taillight were under Proctor's control. But the DA assured the court that Michael was never alone with the vehicle and never returned to the Alberts home after the SUV was seized. And there was simply no way he could have planted evidence no matter what the defense alleged. The state also presented data from Karen's SUV that showed she had reversed at high speed right around the time she allegedly hit John with Her car. It didn't look great for Karen, but her defense team came prepared. They hit back with their own stack of evidence. They cited an FBI expert who disagreed with the state's crash analysis, saying the evidence did not definitively show John died from being hit by a vehicle. They pointed to data from John's Apple watch that showed he took roughly 80 steps and moved up or down three floors around the time Karen said she dropped him off. This suggested he had gone. Inside the Alberts home, there was also a series of strange phone calls between Jennifer McCabe, Brian Albert, his wife, and Brian Higgins. They had all been placed in the early morning hours of January 29, after the time John was suspected to have died. But before he was found, the four of them claimed the calls back and forth to one another were. Were all butt dials, even though data showed some of them had been picked up. And then there were the phones themselves. Brian Albert admitted that he got rid of his phone the day before a court order was issued requiring him to preserve its contents. He said he didn't know the order was coming, and he simply traded it in for a newer model. ATF agent Brian Higgins also destroyed his phone and SIM card. He said a target in another case had gotten hold of his personal number. It was possible both men were telling the truth, and the disappearances of their phones were purely coincidental. But the defense knew what they were doing. By bringing it up, they were introducing reasonable doubt. As the weeks went on, both sides seemed locked in a standoff. The state relied on science and procedure, the defense on doubt and distrust. But eventually, the jury was sent away to deliberate. They did so for nearly a week. Then, on July 1, 2024, the foreman came back with a decision that no one had been expecting. The jury was hung. They couldn't come to an agreement on the case, and the judge declared a mistrial. A new trial was set for January 2025. Meanwhile, fallout from the case spread through the ranks of law enforcement. State trooper Michael Proctor was suspended without pay for his biased conduct during the investigation, including the explicit texts he sent about Karen. And eventually he was fired. And Canton police officer Kevin Albert, Brian Albert's brother, was placed on temporary leave for getting drunk while investigating another case. Despite all this, the proceedings against Karen continued. And after months of pretrial motions and hearings, her second trial attempted officially began in April 2025. The defense came in swinging. They reiterated their claims that the entire investigation had been tainted by bias and misconduct. And they specifically called out Michael Proctor. Karen's lawyer, Alan Jackson, Even called him a cancer that had tainted the case. Jackson reminded the jury that Proctor had been suspended and later fired from the Massachusetts State Police Department department because of how badly he'd mishandled the case. The defense also spent days cross examining Jennifer McCabe. Specifically, they pointed to text messages between her and her brother in law, Brian Albert. Based on the content, the defense argued that there was possible coordination between the witnesses, meaning they were trying to get their story straight. Karen's team also called on several new witnesses. One was an accident reconstruction expert who testified that John's injuries were not consistent with being struck by Karen's car. Another important witness was a dog bite and wound pattern expert. She testified that the injuries on John's arm were more likely the result of of a dog bite than a car accident. Meanwhile, the prosecution relied on much of the same evidence they used in the first trial. They pointed to data from Karen's SUV and crash reconstruction analysis, which they used to argue that Karen had intentionally backed into John. The state also reiterated that Karen had seemingly implicated herself at the crime scene when she asked aloud if she'd run over him. For the prosecution, this was their biggest and most important piece of circumstantial evidence. The trial lasted about a month until finally, on June 13, the jury went away to deliberate. Five days later, they returned with their verdict. This time, they were in agreement. Karen was found guilty of only one charge, Driving under the influence. As for the more serious charges of second degree murder and manslaughter, she was declared not guilty. Karen couldn't believe it. She'd been living in a nightmare for three long years. But it was finally over. She was free. As the moment settled over her, she felt happy and vindicated. She had proven to everyone that she'd been telling the truth. Unfortunately, not everyone agreed with the jury. John's family still didn't trust Karen. They said they were disappointed and disgusted with the verdict. Karen ignored them. She told reporters that no one had fought harder for John than she had and that she and her legal team would make sure the real murderer faced justice. But even with her acquittal, Karen's legal battles weren't over. In September 2025, she appeared in court again, this time for a civil case. Joan o' Keefe's family brought the suit charging Karen with wrongful death. It's still ongoing, but outside the courtroom, Karen has made it clear that she plans to fight the charges. And that's not all. On September 22nd of this year, Karen's attorneys announced that she plans to file her own civil suits against several parties. These include the Massachusetts State Police, members of the McCabe and Albert families, Trooper Michael Proctor and everyone she believes has framed her.
