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- [00:07]
A
This is crime house.
- [00:13]
As true crime fans, we have a special relationship with social media. We know it can be a powerful tool for finding justice, but it can also be a dangerous vessel for misinformation. Which is why I want to start today's episode with a question. How many of you first heard about John O' Keefe and Karen Reed on TikTok or Instagram? I'm guessing the answer is a lot. Well, that was by design. After John O' Keefe was pronounced dead in January 2022, Karen Reed was the primary suspect in his murder. She maintained her innocence and her lawyer was determined to get the word out. What followed was one of the most explosive grassroots campaigns to clear Karen Reid's name. But in the midst of all the posts and videos, one person got lost along the way. John o'. Keefe. Today, we're still not sure who is responsible for John's death. But with the power of social media, we may be closer than ever to finding out the truth.
- [01:25]
People's lives are like a story. There's a beginning, a middle and an end. But you don't always know which part you're a on. Sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon. And we don't always get to know the real ending. I'm Carter Roy and this is Murder True Crime Stories, a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios that comes out every Tuesday and Thursday at Crime House. We want to express our gratitude to you, our community, for making this possible. Please support us by rating, reviewing and following Murder True Crime Stories. Wherever you get your podcasts. Crime House is made possible by you. Follow Murder True Crime Stories and subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts for ad free early access to each two part series. And if you can't get enough true crime, go search and follow Crime House Daily. Our team's twice a day show bringing you breaking cases, updates and unbelievable stories from the world of crime that are happening right now. This is the second of two episodes on the 2022 murder of John O'. Keefe and once again, we're lucky to have Katie Ring, the host of Crime House Daily, joining us. Katie, so thrilled to have you back. Thanks for joining us.
- [02:42]
B
Of course. I'm so excited to be here.
- [02:44]
A
All right, and part two is unbelievable, what we're about to uncover. So let's get to it. As a reminder, last time we learned about the relationship between John and his girlfriend Karen Reed, when we walked through the day he was found dead. And we covered the initial investigation that ended with Karen's arrest. Today, we'll hear the story Karen and her lawyers shared with the jury and the many law enforcement officers who were implicated. Along the way, we'll examine how the courtroom became a battleground for Karen not once but twice and find out where the case stands today. All that and more coming up.
- [03:30]
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- [04:36]
A
On February 7, 2022, 46 year old John O' Keefe was laid to rest in his hometown of Braintree, Massachusetts. Dozens of his fellow Boston police officers saluted his casket as bagpipes played. All of John's friends and family filled the pews, with one notable exception, 41 year old Karen Reed was nowhere to be seen. That's because she wasn't just John's girlfriend, she was also the prime suspect in his murder.
- [05:08]
Nine days earlier, on the evening of January 28, John and Karen had gone out for what was supposed to be an ordinary Friday night. They started with drinks at a local pub, then met up with friends at another sports bar. As the night wound down, John's friend and coworker, a man named Brian Albert, invited everyone to his house for an after party. Everyone agreed that Karen drove John there, but from that point forward, their accounts diverged. Karen said John went inside and that was the last time she saw him. But Brian, Albert and the others at the house claim John never came in at all. It was a small Discrepancy with major implications. Because the next morning around 6:00am Karen returned to the Alberts home with two of John's friends. And that was when Karen made a horrific discovery. Her boyfriend's lifeless body was lying in the snow outside the house. An hour later, doctors pronounced him dead. What followed was an investigation riddled with missteps, conflicts of interest and small town politics. Evidence was collected haphazardly. Witnesses were allowed to speak with one another before being interviewed by police. And nearly everyone involved seemed to have some personal tie to law enforcement. Technically, the Massachusetts State Police and the local Canton force were in charge of the investigation. But they felt the influence, or at the very least pressure of other agencies like John's employer, the Boston PD to solve the case quickly.
- [06:48]
Canton sits about 20 miles south of Boston. It's known as a cop town, home to city officers, state troopers and local police alike. John himself had been a Boston police officer for more than a decade. Brian Albert, whose yard became the crime Scene, was on the force. His own brother Kevin worked for the Canton Police Department and and another man who'd been out with them that night, Brian Higgins was an Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent. In other words, law enforcement was involved in every aspect of the case from witnesses and suspects to the people investigating them. The state quickly ruled John's death a homicide. Their working theory was that John had been hit by a car and left for dead. And they believe Karen was the one driving. Three days after he passed away on February 1, 2022, Karen was arrested and charged with manslaughter. But everything changed after Karen's first court appearance during which she pleaded not guilty. That was when her attorney David Iannetti received a tip from an anonymous caller saying Karen had been framed. The tipster said there'd been a fight inside the Alberts home and John had been beaten, possibly even mauled by the Alberts German shepherd who was named Chloe. Then his body had been dumped outside in the snow. According to the caller, several people were involved. Boston police officer Brian Albert, ATF agent Brian Higgins, and possibly Albert's nephew, 17 year old Colin Albert. That last name piqued Jeannetti's interest. Colin Albert hadn't been named in any of the official police reports. Yanetti shared this information with Karen. They both felt this could be their big break. But they needed more evidence to back up the claims. So not long after Karen's arraignment, they hired a private investigator to see if he could corroborate the tipster's story. Soon the PI heard From another Canton resident. This man said his daughter was friends with Colin Albert, and according to her, Colin had in fact been at the house that night. This was huge. Karen told Janetti that Colin was one of the few people John had ever had an issue with. Two years earlier, in the spring of 2020, John had confronted Colin after he and his friends set off the alar at John's house in the middle of the night. No charges were filed, but according to Karen, the incident left both of them with bad blood. And there were other details Karen couldn't shake. Like how some of John's injuries, like the scratch marks on his arm, weren't consistent with being hit by a car. Karen wondered if the tension between Colin and John had boiled over that night. Maybe a fight had broken out and the Albert's dog, known for its aggressive behavior, had joined in. It certainly looked like the marks on John's arm were dog bites. Perhaps John had been fatally hurt during the attack. And the other party guests panicked, dumping John's body in the snow to make it look like an accident. To Karen, it all fit together a little too neatly to be a coincidence. The idea that she'd been framed no longer felt far fetched. And she believed she knew exactly who was pulling the strings. The lead investigator on the case was Massachusetts state trooper Michael Proctor, a longtime friend of the Albert family. After some late night Facebook sleuthing, Karen discovered just how close their connection was. At Proctor's sister's wedding years earlier, the ring bearer had been none other than Colin Albert. The Alberts and Proctors weren't just casual friends. They were like family. Karen felt this was confirmation that she was being set up, or at the very least, that the investigators assigned to the case were biased. Now, she needed to prove it, but it would be an uphill battle. In June 2022, about five months after John's murder, a grand jury returned new indictments against Karen. She'd already been charged with two counts. Manslaughter while operating under the influence and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle collision causing death. Now, they claimed they had found sufficient evidence to add second degree murder to her charges. They thought Karen hit John with intent to kill. Once again, Karen pleaded not guilty. She returned to her home in Mansfield exhausted, shaken, and staring down the very real possibility of a life sentence. The future was uncertain, but she knew one thing for sure. If she wanted any chance of surviving what came next, she needed to amp up her defense team. That's when she brought on a big wig Los Angeles lawyer. With his help, Karen would get a major boost, one that would shed new light on the evidence and change the course of the entire proceedings.
- [12:31]
Once again, we have Katie Ring here with us to discuss this case as it evolves. Now, what drove the prosecutors to elevate the charges?
- [12:40]
B
So since it was the death of a Boston cop, whenever there's a death of the cop, I think there is definitely more pressure on the legal system to solve this crime. I think people are also more mad at whoever the suspect is. They also did say that there was more evidence and basically saying that they think Karen did it on purpose.
- [13:02]
A
Right.
- [13:03]
B
So the intent brought up the charges, that, and plus some of the SUV evidence that say she backed up on purpose, quote, unquote.
- [13:12]
A
Yeah. Yeah. And so I guess the question is, like, is that genuinely new evidence? Or. I mean, I found myself with a truck thinking, like, well, she could have dropped him off. And again, we know she's under the influence pretty heavily.
- [13:24]
B
So they went by things called triggering events, which is basically when you turn on the car, there's different triggering events. And when you back up or do specific things that aren't necessarily in the normal, it will record this triggering event. Another suspicious thing in this case is that from her car's data, all of the dates and the times associated with the triggering events were missing. They were, quote, unquote, destroyed while they were extracting the information. So they don't. They can't technically prove that this backup happened at that exact time and day. This could have actually happened while the car was in the possession of the Massachusetts State Police and they were doing testing.
- [14:10]
A
Oh, my. What? That took place under their watch. Like, wow. Very hard not to find that suspect. Okay, we have a lot more to go, so we're gonna take a quick break, but we will be back as we continue looking into the investigation.
- [14:27]
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- [15:35]
A
In June 2022, five months after the death of John O', Keefe, 41 year old Karen Reed was indicted for second degree murder. She pleaded not guilty, then started searching for attorneys to add to her legal team. After months of research, she finally found someone who could help her. Alan Jackson. He was a Los Angeles defense attorney who'd represented the likes of Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey. To get his attention, she sent an email with the subject line murder of a Boston cop. Karen didn't know if Jackson would even read it. He was in the big leagues. But she also knew she and her local attorney, David Yannetti, needed all the firepower they could get. To her surprise, Jackson responded almost instantly. He got on a conference call with Karen, her father and Yannetti. Together they reviewed the case. Like Yannetti, Jackson didn't buy the official story. He examined John's autopsy and immediately questioned the conclusion that John had been hit by a car. John had deep cuts on his arms, bruises on his face and black eyes. To Jackson, it looked like he was beaten, not the victim of a hit and run. Some of the wounds even appeared to be dog bites. After the call, Jackson agreed to join Karen's defense team and he and Yannetti got to work. As they dug deeper, they found more suspicious details, especially about the Albert's German shepherd, Chloe. She had a reputation around Canton. She was large, protective and not great with strangers. The Alberts often kept her in the basement during parties. A couple years before John's death, Chloe had attacked a neighbor's dog. The neighbor alerted animal control. But before an inspection could take place, the neighbor got a call from Kevin Albert, Brian Albert's brother, who was also a Canton police officer. Kevin said he was calling on behalf of the police chief and wanted to know how they could make the whole situation go away. It seems like the neighbor and the Alberts settled the dispute privately because Chloe didn't go anywhere. And just three months after John's death, she attacked another dog and bit a woman who tried to break up the fight. At that point, the Alberts decided to rehome their dog of seven years. That wasn't the only change they made after John passed away. Just a year later, in September 2023, Brian Albert retired after 30 years with the Boston PD. The second he left the force, he sold the home he'd lived in for decades. The same one that was at the center of John's murder investigation. When the new owners moved in, sections of the basement flooring were gone. The Alberts insisted this was due to water damage, but Karen's defense team claimed the real reason was much more nefarious. They argued that this was the spot where the fatal fight had occurred and the Alberts had removed the flooring to cover up the evidence. Then, in March 2023, more than a year after John's death, the defense uncovered something even more damning about a different witness. Jennifer McCabe was one of the women who'd been out with Karen and John the night he died. She was a friend of John's and Brian Albert's sister in law. She was also the one who drove Karen around and was with her when she found John the next morning. Jennifer had voluntarily turned over her phone to prosecutors during the initial investigation. And when Karen's team examined Jennifer's cell phone data, they found something they couldn't ignore. A Google search. At 2:27am on January 29, about three and a half hours before John's body was discovered, Jennifer's phone appeared to have searched for the phrase has long to die in cold. The HOS was a typo for how a similar phrase was searched again at 6:23am and again a minute later. Experts debated whether the search had truly occurred at 2:27am or whether a tab was already open on her Internet browser. And the search came later. Still, the defense believed it was a smoking gun, proof that at least one person in the Albert home knew John was outside, freezing long before police arrived. Jennifer denied the accusation. She said she had only looked it up at Karen's request after they found John's body. She maintained that she had no knowledge of John's whereabouts until then. After all, she was John's friend. But the defense believed Jennifer knew John's fate the whole time. Even more, they said she was the one who planted the idea in Karen's mind that Karen had hit him, that she'd taken advantage of Karen's delirious, drunken state and made her think she was responsible. Karen's attorneys felt confident they had enough evidence to support their theory. But they also knew that the court of public opinion mattered almost as much as the jury itself. So in April 2023, Karen's lawyer, Alan Jackson, filed a 92 page affidavit outlining the defense's full theory. He hoped someone in the media would notice. Sure enough, they did. Within a week, the affidavit landed in the hands of Aidan Kearney. He was a blogger from Massachusetts, better known by his online alias, Turtle Boy. Kearney ran a site called TB Daily News. Several of his readers had tipped him off about the o' Keefe case, claiming there was more to the story than what the authorities were saying. After Kearney read Jackson's affidavit, he agreed and he wanted the world to know. Around 3am on April 17, 2023, he published his first article on the case. The headline read, Canton Cover Up Part one. Corrupt State Trooper Helps Boston Cop Cover Up Murder of Fellow Officer Frame Innocent Girlfriend. The title was sensational, and so was the article. Like Karen's lawyers, Kearney accused State Trooper Michael Proctor of planting pieces of Karen's broken taillight at the scene of the crime. He also alleged that Jennifer McCabe had helped orchestrate the setup by by suggesting to a drunken Karen that she might have hit John with her car. And he insisted that John had been killed inside the Alberts home, not outside in the snow. Kearney's article went viral. Traffic flooded his website, crashing it. By the next morning, the story had spread beyond the Internet and back into the streets of Canton. It was all anyone could talk about and and citizens started taking sides. Team Karen or Team Police. The Canton police chief issued a statement urging patience and reminding the public that defense attorneys can say anything to protect their client while police and prosecutors are held to ethical constraints. But it did little to calm the storm. Kearney only intensified his coverage. Over the next month, he published post after post live streamed twice a week on YouTube and amassed millions of monthly views. Some of his streams drew more than 20,000 viewers at once. By the time Karen appeared in court for a pretrial hearing at the end of May 2023, public opinion around her case had changed drastically. As she approached the courthouse that morning, she passed a crowd of supporters waving signs, cheering and chanting her name. They even applauded her as she walked inside. Karen had a surge of confidence as she entered the courtroom and took a seat at the defense's table. That day, they would finally present their theory in open court. And given the crowd of supporters outside, she figured they had a good chance of convincing a judge and jury of their argument. In front of the judge, Karen's lawyers, Alan Jackson and David Iannetti, alleged a vast cover up Involving multiple branches of law enforcement. They accused Massachusetts State Police of protecting one of their own, along with everyone who had been at the Albert home that night, but especially Brian Albert and his sister in Law, Jennifer McCabe. The prosecution dismissed it all as a wild conspiracy. They said there was no evidence John had ever gone inside the Albert home, let alone any indication of a fight. They argued that every piece of forensic evidence pointed to the same conclusion. John o' Keefe had been hit by Karen's car. When the court adjourned, Karen stepped outside to face reporters for the first time since she'd been named as a suspect. She was clear and deliberate with her words saying, quote, we know who did it. We know and we know who spearheaded this cover up. You all know. Her words hung in the air, echoing across the courthouse steps. They were a declaration, an accusation and a warning.
- [25:50]
Okay, Katie, this case seems to have like ripples of new information, things going on. Now, which pieces of evidence most powerfully suggested cover up.
- [25:59]
B
There's evidence on the people inside of the house. The first thing that pulled me into this case was I saw a video about Jen McCabe's search for Hoss Lung to die in the cold at 2:27.
- [26:12]
A
I mean, what. Right.
- [26:13]
B
Yeah, that's like, that's before the body was discovered. So like, she would have to know that he was out in the cold. And since the trial, it was kind of a battle of the experts into whether or not that search actually occurred at 2:27am One of the experts on the prosecution side basically said that a tab was opened at 2:27am the search actually happened at 6:24am after they found the body. Other experts for the defense say the opposite. No, the search actually happened at 2:27am.
- [26:46]
A
I mean, to me it would be odd. Like, okay, let's say the prosecutor's like, okay, so we're saying the tab is open, but they didn't search till after he was found. Like, why would you be searching? How long does it take for body to. When he's already dead? Yeah, that seems like a very. Especially in the heat of just finding out, people rushing over like, yeah, what that question represents for me is a huge red flag.
- [27:06]
B
Yeah, well, so Jen McCabe originally claims that Karen asked her to search it after they found the body. And this was backed up by Carrie Roberts, who was the third woman who was with them when they discovered the body. But after the FBI's investigation into this case, Carrie says, yes, I heard Karen reed ask Jen McCabe to search this. FBI gets into the investigation people are like, we can't lie to the FBI. Second trial, they ask. So, Carrie, in the initial trial, you said, well, actually, they couldn't mention the fact that there was initial trial. But they said, you previously said that you heard Karen reed ask Jen McCabe to make the search. The things they couldn't mention in this trial, they couldn't mention that the FBI investigated this case.
- [27:54]
A
Yeah, yeah.
- [27:54]
B
Crazy. The judge didn't allow them to mention the FBI, although kind of in people's testimony it came out. But basically they're like, okay, so did you or didn't you hear it? Because your, your story changed. And she goes, no, I didn't actually hear. Karen asked Jen McCabe.
- [28:11]
A
Right. Which totally undercuts the whole, like, oh, if that's why the tap is open. And I asked that. You're like, oh, now you're just saying, like, that didn't happen.
- [28:18]
B
Yeah, she lied under oath and.
- [28:21]
A
Right. And prudent. And if you've lied about that under oath, like, why. Which implies a bunch of other lies. And, and now how do you think, like, you know, think of like the dog McCabe searches as we just talked about in Jackson's affidavit. How do you think those shifted public opinion altogether?
- [28:38]
B
So I think the search was really what caught people's attention. Then some of the other things I, I actually, my first video I made about this was going over the list of some of the things that people inside the house did. So it was Jen McCabe search. It was the fact that the phones were disposed the day before the ordered subpoena to preserve them. The day before, really? I think we know, like, Higgins went to a military base, took his phone and took his SIM card, threw him in different dumpsters.
- [29:07]
A
Like if you, yeah, if you were just getting rid of your phone, you just throw it in the trash here.
- [29:10]
B
Or whatever, upgrade it at the store. At least Albert and then Brian Albert switched carriers and upgraded his phone, which wiped his old phone.
- [29:21]
A
Well, we're going to take a little break and we're going to come right back and take a look at how this case continued to evolve and then resolve. And we'll see where it stands today.
- [29:30]
B
Close your eyes. Exhale.
- [29:32]
A
Feel your body relax and let go.
- [29:35]
B
Of whatever you're carrying today. Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-contacts. Oh, my gosh, they're so fast.
- [29:46]
E
And breathe.
- [29:47]
A
Oh, sorry.
- [29:48]
B
I almost couldn't breathe. When I saw the discount they gave me on my first order. Oh, sorry. Namaste.
- [29:54]
A
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- [31:50]
A
In May 2023, 42 year old Karen Reed attended the first of her pre trial hearings for the murder of her boyfriend, 46 year old John O'. Keefe. Meanwhile, a blogger named Aiden Kearney, aka Turtle Boy, covered the case obsessively. But his involvement over the next few months only grew deeper and darker. He started a Facebook group that swelled to more than 21,000 members, all convinced they were armchair experts on a mission to expose corruption. They traded theories, dissected police reports, and treated every rumor as potential evidence. Kearney even drove to Canton, Massachusetts, about an hour away from his home, to personally interrogate people tied to the investigation. In one instance, he confronted Jennifer McCabe at her daughter's high school lacrosse game. Not only that, he livestreamed it. He also targeted John's family online lobbying, insults and obscenities. In one post, he said the only good part about John's death was that he didn't have to be around his family anymore. Then, in July 2023, Kearney organized a caravan of nearly 50 vehicles, all plastered with slogans about the case. Together, they drove through Canton, stopping outside the homes of Brian Albert, Michael Proctor and Jennifer McCabe. At each stop, Kearney grabbed a megaphone and shouted accusations into the quiet suburban streets. The rally ended outside the Canton Police Department.
- [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.
- [46:40]
Now, what evidence do you think likely sway jurors toward acquittal?
- [46:44]
B
All in all, I think the biggest evidence is just the lack of injuries on his body. You know, I think the experts did a really good job at recreating that and saying basically it's impossible that he was hit by a car. His injuries are not consistent with a car collision, and the damage to the car is not consistent to a pedestrian collision. It just doesn't make sense to me that that guy was hit by a car. And so I think for most people that was the original place where it was just like no. Working back from that, you see all the behavior of the people in the house. You also have the investigation where this guy who's supposed to be completely unbiased, Proctor is supposed to be completely unbiased. Not only does he have very thorough connections with all the people in the house, like the sister in law of the homeowner babysat his kids 10 days before this accident happened and he claimed he didn't have any connections to them.
- [47:43]
A
And so finally, I mean, what's next? How might the civil suits reshape the public narrative and deliver maybe new revelations.
- [47:50]
B
For the civil suits, Karen said that she's countersuing all of these people. So I think it's going to be very interesting seeing how those play out and the burden is much lower in civil suits. So it'll be interesting to see what the jury thinks about all of these things because again, as I said, you know, if Jen McCabe was on trial, I don't believe you can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she did that search. So although I think she did do that search, as my duty as a juror in a murder trial, I couldn't find her guilty because I don't think there's beyond a reasonable doubt.
- [48:27]
A
Thank you so much for joining us to talk about this and use your expertise to help us flesh out everything that went on in this case.
- [48:33]
B
Of course. Thanks for having me on.
- [48:34]
A
Yeah, you bet. That is all for the Karen Reid story. Thank you so much for joining us.
- [48:46]
Thanks so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy and this is True Crime Stories. Come back next week for the story story of a new murder and all the people it affected. True Crime Stories is a Crime House original. Powered by Pave Studios Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on social media, Rimehouse on TikTok and Instagram. Don't forget to rate, review and follow True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback True Crime truly makes a difference and to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories listening experience, subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode ad free and instead of having to wait for each episode of a two part series, you'll get access to both at once plus exciting bonus content. We'll be back on Thursday. True Crime Stories is hosted by me, Carter Roy and is a Crime House original. Powered by Pave Studios, this episode was brought to life by the Murder True Crime Stories team. Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benidon, Natalie Pertovsky, Lori Marinelli, Sarah Camp, Alex Burns, Molly Quinlan, Artwick, Hania Said and Russell Nash. Thank you for listening.
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