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A Timeline of the Karen Read Case · Murder Files Unsealed

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  Speaker 1: Welcome back, everyone for another deep dive. You've probably heard
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  about the Karen Reid case, right, A woman who admitted
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  to while killing her boyfriend, and not just any boyfriend.
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  We're talking about John O'Keefe, a Boston police officer. Sounds
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  pretty straightforward, doesn't it.
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  Speaker 2: It does, But trust me, there's so much more to
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  this case than meets the eye. What started out looking
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  like an open and shut dui quickly turned into accusations
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  of a cover up, conspiracies, you name it, enough twists
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  and turns to rival any best selling thriller.
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  Speaker 1: It's like something ripped straight from the headlines, right exactly.
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  So January twenty twenty two, we're in Canton, Massachuth. It's
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  picture a snowy night. John O'Keeffe found dead outside a
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  house after a night out with his girlfriend, Karen Reid. Oh,
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  and some friends were there too. Now, Reid initially admits
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  to hitting O'Keeffe with her car.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it seems like a tragic accident at first, fueled
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  by alcohol, maybe a heated argument. But almost immediately things
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  just didn't add up. Cracks started appearing in that story, like.
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  Speaker 1: What give us the details?
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  Speaker 2: Well, there were reports of tension between Red and O'Keefe
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  earlier that night, and then there's this really strange Google
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  search for how long to die in cold Plus, Reid's
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  defense team claimed the damage to her SUV just didn't
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  line up with hitting a person.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, hold on, So we've got some potential red flags
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  popping up already.
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  Speaker 2: It's like someone threw a lit match onto a pile
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  of kindling. Suddenly we're not just talking about a possible accident,
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  we're talking about a potential conspiracy.
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  Speaker 1: And then the defense drops a bomb show right, Oh absolutely.
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  They come out and say O'Keefe was killed inside.
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  Speaker 2: The house, inside the house, possibly during some kind of fight.
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  Speaker 1: I get this. They're saying Reed is being framed to
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  protect whoever was really responsible.
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  Speaker 2: Their whole strategy was to make the jury doubt everything
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  about the official story, make them suspect everyone at that party.
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  Speaker 1: So who becomes their main target.
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  Speaker 2: Brian Albert, the homeowner, and guess what, he was an
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  off duty Boston police officer too.
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  Speaker 1: Wow, the plot thickens, right.
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  Speaker 2: They're suggesting their i'd have been some kind of altercation
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  inside the house. Maybe something happened that they're trying to
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  cover up.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, so now we've got potential motives flying around, whispers
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  of a cover up, and this whole web of relationships
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  that seems to get more tangled by the day.
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  Speaker 2: It's important to remember, though, in a legal case like this,
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  the burden of proof is on the prosecution. They have
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  to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and that is
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  a very high bart clear, that's right.
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  Speaker 1: But before we get lost in the weeds, let's back
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  up a bit. I think it's important toly at the
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  timeline of events, you know, just so we're all on
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  the same page and understand how this case unfolded.
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  Speaker 2: So the defense starts laying out their version of events,
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  and it really does sound like something straight out of
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  a crime novel. They keep coming back to those Google
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  searches we talked about. Remember, someone at the party hours
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  before O'Keefe was found typed in how long to die
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  and cold?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a creepy detail for sure. I mean, with
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  someone genuinely curious about that, or could it be a
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  sign that someone knew o'keef's was hurt, maybe even worse,
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  before Redd even came back looking.
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  Speaker 2: For him exactly. The defense really latched onto that, suggesting
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  someone already knew. And then they shift their focus to
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  the injuries O'Keefe's sustained, and.
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  Speaker 1: I'm guessing they weren't holding back at this point.
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  Speaker 2: Not at all. They basically said the damage to his body,
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  especially to his arms, looked more like he'd been in
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  a struggle, maybe even with a dog, not like he'd
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  been hit by a car.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, So now we've got Brian Albert's dog back in
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  the picture.
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  Speaker 2: Right, And the defense really honed in on that, suggesting
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  maybe something happened inside the house, some kind of altercation.
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  Their argument was, if O'Keefe was killed inside, moving his
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  body outside and pinning it on Read, especially if everyone
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  thought she was drunk, it'd be a pretty convenient way
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  to cover things up, wouldn't it.
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  Speaker 1: Wow, So they're saying someone could have staged the whole thing.
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  Speaker 2: That was the picture they were painting for the jury. Remember,
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  they're building a case for a cover up, and to
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  do that they need a motive, right, So they started
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  poking holes in the stories of the other people at
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  the party. It's like they were trying to dismantle it
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  carefully constructed alibi.
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  Speaker 1: But even if all of that sounds plausible, didn't They
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  need hard evidence to back it up in court, of.
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  Speaker 2: Course, And that's where things get really interesting because at
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  first glance, the physical evidence like the broken tail light
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  on Reed's car, seemed to support the prosecution's story.
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  Speaker 1: But then here's where the plot thickens again.
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  Speaker 2: Right, you know me too well. The defense brings in
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  their own experts, and these experts challenged how the prosecution
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  was interpreting the evidence. They even brought in an FBI
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  expert who, according to the defense, said that the damage
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  on Reid's car just wasn't consistent with hitting a person.
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  Speaker 1: So every piece of evidence becomes this tug of war
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  between two sides, each one fighting to convince the jury
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  that their version of the truth is the right one.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, And let's not forget about the media frenzy around
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  all of this. It's impossible to ignore how public opinion
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  might have influenced things, especially with a character like turtle
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  Boy entering the scene right now.
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  Speaker 1: For anyone who's not totally up to speed on all this,
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  turtle Boy is the let's say colorful pseudonym of Aiden Kearney,
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  a blogger known for his shall we say unconventional.
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  Speaker 2: Style to put it mildly, and he really inserts himself
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  into this whole thing. He almost becomes this mysical figure,
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  lurking around the edges in the case, throwing fuel on
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  the conspiracy theory fire, even confronting witnesses.
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  Speaker 1: And then he gets arrested for witness intimidation.
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  Speaker 2: Yep, and that just throws even more attention onto the case.
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  Speaker 1: It makes you wonder, with all that noise going on,
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  how could the jury not be affected? Could they really
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  separate the facts from all the speculation and accusations flying around.
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  Speaker 2: It's hard to say for sure, but here's what we
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  do know. This case, which was already full of twists
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  and turns, was about to take an even more dramatic
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  turn as it moved into the courtroom.
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  Speaker 1: So the stage is set. We've got all the ingredients
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  for a courtroom showdown, right. Years of speculation, media frenzy,
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  those explosive accusations. It all comes down to this and
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  it did not disappoint.
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  Speaker 2: The trial was like, you know, a crash course and
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  legal maneuvering, dramatic testimony, expert opinions flying back and forth.
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  It was intense.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I bet so. The prosecution they lay out their case.
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  They've got to convince the jury that Reads guilty. What's
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  their strategy?
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  Speaker 2: It was all about the evidence. They methodically presented everything
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  they had, trying to build this narrative that points straight
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  to Read's.
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  Speaker 1: Guilt and the defense what's their counter move?
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  Speaker 2: Oh, they were ready every step of the way. They
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  challenge how the prosecution was interpreting the evidence, tried to
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  plant those seeds of doubt, and of course they kept
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  bringing up the timeline, trying to poke holes in it.
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  Speaker 1: Man, I could only imagine being in that court room.
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  It must have felt like watching a legal thriller unfold
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  in real time.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, and then you had these accusations of witness coaching
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  flying back and forth, heated debates about what evidence the
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  jury should even be allowed to hear. You could cut
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  the tension with a knife.
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  Speaker 1: Wow. And in the middle of all this, you've got
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  the jury, regular people, right, trying to make sense of
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  this incredibly complex, high stakes puzzle.
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  Speaker 2: All right, and let's not forget what's at stake here.
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  This isn't some TV show. We're talking about someone's life,
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  someone's freedom. The weight of that responsibility on those jurors shoulders.
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  Speaker 1: It had to be immense, no kidding. So after weeks
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  of testimony, mountains of evidence, all those crazy twists and turns,
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  what happens.
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  Speaker 2: The jury comes back with a big old question mark,
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  a hung.
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  Speaker 1: Jury, a mistrial.
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  Speaker 2: Wow, yep, they couldn't agree on a verdict, which, honestly,
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  when you think about it, it's kind of a testament
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  to how much doubt the defense had managed to raise.
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  Speaker 1: It really makes you think, even with all the technology,
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  all the fancy forensics we have today, sometimes it still
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  boils down to one person's word against another. And when
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  there's no clear consensus, when the truth is that murky,
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  how can anyone say.
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  Speaker 2: For sure exactly? And as we know, this story doesn't
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  end there. In fact, the mistrial was less of a
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  full stop and more like hitting a giant pause button
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  on a drama that was about to get even wilder.
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  Speaker 1: Because just when you thought it couldn't get any more complicated.
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  Speaker 2: Things exploded. Remember Michael Proctor, the lead investigator.
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  Speaker 1: On the case, Oh yeah, how could I forget?
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  Speaker 2: Well those text messages he sent, the ones where he
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  was let's just say, less than professional about Reid, talk
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  about throwing gasoline on a fire.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, those were bad. He even said he hoped she
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  would kill herself. Yeah, I mean, come.
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  Speaker 2: On, it was a disaster. The defense, they were all
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  over that. It played right into their hands, made the
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  whole investigation look shady.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, talk about adding fuel to the conspiracy theory fire.
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  Speaker 2: And if that wasn't enough, Proctor ends up getting fired,
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  then reinstated, then put on suspension without pay. It was chaos.
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  Speaker 1: It's like every time you thought you had a grip
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  on this case, bam, some of the new pops up
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  and sends everything spinning in a different direction.
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  Speaker 2: It's true, and the twists just kept coming. The defense
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  they're feeling good after the mistrial and the whole Procter mess,
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  so they file motions to have two of the charges
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  against Red dismissed. They're basically saying the jury already showed
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  they didn't believe she was guilty on those counts, so.
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  Speaker 1: They're trying to take those on the table completely exactly.
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  Speaker 2: But wait, there's more. A juror comes forward says they're
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  afraid for their safety. Suddenly the stakes just got even higher.
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  Speaker 1: Wow. It's a good reminder that this case, for all
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  the legal back and forth, the media frenzy, at the
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  heart of it. It's about real people with real lives,
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  facing real consequences.
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  Speaker 2: It is. And as for the case itself, well, it's
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  still ongoing. Reed's defense. They appealed two of the charges
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  all the way to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, so
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  this story is far from over.
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  Speaker 1: So where does this leave us. Did Karen Reid kill
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  John O'Keefe in some tragic accident, you know, fueled by alcohol,
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  maybe an argument? Or was she a victim of some
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  elaborate scheme framed to protect someone else.
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  Speaker 2: It's the million dollar question, right. We've got the evidence,
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  we've heard the arguments, but the truth it's still out there,
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  buried somewhere beneath all the speculation, all the conflicting stories.
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  It's enough to make your head spin.
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  Speaker 1: It really makes you think about the limits of our
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  legal system, you know, the power of the stories we tell,
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  and how hard it can be defined the truth, especially
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  when everyone seems to have something to hide.
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  Speaker 2: It's a case that stays with you, and it reminds
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  us that sometimes, even when we're searching for justice, some
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  questions might never have clear answers.
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  Speaker 1: That's all the time we have for today's deep dive.
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  But this conversation, It's far from over. What do you
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  think really happened? Let us know until next time. Keep
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  asking those tough questions, and remember, sometimes the most compelling
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  stories are the ones that leave us with more questions
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  than answers.