Jeff Monosso reviews verdict in Karen Read retrial

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
My name is John mounce in for JT. And yesterday
we had a verdict in the Karen Reid trial, or
I should say the retrial. She is not guilty. Joined
me from Chicago is Jeff Monasso, Jess, Jeff. I guess
there's a sigh of relief that finally we've got closure
on this thing.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Well, you know, there are a lot of people paying
attention worldwide, attention to this. We heard the cheer of
supporters outside the court in Massachusetts, and then there are
others that haven't really paid any attention to it. Maybe
a glimpse here in there, but the evidence they needed
to have evidence in this case beyond a reasonable doubt,
and even to people casually paying attention to it, it

(00:38):
didn't seem like it in jurors in Massachusetts agreed not
guilty for Karen Reid on second degree murder, not guilty
in motor vehicle manslaughter while drunk and sleeing the scene
of a deadly accident that jurors found the forty five
year old guilty of dui. She gets a year of
probation that in Karen Read's retrial in connection to the

(01:02):
twenty twenty two death of John O'Keefe, her boyfriend at
the time, and a Boston police officer. Prosecutors alleged that
Reid hit O'Keefe with her SUV during a snowstorm followed
a night of drinking, that Reid was angry that O'Keefe
was going to break up with her, intentionally killed him.
The defense said that she simply dropped him off at
his friend's fellow cops and left. That Reid was framed

(01:25):
for O'Keefe's murder by law enforcement. They say that for
a friend at the house party, beat o'keef out of
jealousy of his relationship with Reid, let a dog attack him,
then dropped his body in the front laundering a blizzard,
and left him to die. The defense expert in the
case said O'Keefe's body showed no evidence of impact from

(01:47):
a vehicle and claimed that Reid's car did not hit him.
What was interesting is the autopsy report John Back in
twenty twenty two found that o'keef died of impact injuries
to the head. Medical examiner noted a laceration to the
back of his head, skull fractures, cuts above his right eye,
abrasions to his nose and arm, two black eyes, and

(02:11):
a scratch on his right knee. His manner of death
was undetermined, and this.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
Jury was kind of under some pressure from the judge
to make a decision because we even saw where this
being the second trial after the first mistrial, the jury
came out with it said, can we have some clarification.
What if we say that we you know, on the
first degree are the first charge that we can't decide

(02:38):
the kids? Can we still decide on the other tunes?
It was too soon, but you guys need to work
it out. We need a verdict. So they were under
a lot of pressure to come back with a verdict
on this thing.

Speaker 2 (02:47):
You know, generally, generally the jurors are under a lot
of pressure. I mean, you're dealing with somebody's life here,
and you know, the evidence apparently just was not there
for them to come up with a guilty verdict. And
remember the defense put on a pretty strong case that
there was some funny business on behalf of law enforcement.
The lead investigator in the first trial by the name

(03:10):
of Michael Proctor. He was fired after it was revealed
that he'd been sending inappropriate text messages about reads about
read to colleagues. The defense argued that he manipulated evidence,
including a cracked tail lights and fragments of red plastic
that were found scattered around the site of the alleged impact.
He called allegations that he's corrupt and helped frame Read ridiculous,

(03:34):
saying it didn't happen. The defense also pointed to others,
including a retired sergeant, as possible suspects in Occi's death
who were not properly investigated, or as participates in an
alleged conspiracy, of course, allegations that have been denied. In
a joint statements, He and others they call the acquittal

(03:58):
a devastating miscarriage of others are saying that there's a
stunning victory for the defense. Of course, you heard the
crowd of women, mostly women wearing pink, perhaps relating to her,
identifying to her this case, and and and and thrilled
about it. Read thanked her supporters outside the courthouse, saying

(04:19):
that day, you know she stands here, uh uh, you
know because of the amazing support that that she received.
She's none of the woods yet. Yeah, she gets a
year probation for the d UI, but she's been sued
by O'Keeffe's family for for wrongful death. This verdict or
this acquittal will certainly help her uh in that case.

Speaker 1 (04:41):
Jeff Manasso from Chicago, thank you so much for joining
us this morning on Alabama's Morning News