DEDHAM, Mass. — The second one homicide trial of Karen Learn, whose case has sparked a countrywide debate on police responsibility and received her legions of faithful lovers, will start Tuesday with all sides laying out conflicting theories of ways her Boston police officer boyfriend ended up lifeless.
Learn is accused of putting John O’Keefe along with her SUV in 2022 and leaving him to die on my own within the snow outdoor of a area get together within the the town of Canton, a suburb about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Boston. She has been charged with second-degree homicide, manslaughter whilst working a car beneath the affect and leaving the scene.
All over the primary trial closing 12 months, prosecutors stated Learn deliberately subsidized into O’Keefe after she dropped him off at a area get together and returned hours later to seek out him lifeless. The protection stated she used to be a sufferer of a limiteless police conspiracy and that O’Keefe used to be fatally crushed by means of any other legislation enforcement officer on the get together.
A mistrial used to be declared closing 12 months after jurors stated they had been at an deadlock and deliberating additional could be futile.
After the trial, the protection unsuccessful moved to have two of the fees pushed aside once they stated a number of jurors got here ahead to mention the crowd used to be unanimous to find Learn no longer responsible of second-degree homicide and leaving the scene. The U.S. Excellent Court docket denied a request from Learn to extend her trial on double jeopardy grounds
Lots of the elements that made the primary trial must-see tv will probably be featured in the second one.
Lots of the identical witnesses are again as are Learn’s competitive protection staff and dozens of her supporters camped out close to the courthouse — many wearing “Unfastened Karen Learn” indicators and dressed in purple. Learn, who has been featured in different documentaries about her case, has transform a minor famous person.
The largest distinction would be the lead prosecutor, Hank Brennan. Introduced in as a different prosecutor after the mistrial, the previous protection lawyer has represented a lot of distinguished purchasers, together with infamous Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger.
Brennan stands to get pleasure from a pretrial ruling from Pass judgement on Beverly Cannone that protection legal professionals can’t point out attainable third-party culprits of their opening statements. They may be able to broaden a case towards two legislation enforcement officials however can not implicate Albert’s nephew, Colin Albert, as they did within the first trial.
“I view it as a blow to the protection technique however no longer a knockout punch,” Daniel Medwed, a legislation professor at Northeastern College, stated of the ruling. “All of the protection must do is create affordable doubt about Karen (Learn’s) guilt, and that doesn’t require pointing to another wrongdoer as an issue of legislation.”
Criminal professionals be expecting prosecutors to concentrate on Learn’s conduct as they did throughout the primary trial — her risky dating with O’Keefe and their evening of heavy consuming. Additionally they are expecting the prosecution will lay out a more potent and extra coherent case that Learn clipped O’Keefe with the again of her SUV and despatched him tumbling to the bottom — the usage of information from her automobile, video and more potent knowledgeable testimony.
“The Commonwealth will center of attention at the theme drilled into us since heart faculty — Ingesting, Using, Fatal Penalties,” Michael Coyne, the dean of Massachusetts College of Legislation at Andover, stated in an e-mail, including that he expects prosecutors to steer clear of errors of the primary trial, the place a number of in their early witnesses looked as if it would assist the protection greater than the state.
The protection is predicted to provide proof that what they see as a sloppy police investigation used to be biased and that legislation enforcement officials set Learn up to offer protection to the true killers. They might be helped by means of an audit of the Canton Police Division launched closing month that discovered a number of errors with the investigation — even though no proof of a cover-up.
One of the crucial key witnesses will probably be former State Trooper Michael Proctor. He led the investigation however has since been fired after a disciplinary board discovered that he despatched sexist and crude texts about Learn to his circle of relatives and co-workers.
“Michael Proctor and his dismissal from the power would possibly rather well function the elephant within the court docket during the lawsuits,” Medwed stated.
