Trial Spectator

Trooper Joe Paul, a Massachusetts State Trooper accident reconstructionist, on direct examination seemed like he really tested the car and he really did some forensic digging on the car and he was able to put together through the Lexus black box data essentially showing that that the car backed up in reverse, 60 feet, 24 miles an hour, and really creating the Commonwealth's version of events.

Trooper Joe Paul, a Massachusetts State Trooper accident reconstructionist, on direct examination seemed like he really tested the car and he really did some forensic digging on the car and he was able to put together through the Lexus black box data essentially showing that that the car backed up in reverse, 60 feet, 24 miles an hour, and really creating the Commonwealth's version of events.

On cross-examination, when he is forced to really testify step-by-step to what he believed happened that day, the look on the jurors' faces, that was the moment I saw a juror shake her head and mouth, what, out loud.

On cross-examination, when he is forced to really testify step-by-step to what he believed happened that day, the look on the jurors' faces, that was the moment I saw a juror shake her head and mouth, what, out loud.

The jury seemed befuddled by his description of John O'Keefe getting hit in the arm and his body rotating and getting thrown many feet in the air. It just seemed hard to follow.

The jury seemed befuddled by his description of John O'Keefe getting hit in the arm and his body rotating and getting thrown many feet in the air. It just seemed hard to follow.

In that courtroom, it was heavy. I don't know how else to describe it. It was heavy. It was tense. It felt like you could hear a pin drop. Even the judge seemed somber. Mrs. O'Keefe, John's mother, was crying.

In that courtroom, it was heavy. I don't know how else to describe it. It was heavy. It was tense. It felt like you could hear a pin drop. Even the judge seemed somber. Mrs. O'Keefe, John's mother, was crying.

And then even the jurors, when they came in, the jurors have had great poker faces over the course of this trial, but there was definitely a sense of defeat when they came in for the last time and the judge declared a mistrial. And the air was so heavy in that room.

And then even the jurors, when they came in, the jurors have had great poker faces over the course of this trial, but there was definitely a sense of defeat when they came in for the last time and the judge declared a mistrial. And the air was so heavy in that room.

And then once the mistrial was declared, you could hear inside the courtroom the cheers and the screams from the free Karen Reid supporters outside the courtroom. You could hear that all the way in the courtroom. And so to have this moment that was so sad and bizarre and confusing and felt like a non-ending in the courtroom paired with the faint sounds of cheers outside was just bizarre.

And then once the mistrial was declared, you could hear inside the courtroom the cheers and the screams from the free Karen Reid supporters outside the courtroom. You could hear that all the way in the courtroom. And so to have this moment that was so sad and bizarre and confusing and felt like a non-ending in the courtroom paired with the faint sounds of cheers outside was just bizarre.

Everyone I've talked to, reporters and lawyers alike, have said, I've never seen anything like this before. I interviewed an attorney who said, I haven't seen a crowd like this at a murder trial since OJ.

Everyone I've talked to, reporters and lawyers alike, have said, I've never seen anything like this before. I interviewed an attorney who said, I haven't seen a crowd like this at a murder trial since OJ.

I think the mistrial is something that legal experts saw coming as a possibility, a hung jury. But at the end of the day, everyone outside that courthouse, Karen and her attorneys, the O'Keeffe family, everyone was expecting and wanted a verdict. Everyone in that jury room, I'm sure, was as divided as the public is when they talk about this case.

I think the mistrial is something that legal experts saw coming as a possibility, a hung jury. But at the end of the day, everyone outside that courthouse, Karen and her attorneys, the O'Keeffe family, everyone was expecting and wanted a verdict. Everyone in that jury room, I'm sure, was as divided as the public is when they talk about this case.

I don't know anybody who has believed one thing on this case and can have a conversation with somebody who believes the opposite and convince them to change their minds. People have very strong beliefs about what they think happened here. And I think that was reflected in the jury.

I don't know anybody who has believed one thing on this case and can have a conversation with somebody who believes the opposite and convince them to change their minds. People have very strong beliefs about what they think happened here. And I think that was reflected in the jury.

I do think, if I'm looking optimistically, maybe a silver lining takeaway from the public spectacle around this case is that people are paying attention and learning about how the court works, about how the police work, about how the trial systems work, perhaps about poor training and funding of some of our publicly funded police departments and investigators.

I do think, if I'm looking optimistically, maybe a silver lining takeaway from the public spectacle around this case is that people are paying attention and learning about how the court works, about how the police work, about how the trial systems work, perhaps about poor training and funding of some of our publicly funded police departments and investigators.