Trial Spectator

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.

There's a new awareness that people are developing from paying attention to what is probably the first murder trial. A lot, a lot, a lot of these people have followed.

There's a new awareness that people are developing from paying attention to what is probably the first murder trial. A lot, a lot, a lot of these people have followed.

So that's now a big question following the mistrial is like, OK, clearly, regardless of what you believe happened in this cave, bad police behavior was exposed as a result of this trial. Who is going to be held accountable for that? I don't know about any investigations going on at the Canton Police Department. I'm not sure anything is going on there.

So that's now a big question following the mistrial is like, OK, clearly, regardless of what you believe happened in this cave, bad police behavior was exposed as a result of this trial. Who is going to be held accountable for that? I don't know about any investigations going on at the Canton Police Department. I'm not sure anything is going on there.

However, at Mass State Police, the colonel from Massachusetts State Police said for the last year and change, they've already been in the process of undergoing this six-point plan that they're working on, including how they handle investigations, how they handle media exposure, public speaking, kind of like an internal revamp that they're working on.

However, at Mass State Police, the colonel from Massachusetts State Police said for the last year and change, they've already been in the process of undergoing this six-point plan that they're working on, including how they handle investigations, how they handle media exposure, public speaking, kind of like an internal revamp that they're working on.

I think there's a lot of questions there, like is more than Trooper Proctor going to suffer any consequences because he texted his supervisors too. And it's unclear if there needs to be any accountability for that. But other than that, I'm not aware of any active internal investigations right now.

I think there's a lot of questions there, like is more than Trooper Proctor going to suffer any consequences because he texted his supervisors too. And it's unclear if there needs to be any accountability for that. But other than that, I'm not aware of any active internal investigations right now.

Basically, Karen Reed is now just a defendant out on bail again. Legally, it's like nothing ever happened. It's like the trial never happened. If they wanted it to, the trial could be a carbon copy of the one that just happened. However, that's very unlikely. There are multiple options as far as a jury goes.

Basically, Karen Reed is now just a defendant out on bail again. Legally, it's like nothing ever happened. It's like the trial never happened. If they wanted it to, the trial could be a carbon copy of the one that just happened. However, that's very unlikely. There are multiple options as far as a jury goes.

The lawyers could ask for a jury from a different county, which has happened at that courthouse before for other trials very recently, this year even. There have been jurors bused in from another county to try and get an impartial jury because in this first trial alone, it took over 400 jury interviews to get 17 jurors. So you can only imagine for round two how that will go.

The lawyers could ask for a jury from a different county, which has happened at that courthouse before for other trials very recently, this year even. There have been jurors bused in from another county to try and get an impartial jury because in this first trial alone, it took over 400 jury interviews to get 17 jurors. So you can only imagine for round two how that will go.

A lot of experts think that second-degree murder was an overcharge here. The state could bring different charges against Karen Reed or modify the charges or drop some of the charges. They could call fewer witnesses.

A lot of experts think that second-degree murder was an overcharge here. The state could bring different charges against Karen Reed or modify the charges or drop some of the charges. They could call fewer witnesses.

I can't believe there's going to be another trial. I can, but I can't.

I can't believe there's going to be another trial. I can, but I can't.

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.