A photo of Karen Reed’s lawyer with his arms around his smiling client’s waist and chest could have a damaging effect on the retrial, a former homicide detective has said.
Photos obtained by Fox News Digital and others show the pair in a warm embrace and Alan Jackson, the high-powered lawyer who defeated the murder charge against Reid.
The photo was taken outside a restaurant in Boston on Thursday, June 27, after the case was handed over to the jury for deliberation.
“Perception is everything, and if the photo proves to be of an attorney and client embracing, I can assure you that it’s not a pretty look,” Ted Williams, a former Washington, D.C. homicide detective, told Fox News.
Jackson did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital about the photo.
After invalidation ruling, experts explain all the possibilities for Karen Reid
Karen Reed and her attorney Alan Jackson (center) arrive at a restaurant in Boston on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Source: Fox News Digital)
Jackson and David Yanetti, Reid’s leading lawyers, argued that the accusation that Reid killed her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, was part of an elaborate cover-up and entrapment.
They failed to sufficiently sow the seeds of doubt, and the jury could not reach a consensus after nearly 26 hours of deliberations, ending the weeks-long trial in a mistrial.
Reid, a 44-year-old financial analyst, Dedham, MassachusettsAfter two years of intrigue and malicious rhetoric against the family and friends of Reed and O’Keeffe, she walked out of the court a free woman.
But the story isn’t over yet.
“The federal government intends to retry the case,” the prosecutor said after Monday’s acquittal, before a smiling Reid and his defense team finished speaking with supporters and media.
Karen Reed smiles as her attorney, David Yannetti, speaks to reporters outside Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, Monday, July 1, 2024. A judge declared a mistrial Monday after jurors could not agree on a case in which Reed was accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend by running him over with an SUV and leaving him in a snowstorm. (AP Photo/Stephen Sene)
Karen Reed and her attorney, Alan Jackson, arrive at a restaurant in Boston on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Source: Fox News Digital)
Karen Reed and her attorney, Alan Jackson, arrive at a restaurant in Boston on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Source: Fox News Digital)
The story before, during and after the trial focused on Mr. Reed.
The incident created a civil war-like atmosphere in the Boston suburb of Canton, with O’Keeffe’s death becoming more of a footnote than a central focus.
Karen Reed murder case ends with ‘deeply divided’ jury verdict
“It’s become the Karen Reed show,” says O’Keefe’s brother, Paul O’Keefe. He told CBS Boston“She will walk through the supportive crowds, she will be out in front of the public taking photos and signing autographs.
“She’s going about her life as if nothing happened.”
Flags, flowers and memorial items are placed on either side of the gravestone of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe at Blue Hill Cemetery in Braintree, Massachusetts, Thursday, June 27, 2024. A judge on Monday, July 1, 2024, declared a mistrial after jurors reached a deadlock in the case of Karen Reed, who was accused of killing her police officer boyfriend, O’Keefe, by running him over with an SUV and leaving him in a snowstorm. Prosecutors said in a statement they intend to retry the case. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
Officer John O’Keefe is seen in this undated photo released by Boston Police. (Boston Police Department via The Associated Press)
The Massachusetts jury deliberated for nearly 26 hours and could not reach a consensus for several days.
The first of two memos sent to the judge on Monday said jurors were “deeply divided” by their “strong beliefs” and that “reaching agreement is impossible.”
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The judge ordered the jury to deliberate again as a last resort to reach a unanimous verdict.
The result was the same and the trial ended.
“While we are committed to the task entrusted to us, fundamental differences of opinion and sentiment have left us deeply divided,” the jury wrote in their final report to the judge.
Karen Reed (right) looks up as attorney Alan Jackson (center) speaks to reporters outside Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, Monday, July 1, 2024, while attorney David Yanetti (left) looks on. A judge declared a mistrial Monday after jurors fell out of agreement in the case of Reed, who was accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend by running him over with an SUV and leaving him in a snowstorm. (AP Photo/Stephen Sene)
Karen Reed receives a long hug from her father, William, before the jury breaks for lunch, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. (Greg Durr/Patriot Ledger via The Associated Press, Pool)
The jury deliberated for several weeks in a trial that included 74 witnesses and about 700 pieces of evidence.
Prosecutors argued that a drunken altercation escalated into a violent altercation in January 2022, when Reed allegedly rear-ended O’Keefe with his SUV in northeasterly winds, causing O’Keefe’s death.
Dashcam footage of the night John O’Keefe was found dead
His body was found in the front yard of a powerful and well-connected family. Law Enforcement Mr Reid alleged that Ms O’Keefe’s death was cleverly covered up by her family to frame her.
The dissenting jury was as divided as the sleepy Boston suburb of Canton.
Critics of Karen Reed gathered outside the courthouse in Dedham, Massachusetts, on Friday, June 28, 2024. (Patriot Pics/Backgrid, courtesy of Fox News Digital)
Supporters of Karen Reed celebrate near Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, Monday, July 1, 2024. A judge declared a mistrial Monday after jurors could not agree on a case in which Reed was accused of killing a Boston police officer’s girlfriend by running her over with an SUV and leaving her in a snowstorm. (AP Photo/Stephen Sene)
Protesters made their voices heard, #FreeKaren signs were raised, and family and friends of both sides in the lawsuit were berated and heckled.
One of O’Keefe’s friends told Fox News Digital that Reed supporters yelled expletives and taunts as they entered the courtroom on the first day of the trial. trial.
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Aidan “Turtleboy” Carney, a controversial blogger who was often seen carrying a bullhorn and writing about the incident in support of Reid, was assaulted outside a bar in Canton.
Two people, Jillian Daniels and James Farris, both of Canton, have been charged with assault, police confirmed. NBC 10 Boston.
