Latest news with #Canton
CBS News
10 hours ago
- CBS News
Karen Read juror confident in verdict, says "we couldn't prove there was a collision"
Paula Prado is recounting the gravity and emotions of being one of the 12 jurors in the high-profile Karen Read retrial. She said it was an intense week and left court crying but is confident in her decision. "I was happy for Karen Read and her family of course. I think justice was served," Prado said. "But seeing John O'Keefe's family leaving the courthouse, was melt my heart. I'm a mother and I saw her pain through all those days." On Wednesday, the jury acquitted Read of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of bodily injury in the death of her boyfriend, John O'Keefe, in Canton, Massachusetts. Read was only found guilty of operating under the influence of alcohol (OUI). "Investigators didn't do their jobs" "I just want to tell them it's not our fault that Karen Read was not convicted," Prado said. "Even if there is any chance that she is guilty of something, of hurt him somehow, the Commonwealth or the investigators didn't do their jobs to prove that to us." Prado is a lawyer from Brazil. She says part of the reason why the jury reached their verdict, was because of the police investigation, saying there were too many inconsistencies and not enough evidence that a crash occurred. "At first for me, I thought Karen Read was actually maybe guilty of manslaughter in the beginning. But as the weeks passed by, I just realized there was too many holes that we couldn't fill and there is nothing that put her on the scene in our opinion besides just dropping John O'Keefe off," Prado said. "And the taillight, the injuries on his arm didn't make much sense that come from a taillight for us," she said. She said the last witness from ARCCA did a very good job making it clear for her. "We couldn't prove there was a collision, and she was responsible for John's death," Prado said. Hopes O'Keefe's case can be reopened She now hopes that the amount of pressure and attention given to Read's case will be put into getting justice for Boston police officer John O'Keefe. "I really, really hope there is a way for the case to be reopened and they can investigate again and find who actually did that to John," Paula said.
CBS News
19 hours ago
- CBS News
Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey reacts to Karen Read verdict, "The jury has spoken"
The latest on the Karen Read verdict as the town of Canton looks to move on The latest on the Karen Read verdict as the town of Canton looks to move on The latest on the Karen Read verdict as the town of Canton looks to move on Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey issued a brief statement Thursday to WBZ-TV, his first comment since the verdict in the high-profile Karen Read trial. Nearly 24 hours after a jury of 12 men and women acquitted Read of murder and other charges related to the death of Boston police officer John O'Keefe, Morrissey addressed the unsuccessful prosecution of the case for the first time. "The jury has spoken," Morrissey told WBZ-TV. Read was only found guilty of operating under the influence of alcohol (OUI). WBZ-TV had reached out to Morrissey and the DA's office five times since the verdict was handed down just before 3 p.m. on Wednesday, by email and attempting to reach him in person, but had not heard back until just before 2 p.m. on Thursday. Special prosecutor Hank Brennan did not comment about the verdict when he left Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham on Wednesday. In 2023, Morrissey released a video statement regarding Read's case. In the statement, which came before Read's first trial, the district attorney called for the end of "absolutely baseless" harassment of witnesses in the case. "Conspiracy theories are not evidence," Morrissey said. "The idea that multiple police departments, EMTs, Fire personnel, the medical examiner, and the prosecuting agency are joined in, or taken-in by, a vast conspiracy should be seen for what it is - completely contrary to the evidence and a desperate attempt to re-assign guilt." Adam Lally prosecuted Read's first trial for the Norfolk DA's office. The trial ended in a mistrial due to hung jury. Brennan was hired as the special prosecutor in the retrial, funded by taxpayer dollars.
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
NFL 2025 offseason power rankings countdown guide: From No. 32 Tennessee Titans to No. 1 ... ?
The 2025 NFL season will be here before you know it. It starts with training camps in July and the Hall of Fame Game on July 31. As anticipation builds, catch up on everything you need to know with Frank Schwab's team previews countdown. A new preview will drop every weekday (except July 4) as we get closer to the Detroit Lions facing the Los Angeles Chargers in Canton, Ohio. Who will be No. 1 going into the season? Where will your team rank? Here's your guide for all the answers. Click on below to jump to that team, then click on the team name to read the full preview. No. 32 Titans No. 31 Saints No. 30 Browns No. 29 Panthers (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) A 3-14 season was a wake-up call. The Tennessee Titans not only fell to the bottom of the NFL, they slid deep into obscurity. Tennessee was truly awful but other than regular Will Levis memes and first-year head coach Brian Callahan's outward hostility toward Levis, nobody cared. They had no identity, no marketable star, a decayed roster and only one hope for the future. That hope was the first pick of the draft. The Titans could have traded that pick or taken Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter, but they knew the best path back to relevance was hitting on a pick at quarterback. That's why Cam Ward, who set an NCAA record with 158 touchdown passes at Incarnate Word, Washington State and then Miami, is a Titan. There's a long way to go and Ward won't fix all of that. There were a few bright spots on the roster — Jeffery Simmons is a star on the defensive line, 2024 rookies DT T'Vondre Sweat and CB Jarvis Brownlee Jr. had promising debuts, Tony Pollard and Calvin Ridley had 1,000-yard seasons in a bad situation — but rebuilding will take a while. If Ward hits, at least that's a start. (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) The plan for the Saints always seemed to be that when Drew Brees retired, there would be a total teardown. That really didn't happen. It still hasn't happened four years after Brees' last game. The Saints weren't recklessly aggressive as usual this offseason, but didn't blow things up and didn't make moves that would indicate they have the self awareness to know they should be in a rebuild. They still have a terrible 2026 cap situation and one of the oldest rosters in the NFL. Even a brutal 15-game stretch to end the season didn't force them into facing reality. Maybe it needs to get even worse for the Saints to realize they're at rock bottom. And it might. Kellen Moore is a rookie head coach and he does not step into a good situation. Derek Carr retired and while he wasn't great for New Orleans, the remaining quarterback solution is probably second-round pick Tyler Shough, a curious pick for a fading team considering he'll turn 26 years old in September. The surrounding cast has some recognizable names who have had good careers but is short on stars who are still in their prime. The Saints' only blue-chip player under 28 years old might be receiver Chris Olave, but he hasn't played a full season in the NFL due to four confirmed concussions. New Orleans has reached a point in which a horrific season is the best outcome. It would be a wake-up call and perhaps lead to a franchise-changing quarterback. Like the first two games last season, the Saints' idea that they can turn things around doing things the same old way seems to be nothing but a mirage. (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) The Cleveland Browns were the last to know that Deshaun Watson was one of the NFL's worst quarterbacks. It had to be cathartic for Browns fans to hear owner Jimmy Haslam say the team "took a big swing and miss with Deshaun." Everyone else knew that long ago. The Browns were in deep denial. A key decision at the top of the draft was the unofficial start of reshaping the roster. The Browns passed on the chance to draft Travis Hunter second overall to get a huge haul from the Jacksonville Jaguars in a trade. It included the fifth overall pick and the Jags' first-round pick next year. It had to be hard to give up Hunter, but it was probably the right move. The big part of the rebuild will be figuring out quarterback, and the Browns are taking a shotgun approach to it this year. They have four relatively low-cost quarterbacks and are praying one is the answer. Joe Flacco is the 40-year-old stopgap, Kenny Pickett is the reclamation project, Dillon Gabriel was the rookie the Browns drafted proactively in the third round, and Shedeur Sanders is the fifth-round pick everyone wants to talk about. If Sanders climbs up from fourth on the depth chart and starts any games this season, the Browns suddenly will become one of the most watched teams in the league. The process starts over. Hopefully for Cleveland it's not as long and difficult as the last one, and with some positive results this time. (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) After being benched earlier in the season, Bryce Young got another shot to start in Week 8 and looked like a new player. He might not have played to the level you'd dream of for a first overall pick, but he was much better. By the time he put up 251 yards and three touchdowns (one of which he finished with a confident look-away celebration with the ball in the air) in a season-ending win at the Atlanta Falcons, it seemed like a new world from the depressing low of benching a first overall pick two weeks into the season. "I think we've got our QB here," Panthers owner David Tepper told NFL Media's Cameron Wolfe after that win. The Panthers still have a long way to go. The defense gave up more points than any other team in NFL history and, while there were some offseason fixes, it'll take at least another offseason to get it to a respectable level. Young made strides but he'll need to show more improvement to live up to what the Panthers invested in him. Drafting receiver Tetairoa McMillan eighth overall should help Young. Nobody should be confusing the Panthers with a contender just because they played better late in the season with an emerging quarterback. But there's hope. It has been a while since that was the case. No. 28: To be revealed Friday
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
Michael Proctor breaks silence hours after verdict in Karen Read's retrial
Embattled former Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor sat down with ABC's Matt Gutman for an exclusive interview with 20/20 to discuss the Karen Read case. The special aired from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., covering a wide range of aspects about both the case, Read's first trial, and the subsequent fallout. Read was accused of striking John O'Keefe with her Lexus SUV and leaving him to die alone in a blizzard outside of a house party in Canton at the home of fellow officer Brian Albert on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking. Read's lawyers argued that O'Keefe was beaten, bitten by a dog, then left outside Albert's home in a conspiracy orchestrated by the police that included planting evidence against Read. At the center of that conspiracy, Read's lawyers pointed to MSP lead investigator Michael Proctor, who was eventually fired from his role with the State Police. Proctor addressed what he found in his investigation, his relationships, or lack thereof, with the people involved in the case, and the crude text messages about Karen Read. Proctor was adamant that there was no conspiracy against Read and that a vocal minority is pushing that narrative. 'Not in this happen here,' Proctor said. In fact, he claimed the evidence he gathered pointed to her guilt. As for his alleged relationships with the Alberts, McCabes, and other people who were inside the house on Fairview Road the night O'Keefe died, Proctor clarified he didn't really know any of them, and his supervisors had no problems with him leading an unbiased investigation. 'I heard of Brian Albert,' Proctor said, 'but I never met him 'til I interviewed him.' He said he knew Julie and Chris Albert through his sister, calling it 'a distant relationship.' Recusing himself, Proctor said, 'Wasn't a concern of mine, wasn't a concern of DA Michael Morrissey...' In Read's first trial, her lawyers introduced a series of crude text messages Proctor shared in a personal group chat with friends, as well as State Police supervisors. Proctor addressed those to Gutman, saying he regrets them and wishes he had handled it differently. 'I see someone who's caught up in the moment of investigating a fellow police officer and saying inappropriate things,' Proctor said. He says he can understand why people, after just seeing his explicit texts, could view him as sexist or misogynistic. Gutman pushed Proctor on his texts about wanting Karen Read to kill herself. 'It's a figure of speech,' Proctor replied. 'It was said in jest.' Proctor also talked about his firing and how it was very emotional for him, especially when his union rep had to pick up his police uniforms from his home. Despite the backlash from Read supporters, Proctor said he worked the case as he would any other. He remained adamant that there was no conspiracy against Read. 'Not one person [has come forward and] said 'I'm not going down for this, here's what really happened.'' Proctor's full interview can be found on ABC and Hulu+. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
CBS News
21 hours ago
- CBS News
Head of Massachusetts State Police responds to Karen Read verdict
The latest on the Karen Read verdict as the town of Canton looks to move on The latest on the Karen Read verdict as the town of Canton looks to move on The latest on the Karen Read verdict as the town of Canton looks to move on Massachusetts State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble said that in the aftermath of the Karen Read case, the department will continue to work on improvements in oversight and accountability. On Wednesday, Read was acquitted of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of bodily injury in the 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe. Read was found guilty of operating under the influence (OUI). Several members of the Massachusetts State Police were disciplined in recent months for their conduct during Read's case. That included Michael Proctor, the lead investigator who was fired after Read's first trial. Noble issued a statement about the verdict on Thursday. "The Massachusetts State Police extends its sincere condolences to the loved ones of Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe," Noble said. "The events of the last three years have challenged our Department to thoroughly review our actions and take concrete steps to deliver advanced investigative training, ensure appropriate oversight, and enhance accountability. Under my direction as Colonel, the State Police has, and will continue to, improve in these regards. Our focus remains on delivering excellent police services that reflect the value of professionalism and maintain public trust." Massachusetts State Police said that since Noble joined the department in October 2024, he has implemented new training for members assigned in investigative roles. That includes training on courtroom testimony and new policies surrounding social media and personal phone use. Proctor was fired in part for messages he sent about Read on his personal phone. Additional trainings were added surrounding case management and reporting, as well as the DNA process, police said.
