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Juror reveals why Karen Read walked free in boyfriend's death
Juror reveals why Karen Read walked free in boyfriend's death

Fox News

time10 minutes ago

  • Fox News

Juror reveals why Karen Read walked free in boyfriend's death

One of the 12 jurors who cleared Karen Read of murder charges in the death of Boston cop boyfriend John O'Keefe explained the panel's reasoning Thursday, a day after her second trial came to a close. The juror also explained brief confusion Wednesday afternoon that arose out of a verdict that jurors later retracted before it was read in court. Judge Beverly Cannone sealed that one. Within minutes, jurors handed down a verdict for real. "Everything on that initial slip was the same as the slip that was presented," Juror No. 4, identified only as "Jason," told TMZ Live. He said they pulled the first slip back over the OUI charge – operating under the influence of liquor, of which jurors found her guilty. WATCH: Juror No. 4's interview "In our deliberations, we had decided there was enough evidence and proof that she was driving under the influence," he said. Jurors found Read not guilty of murder, manslaughter and fleeing a deadly accident in a trial that stretched on for more than 30 days of testimony and four days of deliberations. The lesser included charge of OUI is the Massachusetts term for drunken driving. "I don't know what happened to John," Jason said. "I was only presented a limited scope of what happened at the night, and I can only base my opinion off of the evidence that was shown in the courtroom. So, I don't really know if there was a cover-up or not. "I know that's the big conspiracy around it, but I don't really know. All I know is there was a lot of holes in the investigation. Whether they were deliberate holes or not deliberate holes, it's kinda hard for me sitting back to know that — you know, what actually happened." He said the defense claim that O'Keefe could have been killed by someone in the house — in an attack that involved a dog — was an "example of reasonable doubt." "We were tasked with finding ... with deciding this person's fate based on the proof in the evidence that the commonwealth was able to present, and there was a lot of holes," he said. He said another important factor for the jury was video that showed Read's taillight. "We could see from the car, after the alleged incident happened, when we could see the taillight it was lit up red, where it shouldn't just have been red," he said. "I don't believe that the SUV collided with John O'Keefe." Still, he added, there was no way for jurors to know whether claims of a "corrupt" police investigation were true. "I don't know that there was any corruption going on," he said. "But do I know that there wasn't enough proof or evidence secured by the police to convict Karen Read? Absolutely." Also Thursday, Massachusetts State Police brass broke their silence on the years-long case marred by investigative missteps and the firing of a state trooper who played a central role in the case. Read was accused — and acquitted — of killing her boyfriend by slamming an SUV into him and leaving him to die on the ground during a blizzard after a drunken argument. Jurors found her guilty only of drunken driving, for which she received a sentence of one year probation and outpatient treatment. Col. Geoffrey Noble, the state police commissioner, said the entire department sends its condolences to O'Keefe's family. "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," Noble said in a statement. "Under my direction as colonel, the state police has, and will continue to, improve in these regards." He said the goal is to deliver "excellent" service and maintain public trust. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB Jurors did not appear to trust the investigation after four days of deliberation, when they rejected the prosecution's case almost entirely. The lead investigator on the case, former State Trooper Michael Proctor, lost his job in March after an internal investigation concluded he shared confidential and sensitive law enforcement information with civilians in a group text, the contents of which were also lewd in nature and mocked Read's health issues. It was Noble who announced the firing, days before Read's second trial began. Her first trial ended with a deadlocked jury last year after the texts were read in court and Read's defense exposed other glaring flaws in the investigation. "It is incumbent upon me, as well as every member of this department, to hold one another accountable when any member compromises our mission by failing to uphold our values," he said at the time. Noble and the department were also sued by true crime reporters and some of Read's supporters over the enforcement of a "buffer zone" around the Dedham courthouse that their lawyers called unconstitutional. Separately, local police in Canton, Massachusetts, were subjected to an external audit that recommended increased training and oversight while dispelling claims of a conspiracy to frame Read for O'Keefe's death. A federal investigation into the case ended without charges against members of either law enforcement agency.

Caroline Sunshine: I Don't See A Reason For The U.S. To Militarily Engage In The Middle East At This Current Moment
Caroline Sunshine: I Don't See A Reason For The U.S. To Militarily Engage In The Middle East At This Current Moment

Fox News

time12 minutes ago

  • Politics
  • Fox News

Caroline Sunshine: I Don't See A Reason For The U.S. To Militarily Engage In The Middle East At This Current Moment

Former Trump 2024 Campaign Deputy Communications Director Caroline Sunshine joins Fox Across America With guest host Rich Zeoli to explain why she is opposed to the U.S. getting involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran. In our country, the government derives its power from the consent of the governed. And the power resides with us, the people, and we give that power. And we have given that power to President Trump because the leaders of the past have failed us, particularly on foreign policy. And a huge reason President Trump was elected was because the American people saw that prolonged conflicts in the Middle East have been costly to us in terms of blood, in terms treasure, in times of time. They haven't seen how they've in the interest, in our interest. And every conflict always starts with some big, bold promise or that it'll be quick, that it will be just a strike, that it would be five minutes, but then it fails to answer the question of then what. And our country doesn't have a good track record there. And so, like President Trump said, great nations don't fight prolonged conflicts. And I don't see a how it is directly in the interests of the American people to go get involved in this conflict right now. And I do see a huge downside, which is that getting involved in the conflict, I see derailing President Trump's domestic agenda, which is so important and another reason why he was elected. I think if we get involved with this conflict, this war will become a huge distraction. And President Trump's extremely popular agenda here at home of deporting the 15 million illegal immigrants that were let in under the previous administration, implementing tariffs, and rebuilding our middle class will get completely derailed. And those things are more directly in the interest of the American people than getting involved in a conflict again in the Middle East. Caroline Sunshine Reacts To The Trump-Elon Feud Check out the podcast to hear their full discussion!

Mystery flights from China to Iran raise questions amid Israel conflict
Mystery flights from China to Iran raise questions amid Israel conflict

Fox News

time15 minutes ago

  • Business
  • Fox News

Mystery flights from China to Iran raise questions amid Israel conflict

Print Close By Andrew Miller, Cameron Arcand Published June 19, 2025 Several Boeing 747s have been spotted on radar leaving China for Iran over the last week, according to reports, sparking concerns that the CCP is helping the Middle Eastern nation transport cargo or people out of the country as Israel continues to strike the country's nuclear facilities. Starting on June 14th, FlightRadar24 shows that at least five flights traveled from China to Iran, and The Telegraph reported that the "mystery transport planes" had flown westward along northern China before crossing into Kazakhstan, south through Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and then fell off radar as they approached Iran. Additionally, the report indicated that the flights had a final destination of Luxembourg but don't appear to have ever crossed into European airspace. Some experts have speculated that these types of planes are typically used for transport and could be evidence of China aiding its longtime ally Iran during the conflict with Israel, although Fox News Digital has not independently confirmed the nature of the flights. 'INSTINCTS FOR RESTRAINT': SENATE DIVIDED OVER WHO GETS TO DECLARE WAR "I think it's important to remember what the relationship is, forty-three percent of China's oil and gas comes from the Middle East, a large volume of that from Iran," Robert Greenway, director of the Heritage Foundation's Center for National Defense, told "The Ingraham Angle" on Wednesday night. "It likes to buy sanctioned oil below market value, and that fuels the Chinese economy and also its military ambitions, and so, that's the central relationship. They've been relatively quiet – in fact, extremely quiet – about the current conflict and coming to Iran's assistance. We also know that a large fire in Bandar-Bas port was Chinese solid propellant for missiles that exploded and created a tremendous amount of damage just about a month ago. I think it's unlikely to see Chinese arms shipments under the circumstances to Iran. It's more likely that Iran may be removing material or personnel or regime valuables to safe haven in light of the conflict. I think that's probably the extent to which China is willing to accept the risk associated with the current circumstances." HOW BUNKER BUSTER BOMBS WORK AND HOW THEY COULD DESTROY IRAN'S FORDOW NUCLEAR SITE In 2021, Fox News Digital reported that Tehran and Beijing signed a 25-year cooperation deal amidst great fanfare in the Iranian capital. University of Tehran Professor Mohammad Marandi, who is close to the regime, told Fox News that it is about much more than what's on paper. "This strategic partnership is important because it allows Iran and China to build a roadmap for long-term relations that will be much more fruitful," he said. "It's also a signal being sent to the United States. The more the U.S. tries to isolate Iran and China, the more it causes countries like Iran and China to move more closely to each other." TUGBOATS, CRUISE SHIPS AND FLIGHTS: ISRAEL BEGINS EMERGENCY EVACUATION OF CITIZENS AMID IRAN WAR Some have cast doubt on the flights representing a nefarious connection between the two nations, including Atlantic Council fellow Tuvia Gering who posted on X that an aviation expert told him the flights are "nothing to write home about." "There are regular cargo flights by the Luxembourg-based freight company from several locations in China to Europe, with a stopover in Turkmenistan (just a few dozen kilometers from the Iranian border)," Gering wrote. "Some flight tracking websites lose the tracking signal shortly before landing and continue to show a projected route that appears to enter Iranian airspace. The sites clearly indicate that this is an estimated path; checking the aircraft tail numbers shows they take off again from Turkmenistan a few hours later, and reviewing the flight history of these routes shows they always land in Ashgabat and do not continue into Iran. All this is before even considering the obvious logic that a major European cargo company is highly unlikely to be the channel through which China transfers its super-advanced, top-secret strategic weapons to Iran." ISRAEL'S WAR WITH IRAN IS A GLOBAL FLASHPOINT. AMERICA MUST LEAD BEFORE IT SPREADS Tensions between Iran and Israel have escalated significantly in recent days, with the United States contemplating whether it will get directly involved in striking Iran. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and he is expected to meet with national security and defense leaders again on Thursday. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "Yes, I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do. I can tell you this that Iran's got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate," Trump said Wednesday. "And I said, why didn't you negotiate with me before all this death and destruction? Why didn't you go? I said to people, why didn't you negotiate with me two weeks ago? You could have done fine. You would have had a country. It's very sad to watch this," the president added. Print Close URL

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