It is finally showtime for the court case surrounding the death of Boston police officer John O'Keefe in January 2022. The trial has started for his then-girlfriend, Karen Read, who is accused of intentionally backing her Lexus SUV into O'Keefe after a drunken fight in the car and leaving him to die in the snow outside a fellow officer's home, according to prosecutors.
Videos and photos of Aiden Kearney, who is better known as 'Turtleboy,' in handcuffs for allegedly intimidating witnesses was the lighter that lit a river of gasoline. His blog's loyal followers – who call themselves 'Turtle Riders' – came out in full support of Kearney, as his lawyers told the judge his client 'vehemently denies' the accusations and argued his opinions are protected by the First Amendment.
Read, a now-45-year-old financial analyst and college professor, was dating O'Keefe at the time. She said she dropped him off at Albert's home around 12:30 a.m. She said O'Keefe never came home, and he could not be reached. Read and her friends went out for him, when Read said they found O'Keefe's body in the snow outside the suburban home. Prosecutors allege Read was drunk, argued with O'Keefe and ran him over with her car when she dropped him off.
The Norfolk County District Attorney's Office alleged he crossed the line by intimidating witnesses and was arrested in October, which enraged his loyal followers. The prosecutor alleged Kearney 'showed up' at sporting events of witnesses' children and 'made scenes,' harassed and photographed witnesses at their homes and jobs and instructed followers of his blog to do the same.
The curtains opened with jury selection, which a local law professor said will be pivotal and challenging. 'The influence of media, social media, the sidebars with the turtle blogger. All the information that's been going back and forth from the DA's office and the defense team, I think it's going to be a long road to pick an impartial jury,' Suffolk University Law Professor Christopher Dearborn told CBS News.