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CBS News
18-06-2025
- CBS News
Watch Live: Karen Read not guilty of murder, manslaughter, guilty of OUI
A jury acquitted Karen Read of most charges, finding her guilty only of operating under the influence of alcohol during the retrial of her high-profile Massachusetts case. Judge Beverly Cannone sentenced Read to one year probation after the verdict was announced. Read's supporters outside the courthouse shouted so loud when the verdict was read, it was difficult to hear the proceedings. You can watch coverage streaming live on CBS News Boston in the video above. Read had faced charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of bodily injury and death in the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, in January 2022. She pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. The jury began deliberating late Friday afternoon and discussed the case for about 90 minutes before returning for more deliberations Monday. The panel of seven women and five men had the case for about 20 hours total. During closing arguments Friday, prosecutor Hank Brennan said Read was driving drunk when she dropped O'Keefe off at a home in Canton, backed over him with her SUV in a rage over their failing relationship and drove off, leaving him to die in a snowstorm. Read's attorney Alan Jackson told the jury in his closing that there was no car crash and that O'Keefe was killed in a fight inside the home and that possibility was never investigated by the lead investigator, Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor. Proctor was fired for his conduct in the case. He was not called to testify in this trial. Minutes before it was officially announced that there was a verdict, Judge Beverly Cannone said that during the afternoon lunch break, the jury knocked on the court officer's door to say they had reached a verdict but moments later said they had not reached a verdict. Karen Read possible sentences If Read had been convicted of second-degree murder, she faced up to life in prison, with the possibility of parole. If the jury convicted her of manslaughter Operating Under the Influence (OUI), she faced five to 20 years in prison and a fine of $25,000. The manslaughter charge included several lesser offenses that Read could also be convicted of, which is why Read was found guilty of OUI. Read's first trial ended in July 2024 with a mistrial due to a deeply divided jury. They deliberated for five days in that trial. Karen Read retrial The second trial began on April 22. The jury heard from 49 witness during 31 days of testimony before getting the case on June 13. They had access to more than 200 pieces of evidence, including the taillight from Read's SUV and John O'Keefe's clothes from the night he died.
CBS News
30-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Watch Live: Karen Read's defense attorneys begin their case at trial
The Karen Read trial is now in the hands of the defense, which is set to call its first witness today. The prosecution rested its case in the high-profile Massachusetts murder trial on Thursday after weeks of testimony from 38 witnesses. Testimony in Dedham's Norfolk Superior Court is expected to start at about 9:30 a.m. after Judge Beverly Cannone meets with the attorneys. You can stream the trial live on CBS News Boston or in the video player above. Read is accused of hitting her Boston police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow in Canton in January 2022. She has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. Her first trial in 2024 ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury. Karen Read's defense Read said outside court on Thursday that the defense expects its case to last one-and-a-half to two weeks. Last year, the defense called all of its witnesses over the course of just two days. It remains to be seen whether the defense will call key witnesses from the last trial who were not called by the prosecution this time around, including former 34 Fairview Road homeowner Brian Albert, federal agent Brian Higgins or fired Massachusetts State Police trooper Michael Proctor. Read said Matthew DiSorga, a digital forensics expert who specializes in car data, will be the first witness that her side calls to the stand. A WBZ-TV legal analyst expects that Read's attorney Alan Jackson will handle the majority of the defense's case. Prosecution rests in Karen Read case The final witness for the prosecution was crash reconstructionist Judson Welcher, a biomechanical engineer for Aperture LLC who was subject to intense cross-examination by the defense. Welcher's testimony included videos that showed him dressing up like O'Keefe on the night he died and performing tests with an SUV similar to Read's Lexus. Before resting, special prosecutor Hank Brennan played a documentary interview clip for the jury. In the video, Read remembers a conversation she had with defense attorney David Yannetti shortly after O'Keefe's death. "Did he come and hit the back of my car, and I hit him in the knee and he's drunk and passed out and asphyxiated or something?" Read said in the clip. "You know, what if I ran his foot over, or what if I clipped him in the knee and he passed out or went to care for himself and threw up or passed out?"
CBS News
21-05-2025
- CBS News
Watch Live: Karen Read trial continues with testimony from new witness
The Karen Read trial continues Wednesday with a 20th day of testimony inside Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. Outside of court a day earlier, Read told reporters she believes the prosecution has about a week left in its case. You can watch testimony live on CBS News Boston when it begins at 9 a.m. by clicking on the video player above. Read is accused of hitting and killing Boston police officer John O'Keefe, who she was dating, with her SUV. O'Keefe's body was found in the snow outside Brian Albert's home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton in January 2022. The defense says O'Keefe was actually killed during a fight inside the home, then dragged outside and left in the yard. Wednesday is the final full day of witness testimony scheduled for the week. A half day is scheduled for Thursday. No court is scheduled for Friday or Monday due to the Memorial Day holiday weekend. It is not known who the first witness of the day will be on Wednesday. Special prosecutor Hank Brennan has been handling most of direct questioning of witnesses. Defense attorneys Alan Jackson, David Yannetti and Bob Alessi have split cross-examination duties. Karen Read trial latest On Tuesday, forensic analyst Shanon Burgess completed his testimony after two days on the stand. He spoke about the movements of Read's Lexus SUV on the night of O'Keefe's death. The defense called into question Burgess' credentials and methodology during a lengthy and at times tense cross-examination. Read, 45, has pleaded not guilty in the case to charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. She stood trial in 2024, but it ended with a mistrial due to hung jury.
CBS News
15-05-2025
- CBS News
Watch Live: Karen Read trial resumes with testimony about evidence processing
The high-profile Karen Read trial is back in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts on Thursday for a 16th day of witness testimony. The day is set to begin with a Massachusetts State Police forensic scientist back on the stand for cross-examination about evidence processing. You can watch testimony live on CBS News Boston when it begins at 9 a.m. by clicking on the video player above. Maureen Hartnett of the Massachusetts State Police crime scene lab examined Read's Lexus SUV and other evidence in the Canton Police Department garage after John O'Keefe's death took the stand on Wednesday. She was being cross-examined by defense attorney Bob Alessi when court ended for the day, and is returning to the stand on Thursday. Read is accused of hitting and killing O'Keefe, a Boston police officer who she was dating, with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow outside Brian's home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton in January 2022. Defense attorneys say O'Keefe was actually killed during a fight inside the home, then dragged outside and left in the yard. Karen Read trial latest Hartnett testified Wednesday about damage to Read's SUV, glass found on the bumper, an apparent hair she found, and other evidence she documented. Earlier Wednesday, O'Keefe's teenage niece testified about O'Keefe and Read's deteriorating relationship in the months leading up to his death. Read told reporters last week the prosecution is nearing the end of its case, though it is unclear how many witnesses they have left before the defense takes over because attorneys for both sides are under a gag order. Read, 45, has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. Read's first trial ended with a mistrial due to hung jury in 2024.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
This Massachusetts farmer won an 8-year battle to not pay $300K in back taxes — it turns out he was owed $31K
In 2022, Bill Griggs — the owner of Griggs Farm in Billerica, MA — was told that his farm owed the town $300,000 in back taxes. At the time, the farm had been in business for roughly 80 years. But Griggs fought back, demanding a breakdown of the specific taxes that the town was charging on his farmland. Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how I'm 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement — what should I do? Don't panic. Here are 5 of the easiest ways you can catch up (and fast) Nervous about the stock market in 2025? Find out how you can access this $1B private real estate fund (with as little as $10) "What they want is just unsustainable," Griggs told WBZ-TV at the time. "I do not have a breakdown. I just have a grand total. I'd like to see the breakdown of what they are actually charging on the business land." Now, CBS News Boston reports that Griggs has won his fight — and not only does he not have to pay $300,000 in back taxes, he actually gets to walk away with a $31,000 check. In 2017, Griggs stopped paying taxes on his land, claiming that the town of Billerica had been taxing his land improperly since 1997. Griggs' farm was assessed at a value of $1.2 million, which he claimed was way too high. Part of Griggs' argument was that his farm is covered under Massachusetts' Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) program. Under this program, which is voluntary, owners of farmland are paid the difference between their land's fair market value and agricultural value. In exchange, farm owners must agree to a permanent deed restriction that preserves the land for farming only. The purpose of the program is to prevent farmland from being developed, thereby making the state's agricultural industry more sustainable. It's that very program, Griggs said, that made his farm eligible for a lower tax rate. "It is preserved open land," Griggs told CBS News Boston. "It became just unsustainable when you tax so heavy. You run out of money." Part of the confusion stemmed from the fact that Billerica thought Griggs' farm was running more like a retail space. The town claimed that Griggs was selling flowers and imported vegetables to supplement his income and compensate for crops lost during summertime droughts. But Griggs insisted he was doing no such thing. Dina Favreau, a member of Billerica's Select Board, started looking into Griggs' situation prior to joining. And as she explained to CBS News Boston, parts of Griggs' land were being taxed erroneously, leading to a higher bill. "This part of the land and the parking lot was actually being taxed at commercial rates, which was completely incorrect," she said. The town voted to approve a reassessed value on Griggs' farm, and based on that new assessment, it turned out that Griggs was not only current on his tax obligations, but he was actually owed almost $31,000. Griggs told CBS Boston he plans to use that refund to improve and keep up with operations on his farm. "We will probably purchase some supplies and pay some bills," he said. "Hopefully we will be able to run some of the fields a little better now." Read more: BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has an important message for the next wave of American retirees — here's how he says you can best weather the US retirement crisis The fact that he was owed $31,000 as a refund for overpaid taxes may have come as a happy surprise for Griggs, and reinvesting that money in his farm makes sense for him. But it's important to know how to manage a surprise windfall if something similar were to happen to you. One of the first things to do is assess your emergency fund, and if you don't have one, creating one with the windfall you received is a great idea. It's important to have enough money in savings to cover at least three months of essential bills in case of an emergency, which could include losing your job. A January 2025 survey by U.S. News & World Report found that 42% of Americans do not have an emergency fund. If your emergency cash savings need a boost, or you're starting off with none, that should take priority. Next, assess your debt. You don't necessarily have to use a windfall to pay down part of a mortgage — since that's a loan you'll probably carry for a long time — and despite recently elevated rates, the interest rate on your mortgage may still be reasonable. But if you're carrying expensive credit card debt, or a personal loan with a high interest rate, those are debts that you should aim to pay off sooner than later. As of the third quarter of 2024, the average consumer credit card balance reached $6,730, according to Experian. The average personal loan balance, meanwhile, was $19,014. Eliminating or whittling down a similar balance could not only save you money on interest, but it'll also likely relieve some of your financial stress. In addition to covering some of his operating costs and buying supplies, these are things Griggs might consider using his tax refund on. Chances are he spent money on legal fees in the course of fighting his property tax assessment, so he may have debt to pay off and/or savings to replenish. Griggs may also want to start thinking about retirement — not necessarily stopping work now, but rather, saving for a time in the future when he no longer feels up to the task of managing his farm. To that end, he might be able to sell his land and use the proceeds to fund his retirement, but it also wouldn't be a bad idea to use some of his $31,000 refund to start or boost his nest egg. That's something you may want to do with a windfall once you've secured your emergency fund and have tackled high-interest debt. The more time you give a retirement nest egg to grow, the more savings you're likely to have once the time comes to call it a career. It's also a good idea to consult a financial advisor any time you come into a windfall, and that's something Griggs may want to consider as well. Unlike salaried employees who can look forward to the same paycheck every month, business owners can see their income vary. And in an industry like farming — where weather and other factors outside of one's control have the potential to impact production and income — it's important to plan for dry spells. With this in mind, it would be wise of Griggs to consult a financial professional to see how one might suggest using his $31,000 windfall. Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan 'works every single time' to kill debt, get rich in America — and that 'anyone' can do it Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead Robert Kiyosaki warns of a 'Greater Depression' coming to the US — with millions of Americans going poor. But he says these 2 'easy-money' assets will bring in 'great wealth'. How to get in now This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. Sign in to access your portfolio
