Latest news with #LindaKenneyBaden
Fox News
5 days ago
- Fox News
Bryan Kohberger shows cracks as families confront him in court: expert
From the moment he entered the courtroom for his long-awaited sentencing for the quadruple murders of four University of Idaho students, Bryan Kohberger projected what experts described as a cold, robotic presence. According to body language expert Susan Constantine, his frozen posture, sunken appearance, furrowed brows, and manic stare suggested a man attempting to control the courtroom with "covert hostility" masked as indifference. His mask at times cracked in subtle ways as he was sentenced for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen and listened to the emotional victim impact statements. Constantine told Fox News Digital that his body language communicated "emotional detachment" as he sat rigid in an orange jumpsuit and shackled ankles listening "intently" throughout the multi-hour sentencing. Body language expert and defense attorney Linda Kenney Baden described Kohberger as "an empty vessel filled with hate," telling Fox News Digital that despite his efforts to appear unbothered, his emotions at times betrayed him. "Involuntary blinks, winces, breathing shifts, and occasional postural slumping," Baden said. In one photo, Kohberger was seen shaking hands with one of his defense attorneys, Elissa Massoth, who is facing him. Kohberger's expression is tense and composed, his lips pressed into a tight line as he maintains a fixed, forward gaze. Massoth, known for her work as a capital-qualified defense attorney, appeared professional and engaged at the moment, while Kohberger appeared rigid with his eyes piercing past her. As victim impact statements kicked off Wednesday, his mask cracked in subtle but telling ways, like incessant blinking, leaning back, and tightened jaw movement, particularly when his ego was directly challenged by the families' statements, Baden said. In Alivea's victim impact statement, Constantine observed Kohberger's "rapid blinking" following each emotional jab. Kaylee's older sister delivered a scathing rebuke of Kohberger, saying that he was "not profound. You're pathetic." Constantine said that Kohberger's escalating blinking signaled "discomfort and ego disruption" as Alivea issued her "sharp and condiment tone with an edge of condescension and snarkiness towards Kohberger." Baden called Alivea's statement the "star of the courtroom," saying that she had "rattled the snake's head off." Her takedown included rhetorical questions challenging his motive and intelligence. "What were Kaylee's last words?" she asked. "Do you feel anything at all—or are you exactly what you always feared? Nothing." "You didn't create devastation. You revealed it, and it's in yourself," she said. "That darkness you carry, that emptiness, you'll sit with it long after this is over. That is your sentence." As Kaylee's mother expressed that Kohberger "stole her peace," Kohberger remained stone-faced. "When you murdered my daughter, you shattered others. You stole my peace. You altered my every waking moment," she said. Both Constantine and Baden pointed to Kohberger's subtle shoulder tension and tightened jaw as Goncalves' landed another emotional punch. "I wish I could crown you with a jester hat," she said. "Go to hell." Constantine and Baden said that Kaylee's mother's sarcastic jab at his "genius" status and calling him a "joke" assaulted "his constructed self-image." Kaylee's father, Steve Goncalves, physically moved the podium to confront Kohberger eye-to-eye. It was a "direct power reversal," Constantine said. "The world's watching because of the kids, not because of you. Nobody cares about you," he said. "In time, you will be nothing but two initials, forgotten to the wind." He called Kohberger a "joke" and described how easy it was to track him down. "Police officers tell us within minutes they had your DNA. Like a calling card. You were that careless. That's foolish. That's stupid. Master's degree? You're a joke. Complete joke," he said. As Goncalves "downgraded" Kohberger from criminal mastermind to sloppy coward, Kohberger leaned back, the only full-body reaction noted by Constantine. "His full-body reaction [to Steve's statement] was indicative of discomfort, retreat or shock," she said. Laramie's voice, though quieter, hit a nerve, Baden said. The body language expert noted that Kohberger winced and his "breathing changed" as Laramie spoke about Maddie. Laramie said the tragic loss of their daughter has left a "vast emotional wound" that will "never heal." Constantine noted Kohberger's "emotional void" as Xana Kernodle's older sister spoke, declaring: "Her light still shines, and her voice will echo louder than this pain. You didn't take that from us. And you never will." WATCH: SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER Baden noted a shift in posture as Xana Kernodle's aunt offered an olive branch in forgiving Kohberger and offering to talk. "For the first time, Kohberger slumped slightly, exposing his stomach chains, perhaps revealing fatigue discomfort, or unacknowledged remorse," Baden noted.
Fox News
20-06-2025
- Fox News
Cleared of murder charges, Karen Read could eye legal payback against investigators who cost her
Cleared of murder charges after her second trial, Karen Read of Massachusetts could pursue legal action against a number of individuals and government entities involved in the case against her, according to legal analysts. "She has a way to sue both the individual officers who are violating her privacy who did an investigation that was not complete, that was inaccurate, that was incompetent," said Linda Kenney Baden, a New York City defense attorney whose clients have included Aaron Hernandez, Phil Spector and Casey Anthony. "And also she (may) sue the Commonwealth and the Massachusetts State Police for not training their officers to do a competent investigation and training their officers not to invade her privacy – and which results in her false arrest under the Constitution of the United States." She may also have a malicious prosecution claim, Kenney Baden said. Read lost two jobs after being charged with murder, a charge she was cleared of Wednesday, and sold her house to help cover multimillion-dollar legal fees. Under the circumstances, the more people or entities she sues who are covered by insurance, the better. "She wants a whole bunch of lawyers in, because she wants policies, money, policies to collect against," Kenney Baden said. On the other hand, she's facing a lawsuit of her own from O'Keefe's family. "The more money that she can get, the more money that the O'Keefes are going to seek," the lawyer said. But in the process, Read could also file a cross claim against the two Canton bars that are also facing lawsuits from the O'Keefe family. "She can still file against the bars for serving her, because the jurors found that she drove intoxicated," Kenney Baden said. David Gelman, a Philadelphia-area defense lawyer and former prosecutor, told Fox News Digital the recently cleared Read could set her sights on local police in Canton, state troopers, individual investigators and maybe even the state government. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB "Keep an eye on the prosecutor's office," he said. "Through discovery, if it comes out that they were in cahoots, they will be brought into it." The Norfolk District Attorney's Office brought in a special prosecutor to handle Read's second trial after the first ended with a deadlocked jury and a fired lead homicide investigator. SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER The detective, Michael Proctor, sent confidential information about the case to civilians, according to a state police review that led to his firing. He also appeared to mock Read's medical conditions, which legal experts say could be considered an invasion of privacy. "She theoretically could sue one or more of the officers or investigators for violation of her constitutional rights, for fabricating reports or false submission of evidence," said Randolph Rice, a Maryland-based attorney who has followed the case. "Then the issue becomes the supervising agency, [which] may deny liability because they will argue that it's outside the scope of that investigating officer's employment." He said embattled police may be in the clear, however, because they did establish probable cause before a grand jury.
