Latest news with #accusation
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Mother of slain Boston police officer sends wordless message to Karen Read in courtroom showdown
John O'Keefe's mother sent a solemn message to Karen Read, his suspected killer, in court last week during her trial on murder and other charges, according to a body language expert. Read, 45, is accused of slamming into O'Keefe with her 2021 Lexus SUV and leaving him to die on the ground in a blizzard on Jan. 29, 2022. Her attorneys deny that a collision happened and assert that something else killed O'Keefe, a 46-year-old Boston police officer. Expert Witness In Karen Read Murder Trial Caught With 'Errors' Inflating His Credentials Throughout the bitter court battle of her second trial, the sides have been called to sidebar repeatedly as lawyers on both sides object to one another's questioning. As Read walked to the bench with her legal team, Peggy O'Keefe, seated every day front and center, gave the defendant a grim look, video shows. Read On The Fox News App WATCH: The prosecution team in Karen Read's trial shares 2024 TV interview "It was so overt that she didn't even hide it, because the mom shows every expression on her face throughout this trial," Susan Constantine, the expert, told Fox News Digital. "There's no love lost there. She does not like Karen Read, doesn't trust her, doesn't believe her, thinks she's killed her son." WATCH: Peggy O'Keefe glares at Karen Read during murder trial She called the look "stalker eyes" – like a lioness – and was a way of speaking to Read without saying a word, she said. "She was following her as if she was sending the message, 'I'm watching you, I see you, I'm following you,'" Constantine said. "She's doing what she normally would do as a protective mother." Karen Read Defense Grills Crash Expert Over $400K Price Tag And Experimentation Methods O'Keefe could not immediately be reached for comment. She was back in the front row, observing the proceedings, the next day. "She's the mother," Constantine said. "She has every right to believe what she believes." Who To Watch As Karen Read's Defense Steps Up To Plate – And It's Not Slugger Alan Jackson The relationship between O'Keefe and Read had been deteriorating in the weeks before his death, his niece, a juvenile, testified earlier. Texts between Read and a potential romantic rival, Brian Higgins, showed she complained about having to deal with O'Keefe's adopted children. He was caring for his young niece and nephew after their mother and father died within months of each other. Karen Read's Suv Reached '74% Throttle' Moments Before John O'keefe's Final Movements, Crash Expert Testifies Similar to O'Keefe, Karen Read's father, William Read, has been in court every day as both parents look to cement a sense of solidarity with their children. "The jury misses nothing about family and friend activity in the audience area," retired Massachusetts Superior Court Judge and Boston College law professor Jack Lu told Fox News Digital. But in a stark contrast, Read's father has been mingling with her fans and chatting with the press in an apparent bid to win public sentiment over to his daughter. On Friday, he was seen shaking hands and posing for photos with her supporters shortly before arriving for the first day of the defense team's testimony. "I'm always the oldest one in these shots," he told the group as he smiled for the camera. "I guess it's better than the alternative, huh?" WATCH: Karen Read's father greets supporters outside daughter's trial Read's father's demeanor directly conflicts with the behavior of O'Keefe, with experts pointing to key differences between the parents. "He's very cordial," Constantine told Fox News Digital. "There's a stark contrast from the opposing side and [O'Keefe's] mom. [She] is distressed, angry and disgusted. The sneering and all that, we don't see in Karen Read's father at all. I mean he is certainly a trooper, standing in the gap for his daughter and he's standing strong." Follow The Fox True Crime Team On X William Read has frequently stopped to speak to reporters on the steps of the courthouse as his daughter's entourage is leaving for the day, and previously said he would like to be called as a witness in her trial. "What this state is doing is a persecution of Karen Read," her father said on the courthouse steps earlier this month. "And this collection of actors [and] witnesses is disgraceful." Constantine points to his confidence as another indicator of how the family feels about Read's case. "I think that he feels that he's got a great case," Constantine said. "They've obviously had great counsel, and you could tell that he feels very confident having his daughter being represented by this team. I think he feels that she's fairly represented." Hours after her father made his appearance with supporters outside the courthouse, Read spent Friday's lunch recess shaking hands and thanking those who came to show solidarity – a move that mirrors her own father. "You can see a lot of Karen in her father," Constantine said. "You could see that they were waving at everybody. I saw a picture of Karen [and] she's waving at everybody as the car's pulling up. It reminded me of Michael Jackson – he did the same thing in his case. But [William Read] was resting his arm out, and he's waving at everybody as if they're a celebrity. I don't think he is doing it in a showy way or in a narcissistic way at all. I see him as being very, very supportive and cordial with everyone, trying to connect with other people out there and Karen's supporters, and I think he's very appreciative of it."Original article source: Mother of slain Boston police officer sends wordless message to Karen Read in courtroom showdown
Daily Mail
18-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Why kids of air force pilot accused of 'murdering mum and staging it as a tragic late-night lawnmower incident' have moved out of home
The estranged children of the air force pilot accused of killing their mum and staging it as a lawnmower accident have moved out of the family home as he moves back in. RAAF Squadron Leader Robert Crawford, 47, has been freed on bail awaiting trial and is living at the family farmhouse in the Lockyer Valley in Queensland 's Darling Downs. He allegedly strangled his psychologist wife Frances, 49, before faking her death as a tragic accident where she had been crushed by an overturned ride-on lawnmower. Crawford was allowed out of jail without an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet after police told the court it wouldn't work because of network limitations at his rural home. But after his release, a family friend has revealed the couple's adult children have moved out amid the murder allegations their father faces over their mother's death. According to a close friend of Ms Crawford, the children have now been left penniless by the decision to leave home but feel they still can't return at this time. It is not suggested that they left home because they had any view on the guilt or innocence of their father. Crawford's bail hearing was told the children, aged 23, 20, and 19, accuse their dad of being abusive, explosive and violent, and grew up 'walking on eggshells'. 'The applicant clearly has a bad relationship with his children,' the police prosecutor told the court. 'Given the nature of these charges it cannot be underestimated that he does not present a risk to witnesses.' Crawford admitted to detectives that he had multiple affairs during his 27-year marriage. 'Frances and I have had marital problems in the past, but we have been trying to fix these issues,' Crawford told the police in his first interview after her death, court documents revealed. 'Our problems stem from me being unfaithful during our marriage. I have been unfaithful on numerous occasions over the course of a 10-year period. 'Francis became aware of these incidents in mid 2023 and this resulted in me moving out of the family home.' Crawford lived at a Brisbane address and on his RAAF base between July 2023 and April 2024, but insisted they were 'giving our marriage the best shot at success'. However, the court also heard that during the separation Crawford had set up an account on the e-Harmony dating website. Robert Crawford (pictured) is an squadron leader - a senior role and the equivalent of a Major in the Army - who operates out of the Royal Australian Airforce Amberley Base Police raised concerns that Crawford's return to the family home after both the long separation with his wife and his eight months incarceration could cause issues. 'He proposes to return to the scene of his alleged crimes,' the police prosecutor said. 'He had not lived at that property for a relatively extended period of time prior to April 2024. 'The property is likely to be sought as part of the deceased estate by the applicants' children. At this stage there is no legal impediment of him living there.' The move has outraged friends and family of Ms Crawford, said her close friend Suzanne Duffy. 'To say the family are angry is an understatement,' she said. 'The grandfather of Frances Crawford's children put up $250,000 for her alleged murderer's bail.' In multiple comments online, Ms Duffy slammed the decision to allow Crawford to be released back into the community ahead of his trial. Ms Duffy has now set up a GoFundMe for the Crawfords' children which has raised almost $25,000 to help fund ongoing mental healthcare, living costs and legal fees. 'The plea for your support is desperate and urgent,' she posted in the online fundraiser appeal. 'The laws should be changed; the kids are entitled to that house.' Ms Crawford was found dead at their rural home, 100km west of Brisbane, in the early hours of July 30, 2024. She was discovered by emergency services at the base of a rock wall next to a ride-on lawnmower with fatal head and neck injuries. Crawford was arrested around ten weeks later in October and charged with his wife's murder and interfering with her corpse. Police allege Crawford strangled his wife, then used her phone to send fake messages before staging her fatal accident. During the bail application Crawford's lawyer Saul Holt said there was no conclusive evidence to support the prosecution's claim that his client strangled his wife in a state of 'murderous rage'. But the court was told Crawford posed 'an unacceptable risk of failing to appear, committing an offence, endangering the safety or welfare of witnesses and others and/or interfering with witnesses'. 'There are no conditions which can be imposed to ameliorate those risks to an acceptable level,' the police prosecutor said. Crawford was remanded in custody after he was initially charged but seven months later, Justice Frances Williams granted bail and freed him on May 2. Crawford looked tanned and relaxed as he reported to the Toowoomba Police station around 20km from his Upper Lockyer Valley farm last Monday. On Wednesday, dressed in shorts and a fitted T-shirt, he popped into Bunnings to buy a light bulb. Clearly concerned about being spotted, given the high profile of his case, he chose to slip in and out of the trade entry with his sunglasses firmly kept on.
ABC News
07-05-2025
- ABC News
VIDEO: Erin Patterson trial continues after survivor gives evidence
Erin Patterson is accused of poisoning guests at a lunch at her house, with the court hearing her beef wellington was served on a different coloured plates compared to the other diners.
Telegraph
06-05-2025
- Telegraph
Sister of woman arrested over Dordogne murder says she was wrong accused
A French pensioner detained over the suspected murder of a British mother in the Dordogne was 'wrongly accused', her brother has told The Telegraph. Philippe Monribot said his sister had fallen in love with a man who was thought to be having an affair with Karen Carter, found dead outside her guest house in the Dordogne He explained how police targeted his sibling because she had told everyone in the village she was in love with Jean-François Guerrier, who volunteered at a café with Mrs Carter. 'She went around Trémolat saying, 'I'm in love, I don't have a husband any more. I'm in love,' Mr Monribot said. Marie Laure Autefort, a 69-year-old retired carer and amateur genealogist, was detained by the French authorities and later released. She has since left the village of Trémolat, east of Bordeaux. 'All I know is that she's in a very, very bad way and won't get over this accusation,' Mr Monribot said. 'She was easy prey, for the journalists, for the prosecutor, it was easy. She told everyone in Trémolat, 'I love Jean-François. 'They destroyed her, destroyed her, the family is destroyed. 'Like coming out of Guantanamo' 'She couldn't say anything when she got out (of questioning). It was like coming out of Guantanamo.' Mrs Carter, a 65-year-old mother of four, was found sprawled on the ground next to her car on April 29 with eight stab wounds to her 'chest, groin, arm and leg'. Her body was discovered by Mr Guerrier, a 74-year-old retired Fujitsu executive from the village with whom she had allegedly been having an affair for several weeks. Ms Autefort was released the day after she was detained when detectives examined her schedule. She has now fled to Paris to escape the 'bad atmosphere' of the village, Mr Monribot said. Over a café au lait outside the village's pizzeria, Mr Monribot said his sister was 'very, very far away in Paris... because she was wrongly accused'. Gesturing to the cobbled streets and the medieval church opposite, he said: 'She was beautiful, she was like France.' French prosecutors leading the murder investigation said Mrs Carter had been in a relationship with Mr Guerrier for several weeks at the time of her death. Mrs Carter's husband, Alan Carter, who is travelling to Tremolat from his home in South Africa, said he was unaware of the relationship until it was publicly announced by French authorities and has described 'a feeling of complete betrayal'. Police are pursuing the theory that the killer may have harboured a grudge against either the couple or Mrs Carter herself. Mrs Carter and Mr Guerrier had previously been filmed dancing with each other at parties hosted at the Café Village, an eatery and community hub in Trémolat where they both regularly volunteered.
