Turtleboy factor: As Karen Read trial starts, Holden blogger’s influence on display

When jury selection began Tuesday in the highly anticipated murder trial of Karen Read, the state took the unusual step of erecting a 200-foot buffer zone, complete with barricades, to prevent demonstrators from surrounding Norfolk Superior Court.

While the murder allegedly occurred in Canton, the publicity that has turned it into a regional and national fixation largely stemmed from the blog of Holden’s Aidan Kearney.

Kearney, the son of a former member of the Worcester School Committee, once taught at Shepherd Hill Regional High School in Dudley.

More: Karen Read murder trial: Protesters, pink show of support and jury selection

The blogger, known as Turtleboy, has for months argued that Read is being framed in the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, who was found dead in the snow outside another Boston police officer’s home the morning of Jan, 29, 2022.

Allegations of a coverup — involving an allegedly biased state police investigator who is accused of planting evidence that suggested Read struck O’Keefe with her SUV — have been featured on Kearney’s blog in more than 300 posts since last April.

Kearney has led a “Free Karen Read” movement that has led to intense public interest in the case and preceded his own criminal charges.

Who is Karen Read?

Karen Read is a 44-year-old Mansfield woman, formerly an adjunct professor at Bentley University, who alleges she’s being framed for murder.

Prosecutors have charged Read with second-degree murder, alleging she struck O’Keefe with her SUV and left him to die in the cold outside the home of another Boston officer following a night of heavy drinking.

Prosecutors say Read's and O’Keefe’s relationship was in distress and that the evidence in the case — including pieces of a broken taillight — show she struck O’Keefe.

What’s the alleged coverup?

Those who advocate for Read allege O’Keefe, rather than being hit by Read before entering the home of the Boston police officer as alleged, made it inside the home and was beaten there.

They’ve argued evidence suggests a dog inside the home bit O’Keefe and that he was beaten inside before being placed outside in an effort to frame Read.

Such a coverup would entail a massive undertaking, with collusion from multiple guests inside the home and the state police who investigated the murder.

Kearney has alleged that a state police detective on the case was friendly with the family that owned the home and that police planted evidence, including taillight evidence, to implicate Read.

What does the prosecution say?

Prosecutors for Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey have alleged that the coverup allegations are baseless.

They allege Read and her lawyers improperly leaked information to Kearney to drum up support and poison the jury pool.

However, complicating matters for Morrissey is that the U.S. Attorney’s office in Massachusetts, as Kearney first reported, opened an investigation regarding Read’s case — a highly unusual step that has fueled interest in, and claims of, a coverup.

Federal prosecutors have not commented publicly on their probe beyond a statement several months ago in which they said lawyers for Read were incorrect when they claimed in court that Morrissey was their target.

They have recently released information about their probe to lawyers on both sides of the case. Lawyers for both sides have said in pretrial hearings that information is favorable to their theories.

Will Kearney’s coverage factor into the case?

While Kearney's influence will be felt outside the trial in the throngs of people there to support Read, it is unclear to what extent Kearney’s coverage of Read’s case will factor into the trial itself.

Reporting from multiple media outlets Tuesday shows the judge, while not barring Read's lawyers from exploring a "third-party culprit" defense through evidence, will not allow them to make such arguments during opening statements.

Pretrial filings from Morrissey’s office allege Read and Kearney communicated extensively, despite their contemporaneous denials, in the past year.

Prosecutors have framed the effort as an improper attempt to taint the jury pool and have charged Kearney with witness intimidation following protests he led at the homes of people he alleges to be involved in the coverup.

Kearney and his lawyer have said he is being persecuted for his attempts to expose government corruption.

Kearney was jailed after allegedly assaulting and intimidating an ex-girlfriend in December — charges his lawyer said smacked of retaliation.

The assault charge has been dropped. Both the witness intimidation cases are open.

Kearney, who was released from jail several months ago, is slated for pretrial hearings in both those cases April 23.

Kearney has continued to cover Read’s case and was outside the courthouse Tuesday morning.

His name does not appear to be on the witness list for the prosecution or the defense, according to copies of the lists posted on social media by Fox 25 reporter Ted Daniel.

The name of the woman who accused Kearney of assault and witness intimidation also does not appear on either list.

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This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: As Karen Read trial starts, Turtleboy's influence on display