Why did her murder trial cause such a madness

Hundreds of people wearing pink costumes were waiting outside Massachusetts court Wednesday to hear the judgment at the Karen Read trial.

They cheered as Ms. Red was found guilty of murdering her Boston police boyfriend, John O’Keefe, in January 2022.

Passionate Tiktok followers and multiple documentaries inspired obsession with real crime events.

Some believe the case is due to the result of a flawed criminal justice system. Other judges, especially women, said they looked at the defendant.

Outside the courtroom, Ms. Red’s supporters are often noticeable for their favorite colors.

Every time she enters and exits the building, her admiration fans expand their index, pinky finger and thumb – American sign language “I love you.” MS Read, her lawyer will do the same.

In addition to the call for “Free Karen Reading,” a slogan is a slogan that many supporters are pressed into t-shirts or smeared on signs – those in the crowd seem to have something to do with her.

“It could be me,” Patti Lima, who decided to start court last week, told the BBC’s U.S. news partner CBS. “I’ll do everything she does. Exactly the same.”

Robin Burns, another woman in the crowd, told CBS that she brought her two daughters to part of two trials.

Ms Burns said: “I really believe there is a lot of corruption here, and I believe it is deep. I have three girls and this is probably one of my kids.”

The first lawsuits against MS Read went bankrupt in July 2024 after the jury was unable to make a verdict.

Prosecutors said Ms. Red ran around Mr. O’Keeffe and left him dead in the snow bed outside his colleague’s house after a drinking night. Ms. Reid believes she was framed by police for her murder.

Boston University judge lecturer Shira Diner told the BBC that the fanaticism stems from Ms. Read.

“The public doesn’t have many opportunities to see white women charged with serious crimes and pass criminal legal proceedings,” she said.

Statistically speaking, only 10% of homicide crimes in the United States are women, according to the FBI.

But Professor Diner said that the more important reason people are fascinated by cases – because Read MS “created a narrative and a story surrounded by a narrative and a story, and her experiences are indeed influential and effective”.

Unlike many people facing murder in the United States, a financial analyst, MS Read, was able to issue a $50,000 (£37,000) bond to stay while her trial is ongoing.

“Most of the people charged with second-degree murder are on high bail so they can’t do 60 minutes at trial trial [a CBS show] In the interview, they were unable to talk to their fans,” Professor Diner said.

“They can’t interact with the narrative in a way she can do it because she’s able to post a bail.”

Public relations expert Eric Schiffer told the BBC that Reid’s story “fuses every dopamine trigger-town policeman, so-called cover-up, influential detective”.

He noted that her father thanked the “content provider” after her acquittal sentence, which underscores the perceptions of his daughter in the public eye on social media and documentary and podcast hosts.

“This case proves that news of the crisis today is related to the press release – it’s a narrative about Reddit Flair Mods, who controls the sub-Reddit sidebar.”

With the verdict of the second trial being read on Tuesday, screams from the crowd outside can be heard in court.

When Ms. Reading left a free woman, she thanked the cheering crowd for years of support.

“I just want to say two things,” she said. “The first is that without these great supporters, they support me and my team financially, and more importantly, emotionally, I can’t stand here.

“The second thing I’m going to say is that there is no more effort for John O’Keefe than my team and I have than John O’Keefe.”

The O’Keeffe family left the court without commenting.