Smoke and Mirrors: The Trial of Karen Read

Smoke and Mirrors: The Trial of Karen Read

It was supposed to be just another night—drinks, friends, a ride home. But by morning, John O'Keefe was lying in the snow, and the story of how he got there would fracture into two completely different realities. One version says it was simple: a drunken mistake, a tragic accident, and a man left to die. The other? That the truth never made it past the front door. And when this case finally made it to trial, it only got crazier. Because in this courtroom, the jury didn’t just have to decide what happened…they had to decide what they believed. this  is a story where the dead tell no tales—but the prosecution sure tried. SOURCES: Law&Crime, Expert Legal Analysis of the Karen Read Trial (2024), https://lawandcrime.com [https://lawandcrime.com/] Court TV Staff, Analysis of Evidence and Testimony in Commonwealth v. Read (2024), https://www.courttv.com [https://www.courttv.com/] The Boston Globe, Karen Read Trial Coverage (2024), https://www.bostonglobe.com [https://www.bostonglobe.com/] Eric Levenson, Karen Read Murder Trial: Key Moments and Evidence, CNN (2024), https://www.cnn.com [https://www.cnn.com/] NBC News, Karen Read Trial Coverage and Updates (2024), https://www.nbcnews.com [https://www.nbcnews.com/] ABC News, Massachusetts Murder Trial of Karen Read Explained (2024), https://abcnews.go.com [https://abcnews.go.com/] Commonwealth v. Read, No. ___ (Mass. Super. Ct., Norfolk Cnty. filed 2022).

The Candyman: An Origin Story

Razors in apple, poison in candy, strangers hurting children.... OH MY!  Everyone knows that halloween candy can be poisoned and why is it that?? Turns out it is all because of an urban legend ANDDDDD this guy. Its halloween in 1974 and 8 year old Timothy O'Bryan hits the streets for the trick or treat excitement, but what happened when he came home was something never expected that caused waves of fear to overwhelm all parents on halloween night... even today. Sources: Associated Press. (1975, June 4). Texas jury sentences man to die in Halloween poisoning. Associated Press Archives. Associated Press. (1984, March 31). “Candy Man” executed for son’s 1974 Halloween poisoning. Associated Press Archives. Best, J. (1985). The myth of the Halloween sadist. Society, 22(5), 14–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02695540 Best, J. (1990). Threatened children: Rhetoric and concern about child-victims. University of Chicago Press. Harris County District Court. (1975). State of Texas v. Ronald Clark O’Bryan, No. 75-CR-____ (Harris County, TX). Texas Department of Criminal Justice. (1984). Execution report: Ronald Clark O’Bryan. Huntsville, TX. Time. (1974, November 11). Murder on Halloween. Time Magazine Archives. United Press International. (1974, November 2). Boy dies after eating Halloween candy. UPI Archives. United Press International. (1975, June 3). Texas man convicted in Halloween cyanide case. UPI Archives.

Elisa Lam and the Cecil Hotel

WE ARE BACK and boy, did we miss you!!!! Let's skip the small talk, let's talk about an eerie elevatory video, a missing young woman, and a hotel with a body count. Today, we discuss the very strange tragedy of Elisa Lam who went missing at an infamous haunted hotel. When she disappeared, she left behind many, many questions that were written off way too quickly in our opinion... like...... what about the LID?!! Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. (2013). Autopsy report: Elisa Lam. County of Los Angeles. Los Angeles Police Department. (2013). Missing person investigation and surveillance footage release: Elisa Lam. City of Los Angeles. Alpert Reyes, E. (2013, February 21). Body of missing Canadian tourist found in water tank at Cecil Hotel. Los Angeles Times. Alpert Reyes, E., Queally, J., & St. John, P. (2013, June 21). Elisa Lam death ruled accidental drowning; bipolar disorder cited. Los Angeles Times. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. (2013, February–June). Coverage of the disappearance and death of Elisa Lam. CBC News. The Guardian. (2013). Elisa Lam case: How an elevator video became an internet obsession. The Guardian. The New York Times. (2013). A young woman vanishes, and the web runs wild. The New York Times. Netflix. (2021). Crime scene: The vanishing at the Cecil Hotel [TV series]. Imagine Entertainment. Investigation Discovery. (2015–2019). Documentary episodes on the Cecil Hotel and Elisa Lam. Discovery Communications. Los Angeles Conservancy. (n.d.). Cecil Hotel. https://www.laconservancy.org [https://www.laconservancy.org/]

Miranda Rights: An Origin Story

Are you ready for the ultimate law enforcement origin story? Ok....maybe it's not that serious, but it is important! You have the right to remain silent if you get questioned by law enforcement, and you probably already know that because of a ridiculous man named, Ernesto Miranda. So, press play for a true crime history lesson that will leave you with whiplash and a little knowledge of your Constitutional rights! Sources:  1. Broward County Bar Association, Miranda v. Arizona... The Story Behind the Opinion, Broward County Bar Ass’n, https://www.browardbar.org [https://www.browardbar.org/] (last visited Oct. 26, 2025). 2. The Miranda Decision, 51 Years Later, Am. Heritage, https://www.americanheritage.com/miranda-decision-51-years-later (last visited Oct. 26, 2025). 3. National Constitution Center, Ernesto Miranda’s Role in Constitutional History, Nat’l Const. Ctr., https://constitutioncenter.org [https://constitutioncenter.org/] (last visited Oct. 26, 2025). 4. Miranda, Ernest, Encyclopedia.com, https://www.encyclopedia.com [https://www.encyclopedia.com/] (last visited Oct. 26, 2025). 5. You Have the Right to Remain Silent, Am. Heritage Mag., https://www.americanheritage.com [https://www.americanheritage.com/] (last visited Oct. 26, 2025). 6. Ernest Miranda — Life of Crime, Law JRank, https://law.jrank.org (last visited Oct. 26, 2025). 7. Ernesto A. Miranda, Citizendium, https://en.citizendium.org (last visited Oct. 26, 2025).

The Tylenol Murders

The year is 1982. Neon is in, synth-pop is it, and America's favorite headache cure is suddenly… well, a terminal headache. Join us as we unpack the OG corporate crisis—where Johnson & Johnson had to prove their best-selling pain reliever wasn't a secret cyanide delivery system. It’s a story of random victims, a nationwide panic, and the birth of the tamper-evident seal. Because nothing says "we care" like a plastic wrap you can barely open. Sources: Netflix’s Tylenol Murders Doc Dives Into a Chilling Unsolved Crime https://time.com/7287680/tylenol-murders-documentary-netflix/ [https://time.com/7287680/tylenol-murders-documentary-netflix/] Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders Netflix “Revisiting Chicago’s Tylenol Murders: An Oral History” Chicago Magazine https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-magazine/october-2012/chicago-tylenol-murders-an-oral-history/?utm_source=chatgpt.com Who Was Tylenol Murders Suspect James W. Lewis? https://www.biography.com/crime/a64853063/james-w-lewis-tylenol-murders?utm_source=chatgpt.com [https://www.biography.com/crime/a64853063/james-w-lewis-tylenol-murders?utm_source=chatgpt.com] “How an unsolved murder case changed the way we consume medicine” https://www.ksbw.com/article/unsolved-murder-case-changed-way-consume-medicine/62930659?utm_source=chatgpt.com [https://www.ksbw.com/article/unsolved-murder-case-changed-way-consume-medicine/62930659?utm_source=chatgpt.com] “Chicago Tylenol Murders: 3 members of Janus family died in 1982…” https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/1982-tylenol-poisoning-murders-janus-family/?utm_source=chatgpt.com