Karen Read Judge Has ‘Grave Concern’ Over New Info … Suddenly Suspends Hearing
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New twist in the Karen Read case … the judge just suspended an evidentiary hearing after voicing “grave concern” over new information from prosecutors.
A hearing in Read’s retrial was moving along normally Tuesday when suddenly Judge Beverly Cannone called for a recess.
The swift change happened on the heels of special prosecutor Hank Brennan moving to exclude testimony from two crash reconstruction experts who were involved in the federal investigation into her case.
Read, of course, is the Massachusetts woman accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe with her SUV after a night of drinking with friends in 2022. She claims she’s being framed and is the victim of a murder cover-up.
Judge Cannone said the new info from prosecutors was not only concerning, but also “may have profound effects on this defense and defense counsel.”
The crash reconstruction experts testified as defense witnesses in Read’s first trial, when they told the jury O’Keefe’s injuries were inconsistent with being hit by a car.
ABC
In the first trial, Read’s defense team claimed the crash experts were NOT hired by her defense … but in Tuesday’s hearing, prosecutors told the court they had information the crash reconstruction firm billed Karen’s defense team $23,925.
Read’s attorney, Alan Jackson, was reportedly asked outside the courtroom if he paid crash experts to testify … and he denied it.
TMZ Studios
Karen’s first trial ended in a mistrial after a jury voted to acquit her on charges of second-degree murder and fleeing the scene of an accident … but split on vehicular manslaughter charges, deadlocking 9-3 in favor of conviction. She’s set for a retrial in April.
Prosecutors claim Read got into an argument with O’Keefe in 2022 before backing up and running him over with her SUV, killing him before drunkenly fleeing the scene. Her team says she was framed after a fight between John and his other cop friends broke out.
Kim Kardashian Sued I’m Not On Death Row … You Got The Wrong Guy!!!
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Kim Kardashian is being dragged to court over a social media screw-up … she’s being sued by a guy she mistakenly identified as a death row inmate.
According to a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Kim is being sued by Ivan Cantu … a project manager from New York who Kim identified as a man awaiting the death penalty in a Texas prison cell.
Kim posted a photo of the wrong Ivan Cantu on her social media in February 2024 when she was trying to bring awareness to the case of an inmate by the same name … and Ivan says the mix-up subjected him to public embarrassment, shame, hatred, ridicule, disgrace, contempt and aversion.
Ivan is suing Kim for libel and slander over the mix-up … and he says she caused him to suffer serious emotional damage.
He says Kim’s post made him lose sleep, get headaches, have nightmares and experience PTSD … and he says she’s hurt his reputation and made him need medical care and emotional counseling.
As we first reported … Ivan blasted Kim at the time, saying some “idiot” who runs her social media accounts used his picture instead of death row inmate Ivan “Abner” Cantu. That inmate was executed on schedule, BTW.
The SKIMS founder took down the post in question but Ivan says the damage was already done because she has hundreds of millions of followers … and he’s going after her for money.
We reached out to Kim’s camp … so far no word back.
Blake Lively’s Publicist I Didn’t Star PR War … Dismiss Me From Lawsuit!!!
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Blake Lively‘s publicist says she shouldn’t be a defendant in Justin Baldoni‘s lawsuit against Blake because, despite Baldoni’s claims to the contrary, she didn’t start this public relations war.
Leslie Sloane — owner of Vision PR — filed a motion to dismiss herself and her company from the civil lawsuit JB’s team filed against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, Thursday … claiming there’s no factual basis that she started a PR war against Baldoni.
Sloane claims Baldoni’s amended complaint provides no evidence to back up this claim. In addition, she points to text messages Blake obtained last year … in which Jennifer Abel — part of the Baldoni PR machine — allegedly wrote she wanted to “plant pieces this week of how horrible Blake is to work with.”
Leslie claims she didn’t become involved in the saga until a few days after Abel’s alleged message … when she denied claims about Blake being a problem on the “It Ends with Us” set brought to her by a Daily Mail reporter.
Sloane says she told the reporter “That is 1000 percent untrue” and “Your info is totally off” before adding … “The whole cast doesn’t like Justin nothing to do with Blake” and “I’m telling you she’s a liar. They are panicking as the whole cast hates him.”
Sloane’s asking the judge to dismiss the case against her and Vision PR with prejudice, and she’s asking a judge to order Baldoni’s side to pay their attorneys’ fees.
TMZ.com
It’s been a hectic week in this case … ’cause Blake Lively’s side filed an amended complaint Tuesday claiming multiple women on set were made uncomfortable by Justin Baldoni — and saying at least two of them will testify to that effect.
TMZ.com
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, called the new allegations hearsay … calling out these alleged witnesses for not coming forward to support the lawsuit’s claims.
We’ve reached out to Justin’s side about Leslie’s motion … so far, no word back.
Menendez Brothers From Brutalized to Idolized … Netflix Show Made Them Prison Celebs
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Erik and Lyle Menendez may have been badly beaten and broken in their early days of prison, before falling into relative obscurity in recent years … but, all that changed when Ryan Murphy and Netflix got involved with their story.
A source in the California Department of Corrections tells TMZ … when “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” came out in the fall, the two brothers became celebrities behind bars again — and, our source says they were instantly “on Cloud 9.”
2 Angry Men Podcast
We’re told their prison pod was buzzing with excitement when it looked like they were definitely getting out of prison, when former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón was still in charge … though the November election of Nathan Hochman has dampened the celebratory mood.
All of this sits in stark contrast to their early days in prison … when Erik was repeatedly beaten by other inmates — though he told us on the “2 Angry Men” podcast he never fought back against his attackers.
Erik and Lyle were in different prisons for the first two decades of their incarceration … Erik also told us he vividly remembers getting the news someone broke Lyle’s jaw — though he couldn’t go to see him.
Now, they’re locked up together in Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego … and, and we hear “no violence has befallen them” since their move — that, combined with being the toast of the cell block, is vastly different than the brothers’ early days.
TMZ.com
After the TV series dropped, attorney-in-training Kim Kardashian, who met with the brothers in prison, declared they “are not monsters” … describing them as “kind, intelligent and honest men” who should have their life sentences reconsidered.
Of course, not everyone is pulling Team Menendez inside the joint … ’cause there are haters who always talk trash due to their jealousy about the brothers’ newfound status and their prospect of getting out … which creates obvious tension.
But, the Menendez bros have commissary money, hope for release … and each other — so, bottom line, prison life could be a whole lot worse.
Lyle even talks to his new girlfriend — Milly Bucksey — almost daily via video chat … another connection he didn’t have when they were first incarcerated decades ago.
Erik and Lyle’s resentencing hearing takes place next month … but, no matter what happens, it’s clear their time in prison has improved dramatically from their early days behind bars.