Aidan Kearney, the controversial blogger known as "Turtleboy," was in court Thursday for a hearing in his witness intimidation case involving with the murder trial of Karen Read.
Kearney has extensively covered the case, and continues to, in hundreds of blog posts, bringing heightened attention to Read's claims that she is being framed for the killing of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, in a wide-ranging coverup.
Kearney appeared in Norfolk Superior Court Thursday. Unlike the Read trial, the hearing was not livestreamed.
Police arrested Kearney in October on charges of intimidation and conspiracy, with prosecutors accusing him of harassing witnesses in the case. He has since faced more charges of witness intimidation and conspiracy, and had his bail revoked after being accused of assaulting a woman he was dating. Prosecutors say that woman's allegations are at the heart of more charges of harassing a witness and intercepting wire or oral communication.
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Kearney has pleaded not guilty and maintained his innocence. He has also publicly accused the commonwealth of intentionally slowing down his case to prevent him from covering the Read trial.
“I’ve been able to cover the trial as best I can but it’s difficult to walk around with the sword of Damocles above your head, constantly feels like you’re walking on thin ice when you’re out on bail," Kearney said.
“The commonwealth itself has been slow walking this case to keep Mr. Kearney away from the Karen Read murder case that he’s been seeking to investigate. There’s been all sorts of hurdles on that that’s been continuing," Kearney's attorney Timothy J. Bradl said in court Thursday.
The state acknowledged that they have failed to hand over all discovery by their May 8 deadline.
"I regret that I can't report that the discovery is complete, but I’m working on it and I’ve done my best," Attorney Robert Cosgrove said.
Cosgrove showed up in place of special prosecutor Kenneth Mello, who was not in court again, due to health issues.
Kearney's attorney fired back, seeking to have Mello willingly withdraw from the case or have him dismissed for failure to prosecute.
“I’m going to ask for it within 14 days your honor, im going to move for failure to prosecute, dismissal for lack of prosecution because Mr. Kearney deserves his chance to get out from under this case.”
The state asked for more time to get the information over.
“I would like to note that I’m not convinced that all of the things that are listed as missing are what I would call mandatory discovery, but I will look into them all nonetheless," Cosgrove said.
Kearney's defense left frustrated.
“I think it’s become increasingly clear that the commonwealth has bitten off more than they can chew on this case," Bradly said.
The judge gave the state 21 days to hand over all discovery in the case, with the next hearing scheduled for July 11.
More on the 'Turtleboy' case
Last month, Judge Michael Cahillane ordered that the prosecution provide what Kearney's lawyer described as critical pieces of evidence by May 8.
Outside of court that day, Kearney described the withholding of those documents as "running out the clock and keeping me on thin ice by having me out on bail."
A Massachusetts State Police affidavit released in January alleges that Read fed confidential information to Kearney, with the two communicating directly in over 40 hours of phone calls, as well as through other means.
This information allegedly included personal details about witnesses in the case, autopsy photographs, crime scene photographs, images of her car, and the 911 call made when O'Keefe's body was found.
"The only crime here is the robbery of privacy," Kearney's attorney, Timothy Bradl, said in a statement at the time.
"Turtleboy does not reveal sources," Kearney wrote on his website the same day. "However, there is nothing wrong or criminal about seeking out people close to Karen Read in order to write a story about her. At no point did Karen Read ever direct content on the Turtleboy website."
Ken Mello, the special prosecutor brought in to handle the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office's allegations against Kearney, disputed this argument outside the courthouse.
"You cannot hide behind the shield of a journalist to be an activist, and the commonwealth feels that's what's happened here," he said.
The judge overseeing the Karen Read trial ordered that Kearney not be in the courtroom for testimony from people he's accused of intimidating.
