Crossing the Line with M. William Phelps

When a young college student’s car was abandoned on the side of a busy midwest highway in 1992, police figured it was a runaway case. Nine days later, she was found brutally murdered, nearly 500 miles away in another state. What happened to Tammy Jo Zywicki? Hear the story when PAPER GHOSTS returns with a new season on February 1. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Karen Read is desperate and in full-fledge blame-someone-else mode as police zero in on her Lexus, impound the vehicle, and begin to put together a strong case, proving she was drunk and, knowingly or not, with or without intent, struck John O’Keefe with her SUV and killed him. Meanwhile, Turtleboy, under Karen's manipulating direction, continues his campaign to paint lead investigator Michael Proctor and witness Jennifer McCabe as the two people behind some sort of elaborate conspiracy that is becoming harder each day for most to believe.   “34 Fairview Road” is the first limited series, narrative podcast exploring in depth the death of Boston Police officer John O’Keefe in January 2022, the arrest of his girlfriend, 44-year-old Karen Read, her high-profile murder trial, the impact blogger and free speech activist Aidan "Turtleboy" Kearney has had on the case, along with Kearney’s exclusive story—from high school teacher to 60 days in jail, after exposing what he believes is corruption in the Read case—woven through the story behind the town of Canton, Massachusetts, in utter chaos, division, and at each other's throats. Hosted by veteran podcaster, writer and executive producer M. William Phelps—the #1 Apple hit PAPER GHOSTS, WHITE EAGLE, both from iHeartMedia, and his hit weekly show CROSSING THE LINE WITH M. WILLIAM PHELPS—and New York Times bestselling author of close to 50 books, investigative journalist and tv personality. The series, based on over 100 hours of interviews Phelps has completed, features exclusive audio, documents and insights from Aidan “Turtleboy” Kearney, including never-before-heard, new information in the case, and Turtleboy's dealings and exclusive conversations with Karen Read. The series offers an original look at the shocking series of events that occurred before and after John O’Keefe lost his life as a blizzard descended upon New England in January, 2022.  The series is executive produced by M. William Phelps and Matthew Valentinas—written and produced by M. William Phelps. In late January 2022, 46-year-old veteran Boston Police officer John O’Keefe’s body is found on the front lawn of a fellow Boston Police officer’s home in Canton, Massachusetts—34 Fairview Road—as a blizzard blankets the Northeast. Within hours, O’Keefe’s otherwise unassuming 44-year-old financial executive girlfriend, Karen Read, is accused of running down O’Keefe with her SUV—and charged with his murder. And yet, some believe Karen Read is a scapegoat, there to shield a conspiracy hiding deep, dark secrets—with corrupt cops and political Canton power brokers, running the town like an organized crime family, at the helm. Soon, the town of Canton is in chaos, residents at each other’s throats. And there in the midst of it all, a blogger and free speech advocate, Aidan Carney, who goes by the name Turtleboy, slowly pulls back the curtain on this bedroom community, uncovering what he believes is evidence of widespread corruption and collusion, fueling an already volatile situation, and ultimately leading to Turtleboy being arrested and jailed himself for his work reporting on the Karen Read case. “They tried to silence me by jailing me—this is the country we live in,” Kearney says. “Corrupt cops, judges and people at the highest level of local politics, all involved in the death of John O’Keefe, framing an innocent woman, come after me because I exposed them.” Phelps plays the middle road here, telling the story as it takes place, interviewing dozens of people, reviewing 1000s of pages of documents, collecting hours of exclusive audio, getting the exclusive story from Turtleboy himself, which he has not shared with anyone.  

Residents in Canton, Massachusetts, speak out about the divide in town after the trial of Karen Read for the murder of her boyfriend, Boston Police officer John O’Keefe, exposes a hostile community environment, as a blogger, Aidan Kearney, known as Turtleboy, begins to feed the flames of division by reporting that John O’Keefe’s murder is being covered up by a group of law enforcement and Canton elites, who have big secrets to hide. Investigative journalist M. William Phelps digs in and allows townsfolk to speak, supplementing the narrative with trial testimony and exclusive audio, telling the story from the people who lived it. “34 Fairview Road” is the first limited series, narrative podcast exploring in depth the death of Boston Police officer John O’Keefe in January 2022, the arrest of his girlfriend, 44-year-old Karen Read, her high-profile murder trial, the impact blogger and free speech activist Aidan "Turtleboy" Kearney has had on the case, along with Kearney’s exclusive story—from high school teacher to 60 days in jail, after exposing what he believes is corruption in the Read case—woven through the story behind the town of Canton, Massachusetts, in utter chaos, division, and at each other's throats. Hosted by veteran podcaster, writer and executive producer M. William Phelps—the #1 Apple hit PAPER GHOSTS, WHITE EAGLE, both from iHeartMedia, and his hit weekly show CROSSING THE LINE WITH M. WILLIAM PHELPS—and New York Times bestselling author of close to 50 books, investigative journalist and tv personality. The series, based on over 100 hours of interviews Phelps has completed, features exclusive audio, documents and insights from Aidan “Turtleboy” Kearney, including never-before-heard, new information in the case, and Turtleboy's dealings and exclusive conversations with Karen Read. The series offers an original look at the shocking series of events that occurred before and after John O’Keefe lost his life as a blizzard descended upon New England in January, 2022.  The series is executive produced by M. William Phelps and Matthew Valentinas—written and produced by M. William Phelps. In late January 2022, 46-year-old veteran Boston Police officer John O’Keefe’s body is found on the front lawn of a fellow Boston Police officer’s home in Canton, Massachusetts—34 Fairview Road—as a blizzard blankets the Northeast. Within hours, O’Keefe’s otherwise unassuming 44-year-old financial executive girlfriend, Karen Read, is accused of running down O’Keefe with her SUV—and charged with his murder. And yet, some believe Karen Read is a scapegoat, there to shield a conspiracy hiding deep, dark secrets—with corrupt cops and political Canton power brokers, running the town like an organized crime family, at the helm. Soon, the town of Canton is in chaos, residents at each other’s throats. And there in the midst of it all, a blogger and free speech advocate, Aidan Carney, who goes by the name Turtleboy, slowly pulls back the curtain on this bedroom community, uncovering what he believes is evidence of widespread corruption and collusion, fueling an already volatile situation, and ultimately leading to Turtleboy being arrested and jailed himself for his work reporting on the Karen Read case. “They tried to silence me by jailing me—this is the country we live in,” Kearney says. “Corrupt cops, judges and people at the highest level of local politics, all involved in the death of John O’Keefe, framing an innocent woman, come after me because I exposed them.” Phelps plays the middle road here, telling the story as it takes place, interviewing dozens of people, reviewing 1000s of pages of documents, collecting hours of exclusive audio, getting the exclusive story from Turtleboy himself, which he has not shared with anyone.  

Phelps speaks with Lauren Fields’ mother, Shantell, about the surprising cause and manner of death in Lauren’s case. He also digs into the Brenda Rawls death - another woman found dead after a date - the very same night, just down the road from where Lauren died - whose family was also never informed of her death by the police.

You might have heard about this case: A woman, Lauren Smith-Fields, TikTok influencer, model and college student studying physical therapy, invites a Bumble date over to her apartment in December 2021 and winds up dead … police say accidental, family says suspicious … and yet the manner of death is only half the story. What happened inside Lauren’s apartment on the night she died, and the next day, will have your jaw on the floor, wondering what is going on in the world of law enforcement investigation in some of the country’s largest cities. In the first of this two-part Crossing the Line, Phelps digs in deep and talks to Lauren’s family.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.