Two EMTs and a patient were among five people hospitalized Thursday after an ambulance and an SUV collided head-on in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
The crash happened around 7 p.m. on Main Street, the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office sa…
Massachusetts
Harmony Montgomery ‘was afraid of her father,’ Mass. investigators were told after issuing report
On the day Adam Montgomery was convicted in New Hampshire of murdering his daughter, the attorney assigned to protect the legal interests of Harmony Montgomery in Massachusetts delivered a stinging rebuke.
In an NBC10 Boston exclusive interview, Maria Mossaides, the state’s chief child advocate, says after her investigation was published, a credible source came forward to reveal a key detail not uncovered in the monthslong review of the girl’s case.
“We received information after we issued our report that indicated that Harmony was afraid of her father,” Mossaides said.
It’s not clear whether this is information Harmony’s attorney was aware of, but according to Mossaides, who has listened to tape recordings of the court proceedings, Harmony’s attorney told the judge the little girl wanted to be with her father.
“And so the question that I really want to ask, but can’t ask because of attorney-client privilege, is ‘Did you have a conversation with Harmony? Did you explain to Harmony what it would mean for her to move out of state?’” Mossaides said.
“That we didn’t find out until afterwards certainly impacted me, because it just reinforced for us how premature the decision was to send her home,” she continued. “And that has bothered me since the person called to share that information.”
Ultimately, a Massachusetts judge allowed Adam Montgomery to gain custody of his daughter. A jury convicted him of her murder Thursday.
A long list of recommendations for the Massachusetts courts and the state’s Department of Children and Families appears in the Office of Child Advocate investigative report, released in May 2022. Mossaides says she’s been pleased to date with DCF’s progress to implement her team’s recommendations.
In a statement to NBC10 Boston, the Massachusetts Trial Court says it’s also working to implement new policies and procedures “that cover all of these crucial areas” in the OCA report.
However neither the court nor DCF has authority over lawyers representing children in custody cases. Changes the state’s child advocate would like to see in the legal representation area may require legislation.
“I think the recommendation, in which we have made no progress whatsoever, is the discussion around what the child’s attorney should be required to do,” Mossaides said. “And this is an issue that has to be of primary concern to the legislature.”
Trial Court spokesperson Jennifer Donahue issued the following statement:
“Based on recommendations by the Office of the Child Advocate and based on an internal review of court policies and practices that relate to the timely placement of children, the Trial Court formed a working group in 2022 comprised of Juvenile Court judges and key partners in care and protection proceedings. Working group members include the Department of Children and Families, the Committee for Public Counsel Services and the Office of the Child Advocate.
“The working group is examining Care and Protection policies and procedures, establishing reasonable time periods to the permanent placement of children, and identifying and addressing barriers to achieving timely permanency. The working group is in the process of developing recommendations that cover all of these crucial areas. Policies and procedures are being examined by the Trial Court and the working group, and recommendations are being developed.“
Mass. school takes unique approach to phone use by students
With teachers and education leaders across the state grappling with how best to deal with cellphones in the classroom, officials at a boarding school in western Massachusetts have taken a novel approach.
Two years ago, school leaders at the Buxton …
West Bridgewater selectman accused of lying about residence won’t face criminal charges
Police in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, say a former elected official in their town will not face criminal charges, according to an investigative report obtained by NBC10 Boston.
That conclusion comes after our “Small Town Secrets” s…
DNA, accounts of strained relationship at center of case against Karen Read, documents show
Prosecutors unveiled new evidence Thursday in the run-up to the trial of Karen Read, including long-awaited DNA evidence from the scene, as they argued why they feel the murder case over the killing of John O’Keefe in Canton, Massachusetts, should move forward.
The office also shared witness accounts that, they said, suggested her relationship with O’Keefe was strained at the time of his death.
Read is charged with second-degree murder in the killing of O’Keefe, a Boston police officer who was found dead outside a Canton home in January of 2022.
The case has drawn national attention. The state alleges Read hit O’Keefe with her vehicle and left him for dead in the snow, while Read alleges she is being framed in a large-scale coverup.
The office of Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey filed one set of documents Friday arguing against Read’s efforts to dismiss the case, as NBC10 Boston reported Wednesday.
In another memorandum filed Wednesday, prosecutors said O’Keefe’s DNA was recovered from the broken tail light of Read’s vehicle. They also shared details of the case brought before a grand jury two years ago, arguing against Read’s motion to toss the indictments against her.
Read and O’Keefe were out drinking Jan. 28, 2022, with a group of people including Boston Police Officer Brian Albert. Members of the group went back to Albert’s Fairview Road home, and Read says she dropped O’Keefe off there and went home. He was found the next morning and pronounced dead at a hospital.
Prosecutors allege Read hit O’Keefe with her SUV and left him to die. But Read’s attorneys have said evidence points to O’Keefe being attacked inside the home and brought outside, arguing, among other points, that the wounds on his body were not consistent with a crash.
The district attorney’s office now says a small hair found stuck on the rear passenger side of Read’s SUV has been identified as belonging to O’Keefe.
“Through trace analysis and forensic testing, the Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory discovered the victim’s DNA present on the broken taillight and microscopic pieces of red and clear apparent plastic located in the victim’s clothing,” prosecutors wrote. “Comparison testing was conducted, and the results demonstrate that the microscopic pieces of red and clear plastic are consistent with the broken pieces of plastic from the defendant’s rear taillight.”
The documents paint a picture of relationship turmoil between Read and O’Keefe. The officer’s niece and nephew, who were in his care for years following the deaths of their parents, described frequent arguments in interviews with police after their uncle’s death, according to prosecutors.
In voicemails recovered from O’Keefe’s phone, which the district attorney’s office says were left “in the time period surrounding” his death, Read allegedly screamed, “John, I f***ing hate you,” called him a pervert and accused him of cheating on her.
Multiple witnesses described a trip to Aruba a month before O’Keefe’s death as a pivotal moment in the couple’s relationship, prosecutors said. O’Keefe’s niece, who was 14 at the time, reportedly said Read had accused O’Keefe of kissing someone else, leading to a 20-minute argument in their hotel room.
A longtime friend of O’Keefe told police she had organized the Aruba trip, inviting about 70 people. That woman’s sister described an encounter with O’Keefe and Read, saying she hugged O’Keefe after bumping into him in the lobby.
“She heard the defendant yell, ‘John, who the f*** was that,’” the district attorney’s office wrote. Upon being told it was his friend’s sister, “the defendant then said, ‘I don’t give a f***,’ then yelled to [the woman] ‘f*** you.’”
A man who was present at Albert’s home the night before O’Keefe’s body was found said Read “surprised him with a kiss on the lips” about two weeks earlier, according to prosecutors.
That man showed texts between him and Read to state police, which prosecutors described as “romantic in nature.” In one of them, she allegedly told him not to worry about O’Keefe finding out about the kiss “as she knows where the cameras are on the victim’s house.”
Asked if she was happy in her relationship with O’Keefe, Read allegedly told the man O’Keefe had cheated on her during the Aruba trip.
NBC10 Boston has reached out to Read’s attorneys Thursday, but has not heard back.
The trial is set to begin March 12, despite a recent request from both prosecutors and Read’s defense to delay it. Both sides were waiting for DNA evidence, which Read’s attorneys have noted had taken years to be processed.
Worcester man has been missing for over a week
Worcester police are searching for a man who hasn’t been heard from for over a week.
Daniel Burrell, 37, was last seen at his family’s home on Reservoir Street on Feb 10. He is 6-foot-8 with a large build, and was last wearing black sweatpants and …
