Documenting a Crime Drama

As a news reporter and anchor for Boston’s local CBS station, Kristina Rex ’15 has spent nearly a decade chronicling countless stories. But only one thrust her into the national spotlight. Last year, Rex began covering the trial of Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman accused of murdering her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, on a snowy night in January 2022. Read claims she was framed, and the controversial case has generated years of national media attention, true crime podcast episodes, and social media chatter that reached a crescendo last summer when a judge declared a mistrial. The entire ordeal is chronicled in a new documentary streaming on Max, A Body in the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read, and Rex is featured in several episodes providing her expert insights. Rex has also reported on Read’s retrial, which began in April, and we spoke to her about what it’s like covering a major crime story with the nation watching.

When did you first realize that the public fascination with this case was bigger than anything you’d covered before? 

I’m not sure I really expected the number of people who would be there, in person, at court every day. Showing up to court and seeing dozens to hundreds of people gathered outside gave me a realization: Whoa, this is not like typical cases I cover. Also, people knew who I was because they were paying such close attention to our coverage, and that’s not typical either.

What has it been like to cover the striking details of this case? 

So much of the testimony was people airing out their dirty laundry, and those moments were unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. For instance, a witness having to read his flirty texts to Karen Read on the stand, and listening to Karen Read’s drunken voicemails that she left John O’Keefe. Those are personal, bad moments in someone’s life that you don’t ever expect to get aired out in court and on national television. If those moments felt awkward for people watching at home, the tension in the tiny courtroom was indescribable.

How did you react when you were approached for the documentary? 

My first reaction was twofold. I was like, wow, what a cool opportunity, and also, that is so frightening in this polarizing case. I didn’t know if I wanted to put myself in it, because the cardinal rule of journalism is, “Don’t make yourself the story.” What kind of feedback have you received from viewers?  I’ve gotten comments from across the spectrum, but a lot are like, “Hey, I just watched you in the HBO documentary and I still can’t tell what side you’re on.” I’m like, “that’s the point.” 

What has covering this case taught you about journalism? 

These are things I knew beforehand, but it really solidified them. One is you need to have thick skin, and another is you need to stay above the fray. Facts matter, and people’s opinions are not facts. It’s a case where no two people think the same thing happened. There’s so many theories, and my job is to focus on what is true and provable, or is at least part of the evidence in court, and not rumors.

You were also in law school while covering this trial. How did your studies affect your perspective on the trial? 

With everything I’ve learned in school, I can fly through court documents now. When a decision comes in, I can read and understand it. I know what’s happening in the courtroom in a way I’m not sure I would have four years ago.How does it feel to have gained a new level of recognition through covering this case?  It’s an amazing opportunity. I feel kind of weird saying that, because it’s a horribly tragic situation. At the same time, I feel like in most journalists’ careers there is that one story that gives you the opportunity to really prove that you’re good at your job, and so I’m grateful that this has been mine.