DEDHAM, Mass. (Court TV) — Blogger Aidan “Turtleboy” Kearney’s attorney described his client as “stateless” after another prosecutor appointed to his case was forced to withdraw, leaving nobody to represent the Commonwealth.
Aidan ‘Turtleboy’ Kearney appears in court for a hearing on Sept. 24, 2025. (Court TV)
Kearney, who rose to fame as a supporter of Karen Read’s during her murder trial, is facing charges of witness intimidation in connection with Read’s trial. Kearney was a vocal proponent of Read’s theory that she was being framed for the murder of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, and was known to confront witnesses from her trial.
Kearney was in court on Wednesday for what was supposed to be a discovery hearing in his case, but those issues were ultimately unable to be addressed after prosecutor Robert Cosgrove said he had to withdraw from the case. One of Kearney’s exes, Lindsay Gaetani, named Cosgrove in a civil lawsuit involving Kearney in Worcester County, Massachusetts, which meant he could no longer serve as prosecutor in the criminal case. Cosgrove warned the court that “the situation does not seem to be, personally — and I’m not speaking for the office, conducive to enticing the special prosecutor to assume my position.”
MORE | Blogger Aidan Kearney pleads not guilty to new witness intimidation charges
Mark Bederow, who represents Kearney, pointed out that Cosgrove was just the latest in a series of prosecutors to be removed from the case. “This case, a ’24 indictment, is essentially stateless,” Bederow told the court. “There is literally, and I don’t want to overuse the word literally, there is literally no prosecutor on that case.”
Timothy Bradl, who also represents Kearney, asked Judge Michael Doolin to stop Gaetani from filing further motions in Kearney’s case. “This is outrageous,” he said. “She can’t keep taking potshots with the court. Your honor has to read this stuff … It should be stricken, it shouldn’t even be accepted.”
The parties are scheduled to return to court in December with a new prosecutor.
