ATLANTA (Court TV) — Court TV’s trial coverage in 2024 saw no shortage of emotional and explosive moments in courtrooms across the country. From Massachusetts to Las Vegas, Mississippi to Michigan, the twists, turns and drama we watched unfold inside court kept us glued to our screens. As 2024 comes to a close, Court TV is looking back at the ten most controversial defendants we saw in 2024.
Defendant Karen Read listens to her lawyer Alan Jackson question witness Massachusetts State trooper Michael Proctor during her, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in Norfolk Super Court in Dedham, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
MA v. Karen Read: The Killer or Cover-Up Murder Trial
Karen Read stood trial from April to July on charges she killed her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe. The jury deliberated for five days before Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial. The case divided the community and captured worldwide attention after Read and her defense team alleged that she was the victim of a wide-ranging cover-up. The focus on other players in the case led to the Massachusetts State Police relieving lead investigator Michael Proctor of duty, as well as Detective Kevin Albert, brother to the owner of the home where O’Keefe was found, being placed on administrative leave.
Read is scheduled to be retried on the same charges in April, though she and her team have appealed to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to drop some of the charges, arguing the jurors had reached a consensus before the mistrial was declared.
FL v. Sarah Boone: The Suitcase Murder Trial
Her case took nearly five years to go to trial, but on Oct. 25, a jury found Sarah Boone guilty of murdering her boyfriend, Jorge Torres Jr., by zipping him into a suitcase.
Sarah Boone is sworn in during her trial for killing her boyfriend at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (POOL/Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel)
While the crime itself was bizarre — Boone testified at trial that she zipped Torres into the suitcase as part of a game of hide-and-seek — much of the drama in Boone’s case occurred outside of the jury’s view. Boone went through eight attorneys before Judge Michael Kraynick ruled she had forfeited her right to an attorney and briefly attempted to represent herself pro se before James Owens stepped in to volunteer his services as her ninth attorney. Other antics in court included a request for snacks at the defense table during her trial.
In the years leading up to her trial and in the weeks since her Dec. 2 sentencing, Boone has been a prolific writer and has sent several letters to the court, reaching lengths of 58 pages. Her most recent letter offered forgiveness to everyone tied to the case, including Judge Kraynick.
MI v. James and Jennifer Crumbley: School Shooter Parents Trial
James and Jennifer Crumbley sit with their attorneys at their sentencing hearing on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. (Court TV)
Months after their son, Ethan Crumbley, was sentenced to life in prison without parole, James and Jennifer Crumbley stood trial for their roles in the 2021 deadly shooting at Oxford High School. Standing trial separately, both James and Jennifer were convicted of involuntary manslaughter for failing to get Ethan the mental health help he needed and for allowing him access to a gun. The couple appeared together at sentencing, where Judge Cheryl Matthews ruled they should spend 10-15 years in prison.
The Crumbley case marked the first successful conviction of parents in the case of a school shooting, marking a shift in the legal paradigm. Months later, Colin Gray would also face charges after his son allegedly murdered four people and injured nine others at Apalachee High School. Both Gray and his son, Colt Gray, have pleaded not guilty.
IN v. Richard Allen: The Delphi Murders Trial
When Abby Williams and Libby German were murdered in Feb. 2017, the case made national headlines as police searched for their killer. In 2022, police named Richard Allen as the killer.
Richard Allen sits next to his defense attorney in court Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (Li Buszka)
In the months preceding Allen’s murder trial, his defense attorneys found themselves going head to head with not only prosecutors in the case but Judge Fran Gull, the presiding judge. Judge Gull forced his attorneys to withdraw (they were later reinstated) and refused to allow Allen’s defense to present any evidence that Odinists were responsible for the murders.
Judge Gull also took issue with the media, banning all cameras from the three-week trial as well as pretrial hearings. Reporters at the trial were barred from taking any electronics in and were forced to rely on handwritten notes. Because seats were limited in the courtroom, two reporters would be tasked with sharing their notes with the rest of the group at each court break. At the end of each day, Judge Gull allowed members of the media to view any exhibits used that day for 15 minutes, but no photography or video of the exhibits was permitted.
Allen was sentenced to 130 years in prison on Dec. 20. His lawyers have pledged to appeal.
GA v. Melody Farris: The Burn Pile Murder Trial
Melody Farris appears in court Nov. 4, 2024. (Court TV)
Melody Farris was convicted of murdering her husband, Gary Farris, whose body was found on a burn pile outside of their rural Georgia home, but at her sentencing, she maintained her innocence and continued to point the finger at someone else: her son.
Family drama was centerstage in court as each of the couple’s children took their turn testifying, with most saying they believed their mother was a killer. Only Amanda Farris testified that she believed her mother may be innocent. But the finger-pointing went both ways, as Melody’s attorney directly accused her son, Scott, of killing their father during his testimony on the stand.
The drama wasn’t contained to blood relatives: Melody had been having an affair when her husband died, and her lover testified that he secretly recorded their conversations to help the police in their investigation.
NJ v. Christopher Gregor: Treadmill Abuse Murder Trial
In a case that inspired outrage across the globe, Christopher Gregor tried to argue that his 6-year-old son, Corey, died from natural causes and not abuse that was caught on video.
Christopher Gregor stands in court during his sentencing hearing on Aug. 2, 2024. (Court TV)
Gregor was charged with the aggravated manslaughter of Corey Micciolo, who prosecutors had said died from injuries sustained from chronic abuse. The jury saw a shocking video from inside the fitness center at Gregor’s apartment complex, where he could be seen forcing the child to run at increasing speeds on a treadmill. When the child would fall, Gregor placed him back on the treadmill and, at one point, appeared to bite the child’s head.
When Judge Guy Ryan sentenced Gregor to 25 years in state prison on Aug. 2, he noted that he had received hundreds of letters from across the United States from people who wanted to comment on the sentence. Judge Ryan explained his decision not to sentence Gregor to the maximum allowable 40 years under the law, saying that it would not stand up to legal appeals.
NV v. Robert Telles: Investigative Reporter Murder Trial
Robert Telles demonstrates his shoe lifts during his murder trial. (Court TV)
Former Clark County public administrator Robert Telles was sentenced to life in prison in Oct. despite his repeated proclamations that he did not kill journalist Jeff German.
Telles was represented by an attorney at trial after previously trying to represent himself. Despite the incredible amount of evidence against him, which included surveillance photos of a person wearing a hat that was found in his home, Telles maintained he was being framed and that all of the evidence against him had been planted or somehow altered.
When Telles took the stand to testify in his own defense, he did so in a narrative format and told the jury that he believed a professional assassin murdered German. In a bizarre turn, Telles also removed his shoes at one point, demonstrating his shoe lifts in an effort to prove his innocence. Prosecutors argued that Telles murdered German because he was upset over articles the journalist had written revealing Telles’ inappropriate relationship with a female staff member.
MS v. Carly Gregg: Deadly Daughter Murder Trial
Teen murder defendant Carly Gregg attends a motions hearing on July 23, 2024. (Court TV)
Carly Gregg stood trial at 15 years old for murdering her mother and trying to kill her stepfather in a brutal and violent crime that seemed to come out of nowhere. Gregg, a straight-A student, shot her mother and invited a friend over to look at the body before lying in wait to shoot her stepfather. Her stepfather, Heath Smylie, survived the shooting and testified on her behalf, saying that he believed she was insane at the time of the shooting.
While prosecutors said Gregg was leading a “secret life,” her attorneys argued she was suffering a mental health crisis.
Gregg has already filed an appeal of her conviction, citing “radical sanctions” placed on her defense team by Judge Dewey K. Arthur. In the weeks leading up to the trial, Judge Arthur found repeated discovery violations and refused to allow two witnesses to testify.
NV v. Deobra Redden: Judge Jumper Attempted Murder Trial
Deobra Redden is seen in video attacking a Las Vegas judge during sentencing. (Scripps News Las Vegas)
Deobra Redden shocked the nation when he jumped over the bench and attacked Judge Mary Kay Holthus during a sentencing hearing. He was charged with attempted murder for the attack which severely injured the judge and several others.
Months later, on the second day of his trial, he abruptly changed course and pleaded guilty but mentally ill to all of the charges he was facing. He initially had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
At his sentencing on Dec. 10, Redden addressed the court and questioned why prosecutors sought the maximum sentence and told the judge, “I’m not a bad person, I’m not an evil person.” He was sentenced to spend 26 to 65 years in prison.
CA v. Ali Abulaban: TikTok Star Murder Trial
Emotions ran high in the courtroom as Ali Abulaban was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife and her friend. At the time of the murders, Abulaban had been a rising star on social media, earning thousands of views for his impressions of Al Pacino in the movie “Scarface.” He never denied killing the two, but argued the shooting was done in the heat of passion and not premeditated.
Ali Abulaban cried after the verdict was read in court on May 29, 2024. (Court TV/Pool)
Abulaban testified in his own defense, becoming emotional on the stand as he recounted walking into an apartment to see his estranged wife and her friend and told the jury, “I just (expletive) snapped.” The cross-examination was contentious, with the judge intervening to calm both sides after the questioning became increasingly tense.
Both when the guilty verdict was announced and when the judge handed down the life sentence, there were cheers in the courtroom from the victims’ family and friends. An attorney representing the family of one of the victims told the judge that despite the conviction, Abulaban was continuing to post to social media from behind bars. The judge deferred the issue to the sheriff’s office, saying he had no jurisdiction to address it.
