Man Wrapped Friend's Body with Duct Tape in Killing Cover-Up: Police

Um and the medical examiner said all of. these injuries to the neck uh were due. to strangulation. Uh all of these. injuries according to the medical. examiner occurred prior to death. >> But at the end of the day, we had. sufficient probable cause to charge this. individual with arrest with for homicide. for the unlawful killing of another. human being with malice. A man's body. was discovered wrapped in blankets and. bound with duct tape outside of a. Massachusetts hospital. And prosecutors. say this was no accident. Now, a man. stands accused of murder with.

prosecutors pointing to severe injuries, alleged attempts to conceal the body, and shilling digital searches as. evidence that this was a homicide. It's. time to discuss the eerie details of. this case with Massachusetts criminal. defense attorney William Corman. Welcome. to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. Okay, so this story begins with a. chilling and very unique scene outside. of Southshore Hospital in Weimouth,

Massachusetts. This is August 23rd. And. that is when staff discovered a man's. body wrapped in blankets, bound with. duct tape, and already beyond saving. inside of a black Honda Civic that was. parked right by the ER entrance. And for. days, investigators worked to figure out. how this man, 27-year-old Declan Perry, ended up dead in that car. And as the. investigation unfolded, there were a lot. of strange details that began to emerge. There were bizarre Google searches.

There was a late night trip to obtain. drugs. There were neighbors who say they. helped move what they were told was a. hockey mannequin. Turns out that was not. the case. And now the man that police. say is responsible, 42-year-old. Christopher Karen, has appeared in court. for the first time. And at the center of. this case is Perry, who is a talented. chef from Portland, Maine, remembered by. friends, co-workers as loved, as gifted, but also, and this is a part of this.

case, someone who struggled, someone who. struggled with fentanyl addiction. He. had traveled to Massachusetts in late. August, apparently, to meet Karen, a. casual acquaintance. And what. prosecutors allege happened next was a. night of drugs, violence, and an attempt. to cover it all up, ending with Perry's. body abandoned outside of a hospital. Now, before we get to the courtroom, I. want to rewind and trace the timeline. here because how did police go from. finding a body in a car to charging. someone with murder? Right. So, this.

case really begins a little while before. this. We go to August 12th. That is. when, according to prosecutors, Perry. began texting Karen, again, this. acquaintance. The two eventually made. plans for Perry to travel to. Massachusetts to meet Karen on August. 22nd. But when Perry apparently arrived, prosecutors say Karen facilitated a sale. of drugs, cocaine, and fentanyl, allegedly warning Perry, "You got to go. easy on this bleep." Now, later that. night at around 11:40 p.m., Karen.

reportedly made a Google search for 711. Narcan and then apparently began. messaging a female friend a little after. 1:00 a.m. asking her to bring the drug. to his home. Now, if you're not familiar. with Narcan, it is a medicine that. essentially reverses the effects of an. opioid overdose. So, that woman arrives. at Karen's home at around 3:00 a.m. She. later told investigators that she went. into Karen's basement bedroom, and that. is when she found Perry unconscious on. the floor. And together, they.

administered three doses of Narcan. Now, Perry didn't wake up, but his heart was. still beating and he was still. breathing. So, now this woman says she. eventually fell asleep only to be awoken. around 7:00 a.m. And that is when she. found Perry dead. She later told. investigators that she pleaded with. Karen to call an ambulance, but he. refused, apparently fearing that his. mother and grandmother, who lived. upstairs, they would kick him out of the. house if they discovered what had. happened. So that same morning, Karen.

allegedly Googled, "When you die, how. long before you poop and pee yourself?". Hm. Now, investigators alleged that. Karen then attempted to move Perry's. body and doing this using a detached. interior door as kind of like this. makeshift stretcher. And at one point, he apparently places the body into this. large storage bin and with the woman's. help pushed it upstairs. Now, she told. police that the body never fell. It. never hit anything and she didn't see. any drugs or paraphernalia in the room,

which is important when you talk about. what the injuries were on the body. Now. outside, Karen and the woman tried to. get Perry's body into this black Honda. Civic and neighbors at this condo. complex. They noticed them struggling. They offered to help. But this is where. things get really strange. We are going. to get to that. But first, to help me. break down what we're talking about so. far, and we have a lot more to get into, I want to bring on a special guest to. help me do all this. I want to bring on. criminal defense attorney William. Corman. William, good to see you. this.

is your, you know, your neck of the. woods here, uh, Massachusetts. How do. prosecutors typically prove an intent to. kill here where you're talking about. complicating factors of drug use, right? I mean, talk to us about what you think. of this. >> Well, in this particular case, I think. it was more than just drug use. I think. obviously there has to be some sort of. autopsy on the body to determine whether. or not this gentleman died of a drug. overdose or if there were signs of a. violent struggle. So, whatever that. autopsy report is, that's key. It may.

not even be that complicated. The police. themselves, after looking at the body. during the course of the investigation, they probably were able to tell pretty. early on whether or not somebody died of. a drug overdose or whether or not there. were signs of a violent struggle. >> This is a big episode that we wanted to. bring you here on Sidebar. And I got to. call out our sponsor who helped make. this possible, Morgan and Morgan. This. is America's largest injury law firm. This is a firm with over a thousand. attorneys. You know why they're so big? Because they win a lot. They have. recovered over $25 billion for more than.

500,000 clients. Think about that. In. the past few months, a client in Florida. received $12 million after the insurance. company offered just $350,000. Out in Pennsylvania, a client was. awarded $26 million. That is 40 times. the insured $650,000 offer. Another. client in Pennsylvania received $29. million after being offered only. $500,000. And even if you think your. case isn't worth millions of dollars, why not just start a claim and fight for. what you deserve? Morgan and Morgan.

makes it so simple. You can start a. claim from your phone in just eight. clicks. So, if you're injured, you can. easily start a claim at. forthepeople.com/lcsidebar. by clicking the link below or scanning. the QR code on screen. And I'm going to get to the apparent. injuries in a minute, but the digital. evidence, right, the Google search. history, text messages with this woman, how important is that for this case? >> Well, here we go again, right? I mean, on lawn crime, you folks talk all the.

time about the digital footprint that. individuals leave. And this is yet. another example of a series of cases. over and over and over again. The Diddy. case, the forensic evidence, the Karen. Reed case, the forensic evidence, all of. these digital footprints that. individuals are leaving all over. cyberspace certainly helps investigators. connect the dots and determine exactly. what happened and when. >> Is there anything a way the defense can. explain this away and and they say that. these searches I mean I think it might. be tough to say that the defendant. didn't make them, but to say there was.

another explanation for why he was. searching this. >> Sure. I mean, he can certainly try, but. at that stage of the game, I suppose it. depends on what the time of death is. If. this individual died 7 hours earlier and. uh the defendant is searching how long. before somebody poops themselves after. you die, that's a lot different than. someone uh who's who's making that. Google search 10 or 15 minutes prior to. death. Um, I suppose as a defense. attorney, I would try to say I'm trying. to determine or my client's trying to. determine whether or not this.

individual's actually passed away or if. they're just in the throws of a a drug. overdose and exactly where we are. But. again, I think there's a lot that we. still don't know about the timing of. everything. And that's when the digital. forensic evidence will be key. this. witness, this woman who is allegedly. involved in aiding or responding to the. victim and then the aftermath of, you. know, allegedly trying to move the body, how does that affect the prosecution's. case? And is that something that the. defense can use as well? >> Well, she becomes the prosecutor's key.

witness. It sounds like she was there. prior to the gentleman passing away and. it sounds like she was there after he. died. uh you know, according to what. I've read, she is basically begging. Karen to to call an ambulance to do. something, and he's refusing for a. variety of reasons. So, she's the. government's star witness in this case, without a doubt. So, let's go to this. search warrant because according to a. search warrant that was obtained by. Boston 25 News, the discovery of Declan. Perry's body unfolded in quite a. chilling way. Around 2 PM on August.

23rd, a hooded man walked into. Southshore Hospital's ER, told a nurse. that someone in his car needed help, and. then just walked away, abandoning the. car at the hospital. Now, a unit manager. went outside, found the black Honda. Civic with main plates. And inside was. Perry's body, shirtless, wrapped in. blankets, bound with duct tape. He was. already in rigor mortise. There was no. pulse. He was pronounced dead at 2:15. p.m. And after leaving the hospital,

authorities say Karen allegedly stopped. at a Cumberland Farms, bought a few. items, waited for an Uber, and then. returned to Situit. Now, here's where. the story, by the way, turns even. stranger because two neighbors later. told police that they had helped Karen. move a large, heavy object into the. Honda. Now, at the time, they didn't. know it was a body, and he apparently. didn't tell them it was a body. Okay. So, instead, Karen claimed that this was. a a hockey mannequin that was drained of.

water. So, one neighbor, by the way, actually thought they saw human flesh. Another, and this is really eerie, recalled joking that the object felt. like a dead body. Those witnesses, they. came forward after seeing the Honda with. the main plates featured on the news. And when police searched inside Karen's. unit, they found red brown stains on the. carpet, the couch, the detached door. They also discovered a black belt on the. basement floor and recovered a damaged. black storage bin from a nearby dumpster.

along with mail that was addressed to. Karen's grandmother. So for a week, Karen remained free. But on August 30th, he turned himself in to the Situit. Police Department. And two days later, he appeared in Hingham District Court. for his arraignment, where prosecutors. detailed the extensive injuries that. Perry had sustained, revealing why. authorities believe they are dealing. with a homicide and not, you know, an. accidental overdose. Now, we're going to. get to that, but first, William, let's. go back here. Okay, lot to take away.

from this. First, is there something to. be said for the fact if we take these. allegations as true, drops the body off. at the hospital and then turns himself. in? How is that something that defense. attorneys can use? It may not negate. murder. Maybe, maybe not. I mean, I. don't know. You tell me. Well, I suppose. again, timing is everything in this. particular case. So, is this gentleman. going to be able to say that he was. concerned about his friend and drove him. to the hospital? Well, absolutely not.

because he's wrapped the body in some. sort of blanket and surrounded it with. duct tape. Uh the fact that he turned. himself in, I mean, that may be because. he didn't want a SWAT unit kicking in. the door of his mother and grandmother's. house. So, I don't know that he gets. much credit for turning himself in. >> Could he say I mean, if you really. committed a murder, right? If you really. killed murdered someone, you killed. someone and not an accidental overdose, why would you give the body over to. authorities? Why would you turn yourself. in? Why would you allow neighbors,

strangers to get involved who can. possibly catch you? Or he could say he's. sloppy and he's stupid if these. allegations are true. >> Well, I I I think the truth may be. somewhere in between. I suppose what he. could say or what the defense could say. is these individuals are are drug users. They're drug addicts. As you said. before, they struggle with addiction. A. drug overdose occurred and then Karen uh. panicked and didn't know what to do. and. uh it was an accidental drug overdose. and consequently he wanted to get the.

body out of the house and figured the. best place to bring it was a hospital. and what he ended up doing was just uh. out of sheer desperation and panic. rather than anything intentional and he. had nothing to do with the death and. instead it was just a drug overdose and. then an unfortunate discarding of a. body. I always think the physical. evidence tells a lot of the story maybe. sometimes provides a timeline. So if we. look at those red brown stains that were. on the carpet, the couch, the door, how. does that establish a timeline? How does. that establish a cause of death? How. does that establish a sequence of.

events? >> Sure. So the medical examiner will be. able to make some sort of rough. determination as to exactly when the. individual died uh based upon a number. of factors uh during an autopsy. And so. if the reddish brown stains are in fact. blood, uh I suppose it would depend on. how much blood there is. Uh I I don't. believe the search warrant specified. exactly how much there was. Somebody who. is hemorrhaging from a drug overdose. could bleed in certain ways. They could. fall, they could hit their head, they. could bleed that way. Uh on the other. hand, if there are copious amounts of.

blood and there's an individual with. significant, let's say, facial injuries. and facial lacerations, then that sort. of tips the scale from it being a drug. overdose where somebody falls and hits. their head to someone who unfortunately. is beaten to death. >> How do they confirm that's blood? Do you. know what the testing is? >> Well, they'll be able to confirm via DNA. whether or not the the blood belongs to. Perry or the homeowner or Karen or. somebody else. And as far as whether or. not it is blood, there's a variety of. forensic tests that can take place to do.

that. That that's simple. >> And this hockey mannequin, right, that. they were apparently moving. They're. going to be key witnesses at an upcoming. trial, I imagine. Um, you know, what did. you make of that? That was an. interesting aspect because yeah, they. didn't definitively see a body. One saw. maybe human flesh. One may made a. comment about this feels like a human. body, but you know, hockey mannequin. carrying this that time based on what.

prosecutors and authorities are saying. How do you interpret it? >> Well, I I mean, it's obvious that again, if you if you believe what the police. are saying, it's obvious that these. folks were carrying a body. There. there's no two ways around that. Um. whether or not their off-hand statements. about do I see flesh or this feels like. a body, whether or not that's actually. admissible at trial is another story. altogether. But the fact of the matter. is that two individuals, two neighbors. helping out another neighbor were. carrying something that was, you know, uhund something pounds that was shaped.

in a certain way that was wrapped in a. blanket that the the defendant claims as. a mannequin. I think an inference can be. drawn that they were carrying a body. I. think the inference can be drawn they. were carrying Perry's body. Um it. certainly adds a gruesome element to it, but uh again whether or not the. statements as far as what they said. comes in, that's another story entirely. >> One thing I didn't ask you about was the. rigger mortise, right? If they the the. body when it's dropped off at the. hospital, they're able to, you know, determine it's in this state pronounced.

dead at 2:15 p.m. Can that help with a. cause of death? Excuse me. Can that help. with the timeline of death? >> Sure. Sure. I mean, rigger mortise is. one of the ways that uh that a forensic. um excuse me, rigger mortise is one of. the ways that the medical examiner will. determine exactly what the time the. rough timeline of death was. But again, you know, it's going to be a fine line. here. The defense is clearly going to be. that this was a drug overdose uh and. that uh the defendant panicked and. didn't know what else to do and got rid. of the body. That's really the only line. of defense here as far as I can see. So,

at this arraignment, at Karen's. arraignment in Hingham District Court, Karen, who was wearing a gray. long-sleeve shirt, often kind of stared. at the floor as prosecutors were laying. out the evidence against him. And he. pleaded not guilty to murder. And the. prosecutors, they detailed the severe. injuries that Declan Perry apparently. sustained, which led them again to. classify this as a homicide. Here's what. they say the medical examiner found. The. medical examiner found that he had deep. hemorrhaging of his chest, back, and the.

back of his head from blunt force. trauma. He had injuries to his eyes, nose, mouth, and face also from blunt. force trauma. He had injuries in. hemorrhaging to his necks, to his neck, larynx, and esophagus. Hemorrhaging. around his hyoid bone. Um, and the. medical examiner said all of these. injuries to the neck uh were due to. strangulation. Uh, all of these. injuries, according to the medical. examiner, occurred prior to death. Now, following the arraignment, district. attorney Tim Cruz spoke to reporters. about the ongoing investigation that.

toxicology results are still pending, but he emphasized the severity of this. case. >> At the end of the day, we had sufficient. probable cause to charge this individual. with arrest with for homicide, the. unlawful killing of another human being. with malice. the the injuries that we. have from preliminary medical examiners. report this time and those are certainly. very discerning which led to led to us. amongst other things regarding uh that. this is a homicide and not just a drug. overdose. So William, how influential.

are the medical examiner's findings. improving that injuries cause the death. rather than drugs because again I think. you're right. The defense may point to. aspects of that and say that's the cause. of death. Um, but then you couple that. with the injuries that this professional. apparently found on the body and right. the account of this woman who says, "Yeah, as we're moving the body, we. never hit into anything." Right? That. wouldn't have been why the injuries were. caused if we believe her. >> Well, again, I I I think that's exactly. the issue right there. I I I think this.

is going to be if this case goes to. trial, it will be dueling medical. examiners because the defense is going. to have to get a med medical examiner. who's going to say that these injuries. are consistent with uh someone who would. died from a drug overdose and then. individuals who were then transporting. that person from point A to point B. In. this case, it was sort of up a crazy. flight of stairs in a tub on a on a. makeshift stretcher to a hospital, so on. and so forth. So the defense medical. examiner or the defense expert is going.

to say that these injuries were. consistent with somebody who had already. passed away and folks who were. transporting a body uh albeit um. ungracefully uh from point A to point B. and the government is going to try to. say that no these injuries clearly took. place prior to the individual's death. So that's what this case boils down to. >> Can you give me a little behind the. scenes about something? And I wonder if. our viewers will think this too. you're. going to need an expert who's very. specific in those findings. How does a. defense attorney find an expert that.

will agree to all that? Is it like this. is where we want to go? Do you see it. and just go to different medical experts. until they find the one that fits? >> No, I I don't think that's the way I I. don't think that's the way anyone should. do it. I don't think that the defense. attorney should drive the bus in terms. of what the expert findings are. But. again, in this particular case, it's. clear and and there are experts out. there that work for both prosecution and. defense, and you you retain an expert. You ask them to take a look at the. findings, and you ask them what their. conclusions are. Uh if you get an expert.

whose conclusions don't help your. client, then you thank them very much. for their time, pay their bill, and uh. find another expert if you can. It it's. routine. It happens all the time. >> So, sorry, that was very um that was. very skeptical of me. That was very uh. not a problem. What's the word that I'm. trying to find? Uh that was very uh. jaded of me. That was very jaded of me. Let's say that. Okay. >> A little cynical. >> Little cynical. Cynical. See, it's good. All these words are circulating. Okay.

So, we had Karen's attorney, by the way, who G. Mackis, who is pushing back. against the government's evidence, issuing a statement saying, "We are. confident that as the facts unfold in. this case, this will be an example of. the Massachusetts State Police jumping. to conclusions and charging someone with. murder when the evidence makes clear. that what took place while a tragedy was. not a crime." William, what does that. mean? I mean, they're they're they're. foreshadowing a Karen Reed style defense. where once again, the Massachusetts. State Police charged somebody with.

murder uh and they uh overshot. significantly. Uh that that's exactly. what this was. This this is a shot. across the bow of the Massachusetts. State Police and the Plymouth County. District Attorney's Office essentially. saying, you know, there there have been. a lot of cases in Massachusetts and. nationwide where the police act much too. quickly and the defense attorney is. saying this is yet another one. They. can't argue that though in front of a. jury, right? Hey, how many of you watch. Karen Reed? This is another example of. this. But the big one of the biggest.

trials to ever affect that state. You. have to imagine I actually wonder if. you'll if they'll have to be asked at a. at a trial like this. Did you ever watch. the Karen Reed case? Do you have an. opinion about the Massachusetts State. Police? Um, am I thinking about it the. wrong way? >> No. I think whether or not you have an. opinion about the Massachusetts State. Police is certainly a relevant question. to ask potential jurors uh in 2025 and. 2026 and for a few years after that. Whether or not they follow the Karen. Reed case, I I think that's pushing the. boundary a little bit.

>> Similar argument though. You're 100%. right. I thought the same thing. Now. Karen is scheduled to return to court on. September 29th for a bail hearing. What. can we expect there? I I again I think. the district attorney's office is once. is once again going to push that he. continue to be held without bail. I. think they're going to be successful in. that argument. When individual is. charged with first-degree murder in. Massachusetts, uh there is a presumption. that they are going to be held without. bail. I think it' be uh barring some. fantastic new evidence that the defense. team uncovers. I think it would be very.

difficult for him to be released while. this case is pending. >> William Corman, thank you so much for. coming on, breaking it down for us. Really, really appreciate And for. anybody who doesn't know, um, I. sometimes struggle with pronunciations. and William helped me tremendously. during the course of this episode. So, thank you so much. >> Always my pleasure. >> All right, everybody. That's all we have. for you right now here on Sidebar. Thank. you so much for joining us and as. always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you at. your podcast. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll. speak to you next time.

[Music].