The Downfall of Karen McDonald: Justice, Power, and Public Reckoning

Power, Politics, and the Cost of Justice

When Karen McDonald took office in January 2021, she promised fairness, accountability, and justice for victims. Karen promised to protect victims of crime, improving outcomes for juveniles and families, and increasing fairness and racial equity across the criminal justice system.

But today, her legacy is increasingly defined not by trust—but by controversy, investigation, and growing public outrage.

From high-profile prosecutions to deeply disputed cases, a pattern has emerged—one that raises serious questions about whether justice has been applied equally… or strategically.

The National Spotlight: The Oxford High School Shooting

On November 30, 2021, in the quiet suburban community of Oxford, Michigan, tragedy shattered an ordinary school day. The Oxford High School shooting unfolded in minutes—leaving four students dead, a nation in shock, and an impact that will last for generations. The shooter was a 15-year-old student who opened fire inside the school.

Four students were killed. Seven others were injured. Hundreds of lives were forever altered.

What began as a normal school day quickly turned into chaos, fear, and unimaginable loss.

The victims were students:

• Hana St. Juliana, 14

• Madisyn Baldwin, 17

• Tate Myre, 16

• Justin Shilling, 17

Their futures were cut short in seconds.Their families were left with a lifetime of grief.

Warning Signs and Missed Moments

In the hours leading up to the shooting, there were warning signs. School officials had concerns. There were troubling drawings. A meeting took place with the student and his parents. And yet— The student remained in school.

That decision has since become one of the most closely scrutinized moments in the case.

Because it raises a question that continues to haunt this tragedy: Could this have been prevented?

A Case That Drew the Nation’s Attention

When Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald announced charges not only against the shooter, but also against his parents, it sent shockwaves across the country. Her decision was unprecedented.

For some, it was a new level of accountability—pushing responsibility beyond the person who pulled the trigger. For others, it sparked a deeper question that still lingers: Where does responsibility begin… and where does it end? The Oxford case didn’t stay in the courtroom. It spread across the country—becoming a national conversation.

About parents.

About schools.

About warning signs that were seen—but not stopped.

And about who is held responsible when everything breaks down. At the center of it all was a community still grieving. Still searching. Still asking: Why did this happen—and could it have been stopped?

The Oxford High School shooting is not just a tragedy. It is a turning point. It changed how people across the country think about school safety, responsibility, and justice.

And even now, years later, the questions have not gone away. Because when something like this happens—closure does not come easily.

Karen McDonald made national headlines by taking an unprecedented step—charging the shooter’s parents with involuntary manslaughter, arguing they failed to prevent the attack.

The move was widely described as historic the decision propelled her into the national spotlight.

But that same case is now under scrutiny.

• On January 17, 2026 Detroit Free Press reported: ‘Karen McDonald accused of misconduct in historic Crumbley prosecutions’—adding another layer of scrutiny to a case that once defined her rise. The Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission has opened an investigation into allegations of misconduct tied to the prosecution.

• Complaints allege ethical violations, including concerns about handling of evidence and conduct during the case.

• The dismissal of Denis Preka’s murder case—just one day before a breakthrough in the prosecution of the Crumbleys parents—highlights a striking contrast in how cases were handled its also under investigation with Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission.
  

What was once praised as bold leadership is now under scrutiny: Was this about justice—or a calculated effort by Karen McDonald to build a political profile and advance to the next level, even amid the pain of victims’ families?

Over $250,000 in taxpayer funds went to public relations firms during the Oxford parents’ prosecution.

The trial captured national attention, but it raises a difficult question: did over a quarter million dollars in taxpayer-funded efforts—labeled by critics as a smear campaign—serve justice, or build a political brand? On base of Detroit Free Press on June 10, 2025 "Defense: Prosecutor paid 3rd PR firm thousands to 'smear' the Crumbleys"

• Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office spent over $250,000 in taxpayer funds on public relations firms for the Oxford High School shooting case.

• Defense attorney Michael Dezsi alleges the prosecution used PR firms to run a “smear campaign” against the shooter's parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley.

• Prosecutor Karen McDonald defends the use of PR firms, citing the need for communication support due to the high-profile nature of the case.

"Defense attorney Michael Dezsi says he has discovered a third public relations firm signed a $100,000 contract with the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office to help run what he alleges was a “smear campaign” against Jennifer and James Crumbley, the parents of the Oxford High School shooter."

"That brings the total to more than $250,000 in taxpayer funds that were authorized for PR efforts in the historic case, according to county purchasing records, though the prosecutor's office says not that much was actually paid out." "This third contract, county records show, was signed with Washington, D.C.-based Feldman Strategies for “Prosecutor Public Relations” services for all of 2022. The contract started in January 2022, about five weeks after the Nov. 30, 2021, mass shooting at Oxford High School claimed the lives of four students and injured seven others, including a teacher. One invoice shows that Feldman charged the prosecutor’s office $350 an hour for its services."

“From the inception of this case, the Oakland County Prosecutor has engaged in a pattern of cheat and deceit by committing numerous constitutional, legal, and ethical violations," Dezsi, Jennifer Crumbley's appellate attorney, said in a June 10 statement, alleging the prosecution paid high-priced firms to push false narratives about the Crumbleys to convince the public that it had a strong case against the parents, and potentially tainting the jury pool."

"According to McDonald, the PR firms were hired with the approval of the Oakland County executive and Board of Commissioners, who approved $500,000 for her to hire crisis communications professionals in the wake of the shooting, along with information technology, security and other related costs."

"According to public records, the other two PR firms hired to do work on the Crumbley cases are: Identity, a national crisis response team that states on its website that it was hired by the prosecutor's office "in the hours following" the tragedy, and that it managed more than 75 news media interviews for the prosecutor’s office in one week, including 40 one-on-one interviews with national media outlets. Identity's hourly rate for its services ranged from $175 an hour to $300 an hour."

"The second PR firm hired after the shooting was Moment Strategies, which is owned by former Detroit journalist Alexis Wiley, who has made about $120,000 doing PR work involving the Crumbleys for the prosecutor's office. Wiley has long denied allegations that she was part of any "smear campaign," as alleged by the defense."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7X7GkxHp6w

The Detroit Free Press reported on January 31, 2025 that defense filings raised questions about taxpayer-funded communications efforts in the Crumbley case.

At the same time, a Hulu documentary brought even more attention—amplifying scrutiny over how the case was presented to the public. "Prosecutor had family ties to producer of Hulu documentary on the Crumbleys:'It's icky" "For two years, the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office withheld from the defense and the

public multiple secrets and controversial deals it made during its historic prosecution of

the Oxford High School shooter's parents: Confidential agreements with key school

witnesses. Contracts with high-priced public relations firms. A nondisclosure agreement

with a reporter who got inside access to the prosecution's trial strategy."

"Now comes this: The executive producer of a Hulu documentary about the parents that was filmed while a judge's gag order was in place had family ties to Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Williams — she is his wife's cousin, by marriage, a woman he is friendly with and attends family gatherings with." "The Free Press exclusively learned about the connection after obtaining multiple

documents that linked the two, showing Williams gave the producer/family member

seemingly preferential treatment, confidential materials, as well as access to the inner

workings of his office as it built its novel case against James and Jennifer Crumbley, the

first parents in America to be held responsible in a mass school shooting committed by

their son."

"Joshua Marquis, a former Oregon prosecutor of nearly 40 years and former vice president

of the National District Attorneys Association, said he has multiple concerns with the

Oakland County Prosecutor's Office giving media access to trial strategy sessions, and

giving what appears to be preferential treatment to a family member's relative."

One, he said, there was a gag order in place. Secondly, a prosecutor's first duty is to the

community, the victims and its witnesses, who may not have had a say in ABC's behind- the-scenes access. Third, he said, public officials need to be mindful of doing any work with

those they have personal ties to.

"When he was told of Williams' ties to the producer, he said: "That's icky … it makes me

uncomfortable, and I probably wouldn't do it. ... As a public official, if you ever give an

advantage to someone related to you, either by family or a business relationship … that

could be misconduct."

"The documentary, "Sins of the Parents: The Crumbley Trials," aired nine days after the Crumbleys were sentenced to 10-15 years in prison, respectively, over their roles in the

November 2021 deadly school shooting carried out by their son. The film came as a

surprise to many — including the judge who oversaw the trials — as it contained footage

from trial strategy sessions, witness preparations and interviews with prosecutors in their

homes and offices."

"The Oxford community also was stunned and traumatized by the documentary's release,

according to an April 14, 2024, email that Williams sent an ABC producer and copied his

wife's cousin on: "All of us who have seen the trailer are impressed … Unfortunately, the

timing of the trailer and release has generated trauma in the community and lots of

feedback and questions for our office."

"The email continues: "During the filming, we were under the impression that the doc would drop months after the verdict(s) and sentence(s), not days. We were stunned to have the trailer drop on GMA ("Good Morning America") and in Times Square less than 72 hours after the sentencing."

"This new information comes to light as the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office is

scheduled to head to court on Friday for a proceeding to help determine whether Jennifer

Crumbley will have her conviction tossed and/or be granted a new trial. Prosecutors are

there to defend what is perhaps its most controversial confidential agreement: a deal that

protected two important school staff witnesses from having statements they made to

investigators from being used against them, but was never disclosed to the defense."

"It is unclear whether the new revelation about the family ties will have any impact on the

prosecution's case. Late Thursday afternoon, the judge issued an opinion dismissing

numerous claims by the defense, including allegations that the prosecution engaged in a"smear campaign" against the Crumbleys. But she did not rule against hearing both sides out about the deals with school officials."

Prosecutor's office: We did not ask ABC 'to hide' family connection'

"On Friday, the agreements the prosecution cut with the two key school witnesses will play

front and center in a crucial hearing before Judge Cheryl Matthews, who will heararguments about whether to grant a new trial to Jennifer Crumbley, vacate her conviction, or let the guilty verdicts stand." The prosecutor's office says it did not seek out the Hulu documentary, or any media attention for that matter, and that ABC came to them about the documentary.

Prosecutor never disclosed family ties

"According to internal documents obtained by the Free Press, the Hulu documentary was

produced through an agreement that ABC News Studios negotiated through Williams in

early June 2022 — three weeks before the judge issued a gag order prohibiting both sides from publicly discussing the case with anyone. Williams, who was featured in the film, has long defended the deal his office made with ABC. He maintains that because the documentary aired after the trials ended, the gag order was not violated."

"But Williams has never publicly disclosed that he had family ties to the producer, whose

name was included in letters and emails involving the arrangement between ABC and the

prosecutor's office, which discussed the idea of the documentary with Williams before

writing him this letter. "Dear David, as discussed, ABC News is very interested in following the team at the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office as they prepare their case against James and Jennifer Crumbley," a producer — not McDonough — writes in a letter dated June 2, 2022, almost four weeks before the judge issued a gag order." "The letter explained how the network wanted to give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at

the prosecution, stating "the production team will be led by Two-Time Emmy Award

Winner Cheryl McDonough" (the relative) and "will work closely with David Williams."

"On June 27, 2022, the judge issued a gag order in the case, prohibiting both sides from

discussing the case with any media, or making any public statements about it. Nonetheless, the prosecutor's office went ahead with its plans. Behind closed doors, while proclaiming in open court that it couldn't answer media questions due to the gag order, Oakland County prosecutors had an ABC film crew and Washington Post reporter embedded in its office.

As Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said in the documentary: "Those parents

are — yikes. The life they lived was just crazy. The sexting and the really terrible things they videoed of their sexual acts ..."

The documentary also showed images of the Crumbleys' unkept home and booze bottles,

where prosecutors were taped hugging a child in a tidy kitchen, or making a salad for their

spouse.

In announcing the documentary, here's what ABC News Studios had to say: "ABC News Studios was granted rare exclusive access inside the prosecutor’s office over the course of two years as McDonald and her team of attorneys crafted their case. The cameras were rolling for key moments during major hearings and private conversations, even going home with McDonald, capturing contemplative moments as she processed the weight of the case." ABC, however, was not the only national news outlet to get inside access to the novel prosecution. "The Oxford High School shooting drew immediate national and international attention.

False rumors began spreading quickly. Schools across Michigan and across the country

were closed because of false threats," Williams has previously stated. "The Oakland County

Executive and the Oakland County Board of Commissioners immediately provided the

resources needed to get reliable information to the public and the media. We owed that to

the victims and the public."Williams continued: "Jennifer Crumbley was convicted for what she did and didn’t do, and the defense cannot change those facts. ... She was convicted on the facts, not a media narrative."

“It began with the ‘Sins of the Parents.’ Now, the spotlight turns: the Sins of the Prosecutor.”

The Denis Preka Case: Allegations of Abandonment of Justice

Denis Preka’s story is the opposite of a headline case—quiet, unseen, and unresolved. The family says that while attention was focused elsewhere, decisions in this case drifted away from accountability and toward an outcome that left them without justice—raising concerns, in their view, about the influence of connections and campaign donations.

According to his family, Denis’s final hours were captured in part on video—hours they describe as filled with abuse, fear, and betrayal. He was with people he trusted.

The case moved forward for nearly two years toward trial—until, they say, everything changed after Karen McDonald became prosecutor.

The family believes Denis was failed—not only by a person he trusted, Paul Wiedmair, but also by everything that came after. To them, the truth is still unfinished. For nearly two years, the case moved forward. Then everything changed.

They say it changed when Karen McDonald took office. Allegations raised by the family include:

• The case was undermined after campaign donations tied to defense connections.

• Critical evidence—including digital evidence—was later excluded or dismissed.

• Prosecutorial strategy shifted in a way that ultimately collapsed the case.
  

The result: A family left not only grieving a son but fighting the very system meant to protect him. These claims are disputed and not independently verified in public reporting, but they form the core of ongoing advocacy, complaints, and calls for investigation. According to Detroit Free Press story on March 19, 2025

"My son was murdered on Snapchat' : 6 years later, mom still fights for justice"

• Denis Preka died after ingesting a lethal dose of MDMA and MDA provided by friends as a joke.

• The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office dismissed the case, citing insufficient evidence after a judge ruled Snapchat evidence inadmissible.

• Preka's mother, Linda Preka Thom, alleges prosecutorial misconduct and believes political donations influenced the case's dismissal.

• The Michigan Attorney General's Office is currently reinvestigating the case.

• Thom remains determined to seek justice for her son, drawing strength from the disturbing Snapchat videos that documented his final hours. The same article was features on USA Today Network on April 27, 2025 "My son was murdered on Snapchat': A mom haunted by videos fights for justice"
  

• Denis Preka died after ingesting a lethal dose of MDMA and MDA allegedly provided by friends who filmed his ensuing death on Snapchat.

• Prosecutors in Oakland County, Michigan, dismissed the case, citing insufficient evidence after a judge ruled Snapchat evidence inadmissible.

• The Michigan Attorney General's Office is currently reinvestigating the case.
  

It's been six years since she lost her son, yet Linda Preka Thom still wakes up every night haunted by the image of him dying on a hallway floor, surrounded by hecklers who laughed, dumped water on him, recorded video of him struggling to breathe, then posting it all on Snapchat. Even his death. He was poisoned. "I wake up every single night. All I see are the eyes of my son on the floor, looking at the camera. His eyes are terrified," Thom said through tears in a recent interview, noting she has watched the video too many times. But it's that gut-wrenching video, she said, that keeps her going.

After years of sleepless nights, agonizing, crying, begging for answers, Thom still is fighting for justice for her son: 21-year-old Denis Preka, of Grosse Pointe Farms, who died one day shy of his 22nd birthday during what was supposed to be a study night at his friend's house in Novi on March 19, 2019. To date, no one has been held criminally responsible for his death — and it has pushed the grieving mother to her limits. On Wednesday, which marks the sixth anniversary of her son's death, Thom filed a formal complaint with the Attorney Grievance Commission against Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald and Assistant Prosecutor Marc Keast. She alleges the prosecutors made ethical and legal missteps in dismissing the criminal charges against the man who allegedly fed her son the lethal drugs and livestreamed his. suffering and death. This same man, Snapchat and police records show, was a convicted drug dealer who was out on probation the night he allegedly drugged Denis Preka, and laughed while the victim was in distress, telling him: "This is the best moment of your life, dammit."

The words make Thom's blood boil. She said she is angry and frustrated about a lot of things: like how a jury concluded this same man and his friend did something so bad, that it awarded her family $75 million last summer in a wrongful death lawsuit that used the same evidence prosecutors had. Yet, the prosecution dismissed the case, saying it did not have sufficient evidence. Thom, however, maintains they didn't care about her son's case.

Im not letting this go

"The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office dismissed the case on Feb. 23, 2022, one day before the first big hearing in its historic case against James and Jennifer Crumbley, the now-convicted parents of the Oxford High School shooter. It was the preliminary exam, when the prosecution convinced the judge to send the Crumbleys to trial. That same day, after seeing the prosecutor on TV, Thom fired off an email. "With all due respect to the families who lost their children in Oxford, my son's life is no less important," Thom wrote in an email to Keast. "Your office didn't want to fight for my son."

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald inherited the Preka case in 2021, after beating longtime incumbent Jessica Cooper in the November 2020 election. By 2022, she would dismiss the charges after a judge concluded that the previous prosecutor had engaged in prosecutorial misconduct, declared the Snapchat evidence as unreliable, and prohibited it from being used as evidence in the case.

The judge did so after McDonald's office alleged that the former assistant prosecutor on the case engaged in misconduct by withholding evidence from the defense that involved a defendant's Snapchat account.

At issue was whether someone else could have been posting to Snapchat on the night Preka died, as the defense argued. The prosecution scoffed at that idea. So did a judge, who said "I don't think it's rational. I looked at every single one of these SNAPS."

The Snapchat account in question belongs to the man accused of giving Preka the drugs, then recording his suffering. His name is Nicholas "Nick" Remington, a University of Michigan student and convicted drug dealer who was charged in Preka's death with delivery of a controlled substance causing death, which carries a maximum life sentence. He was jailed on a $1 million cash bond, though his lawyer would ultimately get his bond reduced to $10,000, and the charges dropped.

Here's how it happened:

Defense attorney Neil Rockind argued early on that someone else — other than his client — could have used Remington's Snapchat account to post the troubling videos on social media the night Preka died. As he told the judge at a hearing, "all it would take is for someone to have access to the account and a password."

"Coincidentally, that exact scenario actually did happen the previous day, when someone accessed Remington's Snapchat account while he was in jail. Preka's father had been given a screenshot of what appeared to be someone else using that Snapchat account, and showed it after a hearing to the former assistant prosecutor, who told the father to turn it over to the police for further investigation, court records show. But the former assistant prosecutor did not disclose that to the defense, which more than a year later would trigger claims of prosecutorial misconduct." Former prosecutor: case' 'I was crushed ... I was confident in the

It was Keast, the new assistant prosecutor on the case, who made the misconduct claim, telling the judge that after inheriting the case and reviewing the police file, he had discovered evidence that the former assistant prosecutor did not give to the defense. Keast then provided that information to Rockind, the defense attorney, who, in turn, sought to have the case dismissed on prosecutorial misconduct grounds.

Oakland County Circuit Judge Victoria Valentine did not dismiss the case, but she concluded the former assistant prosecutor had engaged in misconduct, and consequently ruled the Snapchat evidence was unreliable and could not be used at trial.

Five days after the judge issued that ruling, Remington, who by then had been

released on a $10,000 bond, took to Snapchat, posting: "New Court Order — Prosecutor hid evidence ... Took u long enough. Nice job tryna pin me. Dis case boutta get dismissed boyyyy!!!!!"

He was right. The new prosecution also agreed that the Snapchat evidence was unreliable, but went a step further than the judge, dismissing the case entirely.

"Our investigator's findings have caused this office to conclude that we do not have sufficient evidence to proceed, and thus must dismiss this case," Keast wrote in a Feb. 18, 2022, letter to Linda Preka Thom, the victim's mother. "We have determined the records received from Snapchat are not reliable ... That would leave witnesses testimony as the only remaining evidence."

In a recent interview with the Free Press, Keast defended his handling of the case. "I fought tooth and nail to keep this case alive," Keast said, stressing his office "did everything by the book" when it inherited the Preka case from the previous prosecutor. He also said that he felt badly for the victim's parents, Linda and Jamie Thom. "I reported to the court exactly what I found. I just represented the facts," Keast said, adding: "My heart breaks for Linda and Jamie. It absolutely breaks for them."

Former prosecutor: case' 'I was crushed ... I was confident in the Thom doesn't buy any of it. She has spent years investigating her son's death and has amassed hundreds of pages of investigative reports that, she says, refute the prosecution's claims. She alleges that it's McDonald and Keast who engaged in wrongdoing — not the former assistant prosecutor — by pushing what Thom views as a bogus claim of misconduct.

She also took issue with Keast's claims that he fought for her son. "He did fight tooth and nail — to get a murderer out of jail, and to dismiss this case," Thom said. "My son was never represented."

Keast, however, has argued that the former assistant prosecutor had access to two police reports involving Remington's Snapchat account being used by someone else.

He also produced emails that were sent from a detective to the former assistant prosecutor, showing her the search warrant affidavits that were filed to learn more about who was using the Snapchat account. But, he said, she never turned any of that information over to the defense.

In an interview with the Free Press, that former Oakland County assistant prosecutor, Beth Hand, denied withholding evidence from the defense, saying: "It absolutely did not happen. I would never do that." "My integrity is everything to me. It has been my entire career. The accusation that I would ever intentionally withhold evidence is absurd, it’s absolutely absurd," Hand told the Free Press, adding: "I have no recollection of ever receiving a report."

Hand is referring to the police reports that Keast alleges she had but didn't turn over. This has been an ongoing controversy in the case, with the former assistant prosecutor and Thom maintaining no such police reports were ever provided to the prosecutor by the Novi police, and, that they were only provided to Keast in 2021 -after Hand had left office. Moreover, they say, Keast argued to the court that Hand specifically withheld police reports - not the emails he cited between a detective and the prosecutor.

Hand, who is now the Mason County Prosecutor in western Michigan, said she was distraught when she learned the case was dismissed by the prosecution, and when Circuit Court Judge Valentine declared the Snapchat evidence as inadmissible. "I was crushed. I was confident in the case that I had written, and I was confident in the evidence that I had in order to seek justice for Denis and his family," said Hand, arguing the defense arguments that got the charges dismissed had been made at the district court level, but the judge there did not consider them "to be a valid argument."

Hand struggled to talk about the Snapchat videos from that tragic night. "They'll never leave me," Hand said through tears of the troubling images.

A night of studying ends in tragedy — 'Oh my God, oh my God'

On March 18, 2019, Preka went to his friend Paul Wiedmaier's house in Novi, where

he intended on spending the night and preparing for a test the next day. At about 10

p.m., Wiedmaier invited two friends over, including Nicholas Remington, a

convicted drug dealer who was out on probation that night stemming from a

previous drug crime.

Snapchats tell the story — 'U f---ing killed him'

During their investigation, Novi police subpoenaed Snapchat and obtained numerous chats or Snaps, as they are called — that were shared among users in the hours and days before and after Preka's death. Here are among several pieces of evidence that prosecutors had tried to use, and that the family still believes implicate Preka's friends in his death.

On March 19, 2019, a Snapchat user who saw the videos of Preka spiraling wrote a question: "U give that kid meth?" The Hulkolas account responded: "Methylone, some mol"

The day after the tragedy, another student who was at the house all night and was there when Preka's body was found, texted a friend: "Dude he murdered someone ... Denise (misspelled) parents are rich and they will find out the truth one way or the other."

On March 29, 2019 10 days after the tragedy this same student and the Hulkolas account started blaming each other in private Snapchat messages. The Hulkolas account: "You have just as much responsibility as me. And u just throw some s--- on me like I did it when not nearly no one did nothing." Friend: "But u killed him ... U f--killed him ... And mol ... U gave him methylone. Giving him more when he was already f----d ... U r trying to blame me for any fallout of u f----killing Denis."

For 52 District Court Judge Travis Reeds, that last message was especially

compelling. "I think that's the most clear SNAP that Mr. (Nicholas) Remington actually provided the drugs," Reeds said during a September 2019 hearing, when he concluded there was sufficient evidence to send the case to trial.

But that never happened.

'She tossed this case under the rug … Snapchat is unreliable?

Seriously? ... Thank God I was able to see that video'

After the prosecution dismissed the case, Thom became her own investigator and submitted a Freedom of Information Act, FOIA, request to the prosecutor's office for all its files in her son's case. She has since become a relentless warrior for her son, contacting law enforcement and government agencies of all sorts for help, including the Novi police, the AG's office, the FBI and legislators.

“She tossed this case under the rug,” Thom said of McDonald, as she scoffed at the prosecutor's claims. "You're telling me Snapchat is unreliable? Seriously? … My son was murdered on Snapchat."

Thom alleges that it was Keast and McDonald who engaged in misconduct by not disclosing information that they had before they dismissed the case information that she said she learned about after filing a FOIA with the prosecutor's office.

Specifically, Thom said she would learn that the person who was using Remington's Snapchat account while Remington was in jail was his friend, who was at the house the night her son died and a witness in the case.

That friend, police reports show, had posted a cartoon on Remington's Snapchat account showing a cartoon of a man in a jail-style cage, and the following words: "To all 5,000 of you beautiful mother f------ I need Ketamine, who got? Thanks, Nick "

According to geolocation data obtained by Thom, that friend was using Remington's Snapchat account from his home in Northville, she said. Thom also said she obtained a USB file that contained live videos of the same friend using Remington's Snapchat account while Remington was in jail. She said she repeatedly asked the prosecutor's office to look into that for possible obstruction of justice charges, but that her requests fell on deaf ears.

Moreover, Thom said, this Snapchat post which the prosecution held was favorable to the defense and should have been turned over actually was inculpatory, or hurtful for the defense.

"The defendant obstructed justice and gave his best friend and eyewitness ... login credentials to his Snapchat account," Thom argues, stressing the prosecution "had this information. It could have been an obstruction of justice charge. But they never did anything."

Mom: Prosecutor motivated by political donations from defense lawyer

In her fight for justice and in her formal complaint, Thom alleges that politics and money played a role in her son's case getting dismissed. Specifically, she alleges that McDonald directed Keast to show preferential treatment to Rockind — the defense attorney in her son's overdose case — because he and his wife donated nearly $20,000 to McDonald's 2020 and 2024 political campaigns between 2020-24.According to campaign finance records, Rockind donated $11,150; his wife donated $8,325.

To further her argument, Thom cites a 2020 Facebook post by McDonald in which she shows a video of former and current prosecutors supporting her candidacy, and thanks the 11 people in the video for their support, including defense attorney Rockind, who started his career as an assistant prosecutor in the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office.

McDonald has adamantly denied the allegation, calling it "outrageous." "We can unequivocally state that campaign donations did not influence this case, or any other case, handled by the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office," Jeff Wattrick, a spokesperson for McDonald, said in a statement to the Free Press. "Like all elected officials ... McDonald has received campaign donations from numerous individuals, including many attorneys. "

The statement continues: "At no time has Prosecutor McDonald provided Neal Rockind or any of his clients with preferential treatment, nor has she used her office to benefit donors, friends, or special interests in any way. The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney is a sacred trust and a public service that Karen McDonald takes seriously."

Thom doesn't believe any of it. Her son died tragically, she said, arguing there's a plethora of evidence that shows he was drugged, killed and mocked by supposed friends who did nothing to help him when he was clearly in distress, struggling to breathe.

"I am broken to pieces," she said through tears. "It's been six years. I haven't heard his voice. He was the kindest human being."

But she refuses to give up. Instead, Thom remains steadfastly focused on that mind numbing video that plays over and over in her head, and wakes her up every nightat 2 a.m. near the reported time of her son's death.

"I know it’s bad for my heart," Thom said of watching the video. "But I thank God

that I was able to see that video. That was the fuel — and I am going to find justice, I

have no doubt."

According to The Detroit News on November 10, 2024 by George Hunter

"Parents seek justice for son’s death amid claims of prosecutorial misconduct"

A couple's attempt to get justice for their son's death has devolved into accusations by the grieving parents and Oakland County prosecutors that court proceedings were tainted by prosecutorial misconduct, although the two sides disagree about which public official allegedly committed the offense.

A Wayne County jury in August awarded $75 million to the estate of Denis Preka, a

21-year-old University of Detroit Mercy student who died March 19, 2019, after his

friends reportedly slipped him a heavy dose of drugs. They posted Snapchat videos

of his incoherent spiral into death while mocking him, forcing coffee down his

throat and pouring water on his head.

Since the lawsuit was resolved in Wayne County Circuit Court, Preka's parents,

Linda and James Thom, have been pushing for criminal charges to be filed against

the two men who were found civilly liable for Preka's death — Nicholas Remington

and Paul Wiedmaier — and Connor Gibaratz, who was named as a defendant in the

lawsuit before the judge dismissed the charges against him.

Oakland County Medical Examiner's autopsy, was caused by

severe edema and congestion of his brain and lungs from drug intoxication.

A month after Preka died, Remington was charged with delivery of a controlled substance causing death, which is punishable by up to life in prison. Remington was incarcerated in the Oakland County Jail in lieu of $1 million bond, before Oakland County prosecutors dropped the charges in 2022 because they said former Assistant Prosecutor Beth Hand had withheld evidence in the case.

While Linda and James Thom "they said they also want Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald and Assistant Prosecutor Marc Keast to be held accountable for allegedly withholding evidence in the case to return a political favor."

"This case was never about not having enough evidence," James Thom said. "It's

about the way the prosecutors messed this case up, which appears to have been

done on purpose."

The Thom's last month started a change.org petition calling for McDonald and Keast

to be removed from office because they allegedly "lied to and manipulated (a judge)

by withholding evidence" during an April 15, 2021, hearing in Oakland County

Circuit Court.

"Linda Thom accused McDonald and Keast of dropping the charges against Remington because his attorney, Rockind, donated to McDonald's 2020 political campaign. Rockind donated $7,150 to McDonald in October 2020, campaign finance records show, with his wife donating an additional $8,325 to the prosecutor in April."

"Before I took office and before Marc Keast was assigned to this case, the prior assistant prosecutor withheld evidence. When we discovered that, we were required to disclose it to the defense attorney and the court," McDonald said in a Monday statement.

The judge found that the prior assistant prosecutor committed a serious Brady violation and suppressed evidence that was needed to prove our case beyond a reasonable doubt. We were ethically required to dismiss the case. Our office operates with the utmost integrity at all times, and the suggestion that campaign donations play any role in those decisions is outrageous."

During the April 15, 2021, hearing, McDonald and Keast said former Assistant

Prosecutor Hand had withheld information about messages that were sent from Remington's Snapchat account in September 2019 while he was in jail. Remington's attorney argued the messages showed his client's Snapchat account was not secure and that anyone could have sent the messages and posted the video the night Preka

died. The judge agreed and ordered the videos could not be used as evidence.

"Ms. Hand's failure to produce the discovery and blatant misrepresentation to the Court at the preliminary exam, is nothing short of intolerable due process violations," Valentine wrote in her May 21, 2021, order. Parents takes claims public

But Linda Thom said McDonald and Keast hid from Judge Valentine a Novi police report listing geo-tracking data and messages investigators received in November 2019 after sending a warrant to Snap Inc. According to the report, GPS and internet protocol data showed Remington's account was accessed from Gibaratz's Northville home on Sept. 26, 2019, along with a message from Remington's account that referenced "letting me use ur Snap." "These files include inculpatory evidence that clearly shows Connor Gibaratz logged into Remington’s account, the Snapchat came from Gibaratz’s home address while Remington was in jail, and the communication transcripts between Gibaratz and Snapchat users where Gibaratz admits to using the account," the Thoms wrote on their change.org petition. "Keast withheld all this inculpatory evidence from Judge Valentine and started his journey to get a murderer out of jail." According to the Novi police report, Snap Inc. provided the messages and geo- tracking data to Novi investigators on Nov. 21, 2019, more than a year before the April 15, 2021, hearing before Judge Valentine.

"You tell me why the prosecutors didn't tell the judge that one of the people who was with my son on the night he died logged into his account to cover for him," Linda Thom said. "The prosecutors were working with the defense attorney because their goal was to release Nick Remington, not to get justice for my son."

More than 1,600 pages of files the Thoms obtained from Oakland County prosecutors through a public records request have been posted to their change.org page. The records show the Novi police report was part of the evidence package that had been gathered by prosecutors before they dropped the case. The Novi Police Department did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Linda Thom said Hand learned of the Snapchat messages that had been sent from Remington's account while he was in jail because her husband showed the former assistant prosecutor a message on his cellphone that had been forwarded by Preka's friend. "

(Hand) had no way of knowing for sure if that message was real," she said. "It was hearsay information — someone showed her a screenshot of what they said was a Snapchat message. How can they say (Hand) withheld that information, when she hadn't yet verified it?" During the April 15, 2021, court hearing, Keast told Valentine he had only recently learned from Rockind that Hand, who had worked for former Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper before voters replaced her with McDonald in November 2020, had hid evidence of the Snapchat messages that were sent while Remington was in jail. "There was a report that I asked (former Novi Police Detective Sgt. Steve Balog) to author when Mr. Rockind made me aware of (the withheld evidence)," Keast told the judge, according to a hearing transcript. "I asked him if he had written a supplemental report regarding that; he indicated he did not. I told him to write one and send it to me. When he did, I turned it over to defense counsel."

Linda Thom said the supplemental report Keast referenced doesn't exist. "It's not in any of the files the prosecutor sent us, and we asked for everything that's in the case file," she said. "The prosecutors told us they sent us the whole file, but there's no supplemental reports. I've been asking everyone: Where are these supplemental reports? You go ask them where they are because nobody will tell me."

Remington was arrested and arraigned June 12, 2019, in Novi's 52-1 District Court

on charges of delivery of a controlled substance causing death.

In setting a $1 million cash bond with no 10% requirement to get bail, Magistrate Andra Richardson said, "You’re on a probation for a drug offense and now someone has died as a result of these drugs. ... I do find you to be a danger to our society and to safety of the public."

District Judge Travis Reeds bound the case over for trial on Oct. 16, 2019. After the COVID pandemic hit a few months later, the case was dormant for months.After Keast took over the case in January 2021 following McDonald's election as prosecutor and learned that Hand had allegedly withheld evidence, he asked the court in March 2021 to have Remington's bond removed. Judge Valentine ordered the defendant released on a tether.

Nearly a year later, on Feb. 18, 2022, McDonald sent a letter to the victim's parents, informing them of her decision to drop the charges against Remington. McDonald said in the letter the decision was made because Remington's Snapchat account wasn't secure, although the prosecutor didn't mention the allegations against Hand. Linda Thom insisted justice has not been served.

"My son was murdered, and nobody has gone to jail for it," Thom said. "There's something wrong with our system if someone can get away with murder, and prosecutors can get away with lying. All I know is I'm going to find justice for my son. In this great country, no one is above the law."

According to The Detroit News on November 12, 2024 by George Hunter "Snapchat messages scrutinized amid rekindled probe into Novi live streamed death​"

Novi — Snapchat messages are central to the rekindled investigation into the 2019 death of a 21-year-old college student whose friends reportedly slipped him a fatal dose of drugs and streamed videos of his groggy reaction online, the city's police chief said Tuesday.

Oakland County prosecutors and the victim's parents, Linda and James Thom, said the first attempt to adjudicate the case in criminal court was marred by prosecutorial misconduct, although the two sides disagree about who allegedly committed the offense.

Prosecutors said they had to drop charges against the man who allegedly supplied the drugs to Preka after learning that a former assistant prosecutor had allegedly withheld evidence in the case.

"The former assistant prosecutor, Beth Hand, denied the claim."I have never withheld evidence in my entire life, and I never would do that," said Hand, who on Nov. 5 was elected Mason County prosecutor in west Michigan,. "I take my integrity very seriously. I have no idea why I'm being accused of that."

The Thoms last month started a change.org petition calling for Oakland County

Prosecutor Karen McDonald and Assistant Prosecutor Marc Keast to be removed

from office because they allegedly lied in court to return a political favor. McDonald

has denied the allegation.

On Tuesday, Novi Police Chief Erick Zinser told The News "his detectives resubmitted a warrant to Oakland County prosecutors in the case last month, after getting information from the victim's parents. We originally investigated the case (after Preka's death), submitted a warrant request to the prosecutors, and they issued a warrant, it went through the court process, and the charges were dropped," said Zinser, who became police chief in 2022, after the initial police investigation into the death was closed. But we took another look at the case after the family brought forth some new stuff, mostly Snapchat information that had to do with the search warrants from Snapchat, and what that contained," the chief said. "We sent that information to prosecutors last month."

Chief Assistant Oakland County Prosecutor David Williams said in a Tuesday statement: "It is our understanding that the (Michigan) Attorney General is reviewing the case. We will provide them with all of the information for their review."

But Nessel spokesman Danny Wimmer said the case is still under the county's jurisdiction."While our review of the material provided by the victim’s family remains ongoing, the case remains with the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, and we have neither requested nor been referred the prosecution in this matter," Wimmer said in a Tuesday email.

Linda Thom said she doesn't want Oakland County prosecutors to reinvestigate her son's death. "I don't trust Karen McDonald," she said. "I don't want her to take my son's case

again. I want her to take accountability for getting a murderer out of jail under false

pretenses."

During an April 15, 2021, hearing, McDonald and Keast said Hand had withheld information about messages that were sent from Remington's Snapchat account in September 2019 while he was in jail. Remington's attorney argued the messages showed his client's Snapchat account was not secure and that anyone could have sent the messages and posted the video the night Preka died. Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Victoria Valentine agreed and ordered the videos could not be used as evidence.

But Linda Thom said McDonald and Keast hid from Judge Valentine a Novi police report listing geo-tracking data and messages investigators received in November 2019 after sending a warrant to Snap Inc. According to the report, GPS and internet protocol data showed Remington's account was accessed from Gibaratz's Northville home on Sept. 26, 2019, along with a message from Remington's account that referenced "letting me use ur Snap."

According to the Novi police report, Snap Inc. provided the messages and geo- tracking data to Novi investigators on Nov. 21, 2019, more than a year before the April 15, 2021, hearing before Judge Valentine.

"These files include inculpatory evidence that clearly shows Connor Gibaratz logged into Remington’s account, the Snapchat came from Gibaratz’s home address while Remington was in jail, and the communication transcripts between Gibaratz and Snapchat users where Gibaratz admits to using the account," the Thoms wrote on their change.org petition. "Keast withheld all this inculpatory evidence from Judge Valentine and started his journey to get a murderer out of jail."

Hand, who left the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office in 2021, said she doesn't know why McDonald and Keast accused her of withholding evidence from Remington's attorney. During the case, Hand said James Thom, the victim's stepfather, showed her a screenshot on his smartphone that was supposedly a Snapchat message sent from Remington's account while he was in jail.

"When the father showed me that Snapchat, I told him to show it to (the former Novi police detective who was in charge of the case), because I'm not an investigator," Hand said. "I then told the detective to follow up on it. The Snapchat message was never in my possession, and I never got anything about it after that. If I would have had evidence, I would've turned it over to the defense." Zinser, the Novi police chief, told The News Tuesday his detectives are done investigating the case.

"Whatever material was provided to us by Snapchat, we forwarded to the prosecutors," he said. "They have whatever we have."

Zinser said his detectives had not been contacted by investigators from Nessel's office. "Right now, I thought it was being handled by the prosecutor's office, but if the AG reaches out, we'll talk to them and give them whatever information we have," the police chief said.

According to The Detroit News on March 19, 2025 by George Hunter "Mother of college student who died on Snapchat still waiting for justice"