O’Keefe timeline
May 6, 2011 - Assistant County Prosecutor Kelly O’Keefe and her brother, Danny, also an attorney were beaten and stabbed repeatedly in their Fairfield home by James Terry V.
May 10, 2011 - Terry arraigned in Fairfield Municipal Court on two counts of felonious assault. Bond set at $5 million for Terry.
May 11, 2011 - Terry inducted by a Butler County grand jury on two counts of attempted murder, four counts of felonious assault, two counts of aggravated burglary and one count of tampering with evidence.
May 19, 2011 - Insanity plea entered by Terry’s attorneys. Forensic psychological evaluation ordered.
June. 22, 2011 - Terry, who formerly worked as a law clerk for Butler County Common Pleas Court, was found competent to stand trial.
Sept. 1, 2011 - Terry admits guilty in the stabbing of Kelly and Danny O’Keefe. Pleas guilty three weeks before trial to two counts of felonious assault and tampering with evidence.
Oct. 17 - Terry is sentenced to 21 years in prison by Visiting Judge Ralph Winkler.
Unmatched coverage
The Hamilton JournalNews/Middletown Journal has spent more than a year covering the recovery of Kelly and Danny O’Keefe following their nearly fatal stabbing at the hands of James Terry V.
Siblings Kelly and Danny O’Keefe were young attorneys in May 2011. Kelly prosecuted cases in Butler County juvenile court and Danny was fresh out of law school building a practice.
The brother and sister shared their love of the law as well as a home in Fairfield. Life was good until the act of one man during the early morning hours of May 6, 2011 changed their lives forever.
That day, in the dark of the early morning hours, James Terry V forced his way into the O’Keefe residence and attacked Kelly, his former girlfriend, with a knife. Hearing her screams, Danny ran to her aid. Both suffered countless blows and stabs during the vicious attack.
O’Keefe family members are now speaking about that horrific night.
“We have no doubt he would have killed Kelly,” Kathy O’Keefe, the siblings mother, told the Hamilton JournalNews/Middletown Journal. “I think he believed he killed both of them.”
Kelly and Danny lay in a pool of blood for hours, until their one-year-old puppy’s relentless barking woke Kelly, who was able to call her mother, but could only say she was sick and hurt.
Kathy O’Keefe said her younger son and husband Jim, rushed to the home.
“I sent them into a nightmare, neither will ever forget. Things like this just don’t happen in real life. It’s too horrid to be real; but it is,” she said.
The siblings were stabbed in the brain, chest, neck and arm. Danny was resuscitated at the site and barely made it to the hospital. Both underwent brain surgery
Kathy O’Keefe said because the case was high profile, the family was told to maintain their silence and make no to statements in public.
“We did. We talked to no one, and just waited to see if our children would live,” Kathy O’Keefe said. But because of the silence, the injuries inflicted by Terry and the expenses the family gone through as he recovers have never been released to the public.
Kelly, 34, has recovered and is back to work in the prosecutor’s office. She now wants the focus to be on her brother who is continuing to heal.
Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser said he has been amazed with her recovery.
“I had serious reservations about a person who has a stab wound to the brain making a full recovery,” Gmoser said. “But she has and she has done it with grace. We are really lucky they are both alive.”
Danny, 28, was stabbed 19 times in the brain. His right hand had multiple defense wounds. His tendons were severed. He was kicked so hard his spleen was lacerated.
Kathy O’Keefe said Danny’s injuries have been compared to those of former Gabby Giffords, former U.S. Arizona congresswoman who was shot. His skull was so crushed it took a year, minus two days, to get a skull cap replacement.
“He has aphasia, which means there is a disconnect between the brain and speech,” Kathy O’Keefe said. He has trouble talking, reading and writing. “Devastating to a young man who had just finished law school. He wanted to be a defense attorney, to make a difference.”
Terry, 44, of Hamilton, pleaded guilty to two counts of felonious assault and tampering with evidence and is currently serving a 21-year prison term.
Kathy O’Keefe said the family does not focus on Terry, but puts all their energy into moving on with their lives.
“He destroyed two families,” she said, adding his mother is a very nice woman. There was no prior indication Terry was violent.
The family is reaching out to help pay for expensive therapies not covered by Danny’s insurance. He is receiving three therapies a week paid for by Medicade and insurance, but Kathy O’Keefe said they have been told he needs nine therapy session a week to get better.
The family is trying to raise money to send Danny to the University of Michigan UMAP program for speech. The cost is about $27,000 for four to five weeks of therapy, and his insurance doesn’t pay for this, Kathy O’Keefe said. He will likely need several sessions.
The O’Keefe live in Loveland, where Kathy works from home and Jim is a carpenter. Asking for help was difficult for them. But she said they are willing to do anything to help their son.
“He is our hero,” she said, but noted Danny does not like the reference.
Donations can be made at a Facebook page, “I support the O’Keefe Family” and to the O’Keefe Family Assistance Fund at any Fifth Third Bank. All donations go directly to Danny’s therapy.
Kathy O’Keefe said the response has been wonderful, with people showing nothing but compassion.
“We really appreciate everybody’s support,” she said.
