Karen Read Trial 'Turtleboy' Blogger Says He's Overjoyed by Jury Verdict

Aiden Kearney, the citizen journalist intensely focused on the Karen Read retrial, says he was ecstatic when he heard "not guilty" three times when the jury verdict was read yesterday ... and while the trial is finally over, he says his connection to Karen is not.

Aiden -- who lots of Read supporters know as "Turtleboy" -- joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday, and we asked him how he reacted to the trial outcome ... seeing as how he was so involved in her story.

He says Karen getting acquitted of second-degree murder in the 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, is most meaningful for her family ... and he told us what it was like at her celebratory dinner after the verdict was read.

Aiden -- a former high school teacher who quit his job to pursue blogging -- dug into the case with lots of good citizen journalism online ... and some of his dogged tactics got him charged for witness intimidation ... but he says the case against him is bogus and he's confident he will never see a day in jail.

Karen and Aiden became close as her case played out ... and he says he's got a lot of media opportunities coming up -- movies, for one -- and says she may join him too.