Jury deadlocked in Karen Read murder trial, judge pushes once more for verdict
A Massachusetts jury remains deadlocked in the murder trial of Karen Read, who’s accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend, so the judge made a final push for the jurors to reach a verdict.
The jurors sent another note to the judge saying they are “deeply divided” because of “deeply held convictions” and a “consensus is unattainable” after more than 22.5 hours of deliberation.
Judge Beverly Cannone moved to to a Tuey-Rodriguez charge, which is a last resort that urges jurors to examine their views one more time before declaring a hung jury.
Read was accused of purposely backing into John O’Keefe with her SUV during a booze-infused fight in January 2022 and letting him die on the front lawn of a Canton, Massachusetts, home during a nor’easter.
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Karen Read was accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, with her car in January 2022. She pleaded not guilty. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images and Boston Police Department)
O’Keefe’s body was found in several inches of snow outside the home of Boston police officer Brian Albert.
She pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter while driving under the influence and leaving the scene of a collision causing injury and death.
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Read claimed she was framed in an elaborate cover-up to protect the Alberts, an influential family with deep law enforcement ties.
Jurors heard 74 witnesses and examined over 700 pieces of evidence. The jury has sent multiple notes to the judge, saying they’re deadlocked since late last week.
Karen Read listens as Judge Beverly J. Cannone greets the jury at the start of the third day of deliberations in her murder trial, in Norfolk Superior Court on Thursday, June 27, 2024 in Dedham, Mass. Read is on trial, accused of killing her boyfriend Boston police Officer John O’Keefe, in 2022. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
Judge Beverly Cannone looks over the verdict slip the jurors have to fill out when they reach a verdict in Karen Read’s murder trail, Wednesday June 26, 2024, at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass. The defense has asked for some modifications. Read is charged with second-degree murder in the January 2022 death of her boyfriend Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
The murder-or-conspiracy trial fit for a TV drama became even more salacious when the Boston suburb spiraled into split allegiances.
The verdict was the culmination of two years of clashes between Read supporters and critics, with protesters voicing their opinions, #FreeKaren billboards cropping up, and family and friends of both sides of the case being lambasted and heckled.
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One of O’Keefe’s friends told Fox News Digital that Read supporters shouted profanities and heckled them as they entered the courtroom for the first day of the trial.
Aidan “Turtleboy” Kearney, a controversial blogger who was frequently seen with a bullhorn backing Read and writing about the case, was assaulted outside a Canton bar over the weekend.
Jillian Daniels and James Farris, two Canton residents, were charged with assault, police confirmed to NBC 10 Boston.
Massachusetts blogger Turtleboy Aidan Kearney was charged with witness intimidation for allegedly threatening witnesses in a murder case in Massachusetts. (Aidan Kearney(@DoctorTurleboy)/X)
Karen Read waits as her legal team meets at the side bar during Reid’s trial in Norfolk Superior Court, Friday, June 14, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read, 44, was accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor’easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)
Shortly before the trial started, Kearney was arrested after he allegedly was “showing up” at sporting events of witnesses’ children and “made scenes,” harassed and photographed witnesses at their homes and jobs and instructed followers of his blog to do the same.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges, including witness intimidation. That case is ongoing.
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Another salacious piece of the trial involved the texts of Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, an investigator on the case whose vulgar, sexist texts were revealed during testimony.
The jurors noticeably shook their heads as he read the texts while on the stand during a brutal cross-examination.
In the personal texts, he called Read a “wack job,” a “babe … with no a–” and a “c—;” wished she would kill herself; and joked about looking for nude images on her phone, among other things.
Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor testifies during Karen Read’s trial, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Karen Read speaks with lawyers in court during jury selection at Norfolk County Superior Court, Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read, 44, was accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor’easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (David McGlynn/New York Post via AP, Pool)
The embattled state trooper admitted his messages were “unprofessional and regrettable,” as he was being pummeled by the defense’s cross-examination, but stood by the integrity of the investigation.
The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office declined to comment on Read’s trial or potential aftermath, and the Massachusetts State Police didn’t respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment about potential repercussions of Proctor’s actions.
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Experts, like Shira Diner, an instructor at Boston University School of Law and the president of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said this will have far-reaching consequences.
Proctor works in the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office. He was the main investigator in Read’s case, and designated case officer in other cases.
That includes high-profile murder cases like Brian Walshe, who allegedly killed his wife last year.
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Karen Read departs Norfolk Superior Court following a day of jury selection, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read was accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor’easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Judge Beverly Cannone presides over jury selection during the Karen Read trial at Norfolk County Superior Court, Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read, 44, was accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor’easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (David McGlynn/New York Post via AP, Pool)
“In some ways, this is completely unchartered,” Diner said after Proctor’s testimony, because of how detailed the texts are and how many eyes were on this particular trial.
“If this was a trial where no one was paying attention, the cross-examination (of Proctor) would have come and gone, and maybe a few defense lawyers would have been paying attention, but that’s pretty much it.
Prosecutor Adam Lally speaks in court during jury selection of the Karen Read trial at Norfolk County Superior Court, Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read, 44, was accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor’easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (David McGlynn/New York Post via AP, Pool)
Dedham, MA – May 3: The defense for Karen Read holds up a poster board containing information they claim exonerates their client in the murder of John O’Keefe. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
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“But now, there’s no way to undo this.”
