Crime

Karen Read judge sets dates for dismissal arguments and second trial

The next Karen Read trial is now set to begin in late January 2025.

Karen Read looked to her attorneys following a hearing at Norfolk Superior Court in July. Jessica Rinaldi / The Boston Globe

By Abby Patkin

updated on July 22, 2024

2 minutes to read

Update: Judge Beverly Cannone set three key dates for Karen Read’s retrial during a brief hearing Monday. Read’s second trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 27, 2025, with a final pre-trial conference slated for Jan. 14 at 2 p.m.

Read will be back in court at 2 p.m. on Aug. 9 for oral arguments on the defense’s motion to dismiss two of the three charges against her.

Defense attorney David Yannetti said he has another trial beginning in Essex County on Jan. 13, leaving his schedule somewhat uncertain. He raised concerns about the prospect of jumping from one trial to the next with no time in between for preparation.

“Why don’t we do this: Let’s put it on for the 27th, and let me see if I can make peace in Essex County. And then on the next date when we come back for oral arguments, if I can readdress the court on that issue?” he asked Cannone.

Cannone also offered to talk to the Essex Superior Court judge to facilitate scheduling.

Livestream via NBC10 Boston.

Accompanied by her bodyguards and attorneys Karen Read squeezes through the big protest for her 2pm hearing. Her parents and other family members ate here too. One man dressed in blue yelled “your daughter’s a murderer” to Bill Read. #KarenReadTrial pic.twitter.com/m6dR6lHC8f
— Jonathan Hall (@JHall7news) July 22, 2024

Karen Read with her new attorney Marty Weinberg and her long time counsel David Yannetti before entering court through a crowd of supporters. pic.twitter.com/DAibpDUE8s
— Ted Daniel (@TedDanielnews) July 22, 2024

Initial story below:

Three weeks after her high-profile murder trial ended in a mistrial, Karen Read is back at Norfolk Superior Court to determine what comes next.

The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office has said it intends to retry the case against Read, and a trial assignment conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday.

Prosecutors allege the 44-year-old Mansfield woman drunkenly and intentionally backed her SUV into Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe — her boyfriend of two years — while dropping him off at a house party in Canton on Jan. 29, 2022. Yet Read’s lawyers say others are to blame for O’Keefe’s death, asserting Read was a “convenient outsider” framed in a widespread conspiracy among witnesses and law enforcement.

Read pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence, and leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

While jurors reported they were deadlocked and “starkly divided” leading up to the mistrial, the defense team says there’s more to the story. In fact, Read’s lawyers say they’ve received information from five jurors — three directly, two indirectly — suggesting the jury unanimously agreed Read was “not guilty” of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

The defense is now seeking to dismiss those two charges, arguing that a retrial would violate laws against double jeopardy. Prosecutors, meanwhile, say the defense team’s request is based on “hearsay, conjecture, and legally inappropriate reliance as to the substance of jury deliberations.”