Crime

Still no verdict in Karen Read retrial after first full day of deliberations

Jurors apparently failed to reach consensus on a verdict Monday, despite deliberating for several hours.

updated on June 16, 2025

2 minutes to read

Livestream via NBC10 Boston.

Jurors in Karen Read’s murder retrial still appear to be searching for consensus after the first full day of deliberations Monday.

Judge Beverly Cannone sent the jury home for the day at 4:20 p.m. They will return for additional discussions Tuesday morning.

“Jurors, we appreciate how hard you’ve worked today,” Cannone said as she dismissed the jury.

“I think what’s a good idea to do is when you leave here, just leave the case here,” she advised. “Literally, figuratively. Just clear your heads. It’s a beautiful day; get some fresh air, and we’ll see you tomorrow.”

Jurors received the case Friday afternoon following closing arguments and jury instructions. While they’d been deliberating for several hours by day’s end Monday, it’s worth remembering the jury in Read’s first trial deliberated for about five days last summer before Cannone agreed they were deadlocked and declared a mistrial.

Karen Read is facing the following charges:

Second-degree murder
Manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor
- Involuntary manslaughter (lesser included charge)
- Motor vehicle homicide (lesser included charge)
- OUI (lesser included charge)
Leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death

Jury deliberations resume Monday in Karen Read’s murder retrial as the wait for a verdict continues.

Judge Beverly Cannone dismissed jurors for the weekend Friday after less than two hours of deliberating. Much of the day had been dedicated to jury instructions and closing arguments, which saw prosecutors and defense attorneys offering contrasting theories of what happened to Read’s boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe.

More on Karen Read:

Prosecutors allege Read, 45, drunkenly and intentionally reversed her SUV toward O’Keefe as she dropped him off at an afterparty in Canton early on Jan. 29, 2022.

“She was drunk,” special prosecutor Hank Brennan alleged. “She hit him, and she left him to die.”

He pointed to the couple’s “crumbling” relationship as a possible motive and reminded jurors that first responders testified Read told them her last conversation with O’Keefe was an argument.

As O’Keefe exited the car following the argument, Read shifted into reverse and slammed on the gas pedal, according to Brennan, who said the SUV’s data “tells a story that can’t be changed.”

Yet Read’s lawyers contend O’Keefe’s injuries actually point to a beating and a dog attack. They’ve suggested O’Keefe was attacked after walking into the party at 34 Fairview Road, accusing afterparty guests and law enforcement of conspiring to frame Read.

“What happened inside that house? Or that basement? Or that garage?” defense attorney Alan Jackson demanded. “What evidence was there for the investigators to look into? What did they ignore?”

Jackson alleged the lead investigator, former Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, was “radioactive” and failed to consider another viable suspect.

“Reasonable doubt abounds,” Jackson asserted, adding, “Find Karen Read not guilty, not guilty, not guilty.”