The latest on the Karen Read murder case
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How will Karen Read’s retrial end? We asked legal experts.
Will Read walk free after three years, two trials, and several weeks of testimony? Or will she end up behind bars?
Exactly how Karen Read’s murder retrial will end is anyone’s guess, a question that’s mystified even AI chatbots and oddsmakers.
Will Read walk free after three years, two trials, and several weeks of testimony? Or will she end up behind bars?
It’s up to jurors now.
Deliberations began Friday after the prosecution and defense made their closing pitches to the jury, offering two vastly different theories of what befell Read’s boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, on a snowy night in Canton. While prosecutors allege Read, 45, backed her SUV into O’Keefe in a drunken rage, her lawyers contend she was framed. They say O’Keefe’s injuries actually suggest he was beaten and attacked by a dog early on Jan. 29, 2022.
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“Friday’s closing arguments were an example of superior lawyering — on both sides,” attorney Katherine Loftus said by email. Defense attorney Alan Jackson and special prosecutor Hank Brennan, “while different in style, presented compelling and persuasive arguments to the jury.”
More on Karen Read:
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Karen Read jury’s latest note hints at possible ‘not guilty’ verdicts on 2 charges; jurors released for the day
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Karen Read trial verdict slips: These are the choices before jurors
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‘She hit him, and she left him to die,’ Karen Read prosecutor alleges in closing as defense says ‘there was no collision’
Jack Lu, a retired superior court judge, graded Jackson’s closing argument an A- and Brennan’s an A+. He also said prosecutors had a stronger case during the retrial due to Read’s recorded media interviews, clips of which were shown to jurors.
So, what does that mean for a possible verdict? Hard to say.
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“I follow the conventional wisdom that criminal jury verdicts are impossible to predict,” Lu explained by email. “And, we must be cautious about reading too much into the first trial.”
That said, he pointed to reports that jurors in Read’s first trial leaned in favor of convicting her on a charge of manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence. Judge Beverly Cannone ultimately declared a mistrial last summer after jurors in Read’s first trial reported they were hopelessly deadlocked.
However, Read’s lawyers said they later heard from five jurors who claimed the jury unofficially agreed to acquit Read of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. The supposedly hung jury was only at an impasse on the OUI manslaughter charge, the defense claimed.
Read’s OUI manslaughter count also carries three lesser included offenses: involuntary manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide, and OUI.
“I think there is a substantial likelihood that the case could result in another mistrial, although I do think there is a possibility for conviction on count number two — either as to the manslaughter as charged or one of the lesser includeds,” Loftus said.
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She predicted a “not guilty” verdict on the murder and leaving-the-scene charges.
“Both charges require the jury to find that Ms. Read had either knowledge or intent, which can be difficult to prove,” Loftus explained. As for the manslaughter charge, she added, “knowledge is not an element, which allows the jury to potentially find that this could have been done unknowingly by Ms. Read.”
Veteran attorney Brad Bailey offered a similar prediction for Read’s murder charge.
“Predicting juries is always a risky business (especially 12 person juries) and invariably a ‘zero sum game,’” he explained by email.
But citing his 43 years of trial experience, Bailey added, “I would be surprised by a guilty verdict on the murder 2 count. After that, in my opinion, everything else is potentially in play.”
That includes “not guilty” verdicts across the board, split verdicts on the OUI manslaughter and leaving-the-scene charges, or another hung jury, he said. “Guilty” verdicts on the second and third counts, while possible, seems the least likely out of the other possible outcomes, according to Bailey.
And if Read’s case results in another hung jury, can trialwatchers expect a third murder trial in 2026? Don’t count on it.
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“While a second hung jury would likely be disappointing to the defense, it could still be viewed as a ‘victory’ given my belief that the [Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office] would need a truly compelling reason to re-try for a third time in light of the significant costs and expenses incurred by the prosecution in connection with this second trial,” Bailey explained.
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