Photo: WBZ NewsRadio
Updated 2:35 p.m. 6/18/25
DEDHAM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Jurors in the Karen Read retrial indicated they had reached a verdict, but said moments later they did not have a verdict, Judge Beverly Cannone announced Wednesday afternoon.
This is the fourth day of jury deliberations in the high-profile trial at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham.
Read is accused of hitting and killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, with her SUV after a night out in Canton in Jan. 2022. She is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.
Read's lawyers argue law enforcement framed her for O'Keefe's death.
Wednesday's proceedings follow a busy day in court on Tuesday, in which jurors sent four questions to Cannone:
- What is the timeframe for the OUI charge? - Cannone told jurors they are the fact finders in the case and did not specify a time.
- Are Karen Read's media interviews considered evidence? - Cannone said yes.
- Does convicting Read on a sub-charge convict her of the overall charge? - Cannone agreed to change the verdict slip to make it clearer.
- If the jury finds Read not guilty on two of the charges, but cannot decide on the remaining one, is it a hung jury on all three charges or just that one charge? - Cannone said this was a hypothetical question she could not answer.
Read's first trial in 2024 ended in a mistrial because of a hung jury.