Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
Updated 6/17/25 3:54 p.m.
DEDHAM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Jurors did not reach a verdict Tuesday in the Karen Read murder retrial at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham. They're set to resume deliberations on Wednesday.
After a quiet day on Monday, the jury sent numerous questions to the court on Tuesday, including three just before 11 a.m.
- What is the timeframe for the OUI charge?
- Are video clips of Karen's interviews evidence? How can we consider them?
- Does convicting guilty on a subcharge — example Offense 2 #5 — convict the overall charge?
The jurors appeared confused about how to approach the second indictment of manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence. There are three lesser charges attached to it.
Cannone agreed to change the verdict slip, saying she would “incorporate the language from the jury instruction” into the slip.
The defense expressed concerns about the verdict slip being unclear and filed a motion on Monday to change the verdict slip. Read’s lawyers argued to add “not guilty” checkboxes next to each offense included in the second charge.
Cannone denied the defense motion, saying the verdict slip was consistent with Massachusetts law. She said that the verdict slip is meant to be "viewed in conjunction with the jury instructions."
The jury deliberated for a little over seven hours on Monday, the first full day of deliberations. Read is also charged with second-degree murder and leaving the scene.
Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
Around 200 people were gathered outside of the Dedham courthouse on Tuesday morning, with Read’s supporters making up the majority of the crowd.
After lunch, the jury sent another question to the court, asking if they could find Read not guilty on two charges but be a split on the third indictment. Despite objections from the defense, the judge sent a note back to the jury saying this was a "hypothetical" question that she could not answer.
"We tell jurors they cannot be concerned with the consequences of their verdict," Cannone said while lawyers discussed the question in the courtroom.
The defense strongly objected, saying that the judge should answer the question.
"The court's indicating that it doesn't answer questions about the consequences of the jurors verdicts. That would be punishment; of course you can't answer a question like that. This is not the consequences, it's how they report a verdict. So I think saying 'I can't answer this' is sending a false message to the jury," Defense Attorney Alan Jackson said.
Cannone said she disagreed.
Read is accused of hitting her boyfriend John O’Keefe with her car and leaving him in the snow to die outside of a home in Canton on Jan. 29, 2022. The defense claims Read has been framed.
Read’s first trial in 2024 ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury.