Judge in Karen Read murder trial impounds jury list due to "risk of harm"
BOSTON - Citing "risk of harm" to jurors in the Karen Read murder trial, Judge Beverly Cannone ordered the list of their names be impounded. Last Monday, Cannone declared a mistrial after a "starkly divided" jury failed to reach a verdict after 27 hours of deliberation.
Cannone said, "There is a risk of immediate and irreparable injury should the list be made available to the public at this time."
The impoundment order expires in 10 days unless otherwise ordered by the court.
"Real and present risk of personal harm"
"The jury in this case did not render a verdict, however, the Court concludes that there is a real and present 'risk of [personal] harm to the jurors [and] to the integrity of their service,'" Judge Cannone said.
Read is accused of killing Boston police officer John O'Keefe by hitting him with her SUV in Canton on January 29, 2022. The two were dating at the time. Read's defense team claims she was framed, and that O'Keefe got into a fight at the home of another Boston police officer and was left injured on the front lawn.
The case has garnered attention across the nation. "The proceedings continue to be the subject of commentary on various social media platforms," Cannone wrote in the order. "People associated with the case have been charged with intimidation."
Motion to dismiss charges
Read, 44, of Mansfield, was charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death.
Earlier on Monday, Read's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss, claiming the jury unanimously agreed that Read should be found not guilty of second degree murder as well as leaving the scene of personal injury and death.
The Norfolk County District Attorney's Office said it plans to retry the case.