Karen Read's defense makes case to dismiss some charges before Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
BOSTON - Karen Read's attempt to get some criminal charges against her thrown out on the grounds of double jeopardy came before the highest court in Massachusetts Wednesday.
The state's Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments from Read's defense and the prosecution about whether two criminal charges should be dismissed. Read sat with her family inside the courtroom on Wednesday.
Karen Read appeals after mistrial declared
Read's first murder trial ended in a mistrial in July when a deadlocked jury failed to reach a verdict. But soon after, the defense said some jurors had come forward to say that they had unanimously agreed to acquit Read on two of the three charges - second-degree murder and leaving the scene of personal injury and death.
A juror who spoke to WBZ-TV said they were unsure how to let Judge Beverly Cannone know that they had made up their minds on acquitting Read of two charges, but not the third charge of manslaughter.
Read's lawyer Martin Weinberg told the court Wednesday that some jurors made the "uncontradicted" assertion that the jury "reached a unanimous decision to acquit Ms. Read on two of the three charges."
The justices peppered both sides with questions.
"How do we say it was an acquittal without a verdict in open court and no verdict slip?" Justice Frank Gaziano asked.
Weinberg replied it could be done by asking the jurors under oath if they had made a final decision.
The court also asked prosecutor Caleb Schillinger why the jurors shouldn't be brought back and questioned about what they decided on two of the charges.
"Doesn't the public have an interest in finding out the truth of what the jury decided?" Justice Dalila Wendlandt asked.
Schillinger said that wouldn't account for the fact that jurors still could've changed their minds on their "tentative" verdict decision on two of the charges if deliberations had continued.
Push to delay Karen Read's retrial
Read's second criminal trial was supposed to start on Jan. 27, 2025. But both the prosecution and defense teams on Monday filed a motion to delay the retrial until April 1, 2025.
Both sides say that they need more time to prepare, as the prosecution is expected to call new witnesses that did not testify in the first trial.
"This is a hell that seemingly has no end," Read's father William Read said outside court Wednesday. "We remain hopeful that men and women of integrity will undo the wrongs that have been perpetrated on my family and my daughter."
Who is Karen Read?
Read, a financial analyst from Mansfield, is accused of hitting her Boston police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow in Canton after a night of heavy drinking in January 2022. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges against her, arguing that she is the victim of a cover-up involving law enforcement and several others.
O'Keefe's family is suing Read in civil court. The wrongful death lawsuit seeks monetary damages against Read.
A judge ruled last week that Read will not have to be deposed in the civil case until her second criminal trial ends.