What are the possible outcomes of the Karen Read murder trial?
DEDHAM - Karen Read is on trial for second-degree murder in the January 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston Police officer John O'Keefe. She faces life in prison, if convicted.
But even if she's acquitted on that charge, the jury could find her guilty on two lesser felony charges - manslaughter while under the influence and fleeing the scene.
Defense attorney Phil Tracy spoke to WBZ-TV about the options now in front of the jury in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts.
Second-degree murder
"You would have to intend at that moment, not pre to the incident, but right at that moment, to drive that car into him in order to kill him. I don't believe that's the case under any circumstance," Tracy said of the most serious charge against Read.
Manslaughter
"Now, the next two charges do fit the crime that she meant to send him a message about their relationship, or they were fighting that night. She did intentionally or unintentionally hit him, causing his death. Now, that's the manslaughter charge," Tracy told WBZ.
Leaving the scene
"If you hit somebody and you don't think they're hurt and you drive away, that's the last charge," Tracy said. "It's a very difficult situation because there are so many factors in this case. Number one, the prosecution has proved a pretty good case that she ran over him. The defense has said these people inside the house beat him up and threw him out in the lawn to die. It's kind of a hard theory."
Reasonable doubt
Tracy said the defense has created a reasonable doubt in the case.
"Reasonable doubt is very hard to define. It is not 100%. But it's over 90%. You know what I mean? It's hard to put it in words, there's beyond a reasonable doubt," he told WBZ.
"There's always doubt. There's doubt the sun will come up tomorrow morning. So there is always some doubt about a case."
Hung jury?
"They don't want a hung jury, which could happen," Tracy said.
He believes the jury could bypass the murder case because they might find that Read did not intend, at that moment, to kill O'Keefe.
"So now they go down to a lesser charge where her reckless activity caused, backing into him, caused his death and then the lower charge of leaving the scene after causing serious bodily injury," Tracy said.
"I think that the jurors will probably have a difficult time finding her guilty of murder. But, on the other hand, they may include the lesser charges in a guilty verdict."
"This is the difficulty in a case like this. It's a long, big case. If they come up with a hung jury, they're going to have to try it again."
