What happens after the Karen Read mistrial?
DEDHAM - The Karen Read murder trial ended in a mistrial. So what happens next?
Karen Read trial - the next chapter
The Norfolk County District Attorney's Office said they intend to re-try the case. But it will be complicated. The trial calendar at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts is full and a second trial couldn't be held for at least several months.
Prosecutors said Read intentionally hit her boyfriend, Boston Police officer John O'Keefe, with her car in Canton after a night of heavy drinking and arguing in January 2022. Read's defense team claims O'Keefe was beaten to death at an after party that night.
The jury of six women and men couldn't agree on a verdict after a ten week trial.
"What it tells me is that you can have two thoughts that are true at the same time. One is that you might, as a juror, firmly believe that Karen Read hit John O'Keefe with her car and, therefore, killed him, and, at exactly the same time, you can firmly believe that the prosecution did not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt," said CBS News legal analyst Rikki Klieman.
"When you have a community as deeply divided as (the) greater Boston area is about this case and you have a jury that was firm in its beliefs that there was no way that they could reach a verdict, then you also have the distinct possibility that another trial will happen and you will have another hung jury."
What happens after a mistrial?
There will be a status hearing later this month about the next steps for a new trial, but it will hugely challenging for the community.
Judge Beverly Cannone interviewed more than 400 potential jurors to get a panel of just 17 from Norfolk County for this trial. Twelve ended up deliberating.
John O'Keefe's family would have to sit through all the trauma of yet another trial.
Karen Read has to decide if she can afford to pay her attorneys for another trial.
Sixty-eight witnesses testified for the state and they could be called again to testify if there's a new trial. That could include the lead investigator, Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, who was "relieved of duty" Monday, shortly after the mistrial was declared.
Some thought charging Read with second-degree murder was "overcharging," in this case, according to WBZ-TV's Cheryl Fiandaca, so prosecutors might take a new look at the charges.
Read's attorneys could also decide to appeal, claiming there's not a sufficient amount of evidence to convict her, so the case should be dismissed, Fiandaca said. More is expected to come out at the status hearing on July 22.
Karen Read jury
The deliberating jurors have not spoken publicly yet about their decisions in the trial.
One of alternate jurors who listened to the entire case, but did not want to be identified, told WBZ-TV Monday if she had gotten to vote in that room, she would have voted not guilty.
Watch: WBZ-TV's Kristina Rex shares unseen moments from the Karen Read trial
