Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman who was accused of killing her police officer boyfriend with a vehicle in January 2022, was back in court Friday for a hearing discussing her defense team’s motion to dismiss.
Her attorneys, Alan Jackson and David Yannetti, argued that two of three charges filed against Read, 44, including second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a fatal accident, should be dismissed following a mistrial in June.
Her lawyers told Judge Beverly J. Cannone that jurors reportedly agreed that Read was not guilty on two of the charges, and that another trial would subject Read to “double jeopardy.”
Prosecutors plan to retry Read in January. Cannone heard arguments from both sides and said she will take them under advisement, without making a decision Friday.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR KAREN READ?
Karen Read departs Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. Read, who was accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend with a vehicle in January 2022, was back in court Friday for a hearing discussing her defense team’s motion to dismiss. (Patriot Pics/Backgrid for Fox News Digital)
Karen Read departs Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (Patriot Pics/Backgrid for Fox News Digital)
Read arrived at the Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, on Friday afternoon surrounded by dueling onlookers: those who cheered her and held up signs that read, “Free Karen” and “Framed,” versus those who chanted, “Cop killer” repeatedly as she walked up the courthouse steps.
Jackson and Yannetti argued during the June trial that accusations against Read alleging she killed her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, are part of an elaborate cover-up and frame job.
Following a weeks-long trial and 26 hours of deliberation, the Norfolk County jury was deadlocked and Cannone declared a mistrial on July 1.
Prosecutors argued during the trial that after a night of drinking on Jan. 28, 2022, a shouting match between O’Keefe and Read — a financial analyst — turned deadly when Read allegedly backed into O’Keefe with her SUV. Prosecutors further alleged she left her boyfriend to die in front of a Canton home during a nor’easter.
Karen Read departs Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts on Friday, August 9, 2024. Read, who was accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend with a vehicle in January 2022, was back in court Friday for a hearing discussing her defense team’s motion to dismiss. (Patriot Pics/Backgrid for Fox News Digital)
Karen Read smiles as defense attorney David Yannetti speaks to reporters in front of Norfolk Superior Court after the judge declared a mistrial after jurors were unable to reach a verdict following a two-month trial, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Authorities located his body on the front lawn of an influential family with deep ties to law enforcement and prosecutors.
KAREN READ MURDER CASE ENDS WITH ‘DEEPLY DIVIDED’ JURY’S DECISION
The question remains: Who killed John O’Keefe?
Read’s defense claimed the family who owned the home where O’Keefe was found dead in the snow on the morning of Jan. 29, 2022, framed her for his death in an elaborate cover-up.
Karen Read smiles during a news conference in front of Norfolk Superior Court, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. A judge declared a mistrial after jurors deadlocked in the case of Read, who was accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend by striking him with her SUV and leaving him in a snowstorm. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Karen A. Read, girlfriend of the late Boston Police officer John OKeefe, was arraigned in Norfolk Superior Court on charges of second degree murder in his death in Dedham, MA on June 10, 2022. A photo of the couple together was presented by the defense to the prosecution. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
The case has sparked debate between Boston-area locals who blame Read for O’Keefe’s death and those who think she’s innocent.
KAREN READ TRIAL COULD SINK OTHER HIGH-PROFILE MURDERS, EXPERT WARNS: ‘HARD TO SEE HOW IT DOESN’T’
“It’s turned into the Karen Read show,” O’Keefe’s brother, Paul O’Keefe, told CBS Boston in July. “She walks through a crowd that cheers her on. She goes in public and takes pictures and signs autographs.
View of 34 Fairview Road in Canton, Massachusetts on Feb. 2, 2022. Massachusetts State Police homicide detectives arrested Karen A. Read, of Mansfield, on a manslaughter warrant in the death of John OKeefe, a Boston Police officer who was found unresponsive outside a Canton residence. (Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
“She’s just living life like nothing ever happened,” he said at the time.
The jurors who presided over the June trial were “deeply divided” because of “deeply held convictions,” ultimately deciding that a “consensus is unattainable,” according to the judge’s notes from July.
WATCH: DASHCAM FROM THE NIGHT JOHN O’KEEFE WAS FOUND DEAD
A Norfolk County grand jury in June 2022 indicted Bentley University Professor Karen Read, 42, of Mansfield, for second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter, and leaving the scene of a collision, which prosecutors said caused 46-year-old Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe’s death. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe)
“Despite our commitment to the duty entrusted in us, we find ourselves deeply divided by fundamental differences in our opinions and state of mind,” the jury wrote in its final note to the judge.
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Fox News Digital’s Chris Eberhart contributed to this report.
Audrey Conklin is a digital reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business. Email tips to [email protected] or on Twitter at @audpants.
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Publish date : 2024-08-09 09:26:00
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