DEDHAM, Mr. — Jurors in the trial of Karen Read unanimously concluded that she was not guilty of murder or leaving the scene of a fatal accident, and they were deadlocked with the only charge of manslaughter remaining before the judge abruptly declared a mistrial, her defense team said there.
The disclosure was made in a defense motion Friday in which he argued that retrying Read on both counts “would violate” double jeopardy protections in the U.S. and Massachusetts constitutions. If the court needs additional information, the defense said, it should approve a “post-verdict inquiry” in which they are allowed to “seek additional evidence from the jury” that they “agreed to acquit the defendant of two of the three charges against him.”
Read’s attorney Alan Jackson also submitted an affidavit detailing how he had been contacted directly by the jurors, and Read’s attorney David Yannetti submitted one that said he had been contacted by two individuals who had received information “from two different jurors.”
In a statement, the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office said it was “reviewing the motion pending a response. We hope to set a new trial date for July 22nd.
Judge Beverly Cannone also ordered Monday that the names of jurors in the case not be released. In making his decision, he said there was a “risk of immediate and irreparable injury if the list were made available to the public at this time.”
He did not specify the potential risks but said a person connected to the case has been charged with intimidation.
Read is accused of hitting a Boston police officer’s girlfriend with an SUV and leaving her for dead in a snowstorm in January 2022.
The judge made the mistrial declaration on the fifth day of deliberations after jurors said they were hopelessly deadlocked. The defense said they declared the mistrial without asking jurors about the individual charges, and without allowing attorneys for either side to comment.
The motion filed in Norfolk County Superior Court said one juror told the defense team that the jury voted 12-0 to acquit Read of second-degree murder and leave the scene of the fatal accident. Attorneys also received second and third-party accounts of two other jurors, both of which indicated there was agreement on acquitting Read of first-degree murder. The motion calls for the manslaughter and leaving-the-scene charges to be dismissed.
Jurors were deadlocked, however, on the charge of manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, the jury told the lawyer.
Read, a former adjunct professor at Bentley College, faces second-degree murder and other charges in the death of O’Keefe, a 16-year-old member of the Boston police who was found outside the Canton home of another Boston police officer. An autopsy found O’Keefe died of hypothermia and blunt force trauma.
The defense contended that O’Keefe died inside the home after Read released him at the meeting and that the officers chose to cut him down because he was a “convenient outsider.”
The turning point in the two-month trial came when the lead investigator, State Trooper Michael Proctor, was forced to admit and apologize for sending offensive texts about Read to friends, family and fellow troopers during the investigation.
Proctor also admitted texting his sister that he wished Read would “kill himself”, which he claimed was a speech and “emotion got the best of me.” He apologized for some of the language he used but insisted it had no bearing on the investigation.
Proctor admitted in his testimony that he was friends with Brian’s brother Albert and his wife – although he insisted that had no bearing on the investigation and that he had never entered the house before O’Keefe’s death. Brian Albert was a Boston police officer who hosted a house party in Canton where O’Keefe’s body was found in his front yard.
Massachusetts State Police relieved Proctor of his duties after the trial, saying the move followed the agency’s earlier decision to open an internal affairs investigation into potential serious wrongdoing.
On Monday, a state police hearing board ruled that Proctor should be suspended without pay. An internal affairs investigation into Proctor is ongoing.
The State Police Association did not respond to a request for comment and a phone number for Proctor could not be found.
