Prosecutors in the murder trial of Karen Read have admitted in a new court filing on Friday that four jurors have contacted them concurring with a defense filing that the jury acquitted Read of murder and leaving the scene of a fatal crash at trial last month and deadlocked on one other charge.
In the filing, Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally said he initially received an unsolicited voice mail from a juror on July 21 and three emails from other jurors, WFXT reported.
“It is true what has come out recently about the jury being unanimous on charges 1 and 3,” the juror who called prosecutors and identified themself by name and seat number said.
Read was charged with second degree murder, vehicular manslaughter, and leaving the scene of a fatal accident in the death of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, in 2022, as CrimeOnline reported.
Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial on July 1 after the jury indicated for a third time in five days that they couldn’t reach a verdict. The defense quickly filed, seeking a dismissal of the two charges, saying they’d heard from jurors that the panel was not deadlocked on them. The defense also noted that the judge would not allow Read’s attorneys to speak after the jury said it was deadlocked for the third time and did not ask the foreperson which charges the jury could not agree on.
Prosecutors responded that the defense’s claims were “unsubstantiated” and “sensational,” denying that the jury reached any unanimous decision on any charges. They asserted that the jury’s notes to the judge clearly indicated a deadlock.
According to the new filing, the juror who initially called prosecutors on July 21 called again five days later, confirming “unanimous on charges one nd three, as not guilty and as of last vote 9-3 guilty on the manslaughter charge,” WFXT reported
The filing further says three other people identifying themselves as jurors emailed the prosecutor’s office and indicated they would like to speak anonymously about the case. Those emails apparently came in earlier, because the prosecutors wrote that they responded on July 16 that they were “ethically prohibited from inquiring as to the substance of your jury deliberations” and that they could not promise anonymity.
Read’s defense attorney, David Yanetti, acknowledged the new filing, saying the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office “finally admits that they have received the same information the defense has received from sitting jurors: Karen Read was acquitted on two charges, including murder.”
“We now expect that the DA’s Office will do the right thing and dismiss, at a minimum, indictments 1 and 3,” Yannetti said.
Prosecutors have so far said they intend to retry Read on all three charges. and a new trial date has been set for January 2025. There was no indication in the prosecutors’ new filing that they had changed their minds.
Read was arrested after prosecutors said she hit O’Keefe with her SUV, then left him for dead outside a friend’s residence in Canton. Police said the incident happened after Read had a night out involving drinking.
Read pleaded not guilty to the charges and claimed that she’d been framed. The defense suggested O’Keefe was beaten up inside his friend’s home and bitten by a dog before he left the residence.
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[Featured image: Karen Read/LinkedIn and John O’Keefe/Boston Police Department]
