A mistrial has been declared in the case of Karen Read, a Massachusetts woman who was accused of killing her police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe.
The decision comes after the deadlocked jury deliberated for several days.
Norfolk County Judge Beverly Cannone announced the mistrial after reading a note from the jury’s foreman that read, “to continue to deliberate would be futile.”
The note added that there were factions within the jury who would not budge.
“The divergence in our views are not rooted in a lack of understanding or effort,” the note said, “but deeply held convictions that each of us carry, ultimately leading to a point where consensus is unattainable.”
Any conviction or acquittal would have required the verdict be unanimous.
Read, 45, had been accused of drunkenly driving over her boyfriend, Boston Police officer O’Keefe, outside a party in Canton, Mass. and leaving him for dead more than two years ago. His battered body was found outside the home of another Boston Police officer on Jan. 29, 2022.
Prosecutors alleged the two had fought at a party and she drunkenly backed over him before fleeing.
She was charged with second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. She could have faced a life sentence if she had been convicted.
Read maintained her innocence throughout, claiming O’Keefe was alive when she left the party. Her defense focused on a supposed vast police cover-up and alleged investigative misconduct. Evidence introduced by the defense included sexist and offensive text messages about Read from the lead detective on the case, Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor.
Read’s defense attorneys theorized that O’Keefe was beaten to death inside the other officer’s home for unknown reasons before the real killer or killers decided — in a panic — to fabricate evidence and provide false testimony to frame Read.
“This is what it looks like when you bring false charges against an innocent person,” defense attorney Alan Jackson said after the mistrial was declared.
The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office wasted no time announcing that they will re-try the case.
“First, we thank the O’Keefe family for their commitment and dedication to this long process. They maintained sight of the true core of this case — to find justice for John O’Keefe,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement. “The Commonwealth intends to re-try the case.”
Judge Cannone scheduled a status conference for July 22, but prosecutors have up to a year to decide whether to proceed.
