DEDHAM, Massachusetts – Jurors in the trial of Karen Read unanimously concluded that she was not guilty of murder or leaving the scene of a deadly accident, and was deadlocked on only the remaining manslaughter charge before the judge abruptly declared a mistrial, her defense team said Monday. -fair.
The disclosure was made in a defense motion Monday seeking the judge’s permission to question all 12 jurors after they learned from three who described their findings. They hope to show that, for reasons of double jeopardy, the state of Massachusetts cannot retry her for murder.
Read was accused of running over her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV and leaving him dead in a snowstorm in January 2022.
A judge declared a mistrial on the fifth day of deliberations, after jurors declared they were hopelessly deadlocked. The defense said it announced the mistrial without questioning jurors about individual charges and without giving lawyers on both sides a chance to comment.
The motion filed in Norfolk County Superior Court said a juror told the defense team that jurors voted 12-0 to acquit Read of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of an accident in which there was a death. The motion asked that these charges be dismissed. Jurors were deadlocked, however, on the charge of manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, the juror told attorneys.
Attorneys also received second- and third-hand accounts about two other jurors, both indicating there was an agreement to acquit Read of second-degree murder.
Read, a former adjunct professor at Bentley College, faced 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 home of another Boston police officer in Canton. An autopsy found that O’Keefe died of hypothermia and blunt force trauma.
The defense claimed that O’Keefe was killed inside the home after she dropped him off at the meeting and that officers chose to frame her because she was a “convenient outsider.”
A turning point in the two-month trial occurred when the principal investigator State Trooper Michael Proctor, was forced to acknowledge and apologize for sending offensive texts about Read to friends, family and fellow soldiers during the investigation.
Massachusetts State Police Proctor relieved of duty after the trial, saying the move followed the agency’s earlier decision to open an internal affairs investigation into potential serious misconduct. Proctor’s status hearing was held behind closed doors on Monday. Possible outcomes were suspension, placement on restricted service, or return to full service.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
