Jurors in the Karen Read murder trial did not reach a verdict by the end of the fourth day of deliberations. Earlier in the day, they sent a note indicating they were deadlocked but Judge Beverly Cannone sent them back to continue the process.
“Despite our exhaustive review of the evidence and our diligent consideration of all disputed evidence, we have been unable to reach a unanimous verdict,” the jury note read by Cannone in court stated.
The note came roughly three hours after the jury began deliberations for the day. Cannone opened court shortly after 9 a.m. Friday. Jurors requested to go home at 4:15 p.m. and Cannone released them. Court will reconvene at 9 a.m. Monday for further deliberations.
The message
Attorneys contested the significance of the message, with prosecutor Adam Lally arguing that it is “far, far too early” for the jurors to give up.
“The jurors just received this case earlier this week,” he said. “Furthermore, the note doesn’t really indicate that they can’t come to a conclusion; it just indicates they can’t come to a conclusion at this time.”
Defense attorney David Yannetti said that he disagreed and that the note clearly indicated they had “exhausted” all avenues to come to a unanimous decision in the case.
“You all know it is within my discretion, I decide,” Cannone said before making her ruling. She said it was a long case with 74 witnesses and that jurors had deliberated for only days, and short days at that. “Very complex issues in this case … I am going to send them back out.”
The charges
Read, 44, of Mansfield, is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.
The second of the indicted charges features two “lesser included charge” options: involuntary manslaughter and motor vehicle homicide. Read can be convicted of or found not guilty of each one.
Prosecutors say that Read — drunk from a night out on the town and angry as her jealousy and discontent in her relationship grew — slammed her Lexus SUV into her boyfriend of about two years, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, and left him to freeze and die on the front yard of a fellow Boston cop in Canton.
Defense attorneys fought back throughout the trial, arguing that a network of Canton locals, local police and the regional hierarchy of the Massachusetts State Police worked to cover the murderous deeds of others and frame their client.
Analysis
Retired Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Jack Lu said Cannone’s decision to send the jurors back to deliberate further was an “absolutely solid call.”
“The jury is likely physically and emotionally exhausted and facing a holiday weekend which could increase the agony and disruption of life for the jury,” he told the Herald. He said that following a verdict it is standard for a judge “to meet privately with the jury to validate their emotional stress. Very emotional process, being a juror, with a group of strangers.”
Jurors began their deliberations on Tuesday afternoon following closing arguments. They deliberated for maybe two and a half to three hours before being released for the day. They were released before 4 p.m. on both Wednesday and Thursday.
Altogether, they had deliberated for nearly 17 hours and 30 minutes before they sent the note, per the Court TV-maintained deliberation clock. Because juror activities are unknown, it is not clear what portion of that time has actually been spent on breaks or non-deliberative activity.
Reaction
Read supporters posted outside continued a slow deflation of hope as another day went by without a verdict.
“If I was a non-guilty vote on that jury, you could not convince me beyond reasonable doubt that she was guilty,” a supporter named Jeanne Coleman told the Herald.
Another named Janine Sweeney Attleboro, who was attending the verdict watch for the first time, said she was “shocked” a verdict still hadn’t come.
“This is the first time I’ve felt worried,” she said.
The case
“I think it’s problematic or at the very least concerning that the jury has not come back at this stage,” Boston criminal defense attorney William Kickham told the Herald before the juror request. “I would say that it’s concerning for the defense.”
Of particular concern for the prosecution right now, in Kickham’s view, is the testimony from Troopers, especially that from lead investigator Trooper Michael Proctor, whose highly offensive personal text messages regarding Read were brought to light in trial.
Kickham said that some of the strongest elements working for the defense were its own witnesses, particularly that of Dr. Marie Russell, who testified wounds to O’Keefe’s arms were dog bites. He was also impressed by the last three witnesses who all testified that the science failed to show that O’Keefe was struck by a vehicle at all.
“I think the consistency of the defense witnesses on the final day of testimony was extremely powerful” he said.
On the flipside, he found prosecutor Lally’s closing compelling.
“The top of Adam Lally’s closing argument consisted of him saying the following, allegedly quoting Ms. Read, the defendant: ‘I hit him, I hit him, I hit him, I hit him,’” he said. “It was likely a punch in the stomach for the jurors.”
Lu had a different view of that bit of evidence. He said the statement could also be read as Read’s emotional reaction at the scene of death of her boyfriend, which could be exculpatory.
“There’s a strong argument that it was overcharged. I’m not making any judgments now,” he added, “(but) this situation is routinely overcharged.”
Herald reporter Lance Reynolds contributed to this report.
