Karen Read trial jury deliberates for first full day; judge rejects defense motion to change verdict slip
Jurors in the Karen Read trial had their first full day of deliberations Monday in the high-profile case, but did not reach a verdict. Read is facing trial for a second time in the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe.
Judge Beverly Cannone told jurors at the end of the day to "clear your heads" before they return to continue deliberating on Tuesday. The jury has been deliberating for about nine hours so far in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts.
Shortly after the jury began to deliberate on Monday, the defense filed a motion to change the look of the verdict slip. It was quickly denied by the judge.
The jury in Read's first trial deliberated for nearly five days before a mistrial was declared because they were deadlocked. "I feel well, I feel strong, and the jury will do the right thing," Read said outside court Monday morning.
Karen Read deliberations
Cameras were shut off in court as the jury deliberated. The video feed from the courtroom will return when an issue comes before the judge, such as a question or announcement that a verdict has been reached. The jury had no questions on Monday.
Closing arguments were held Friday and the 12 jurors deliberated for about 90 minutes after getting the case.
Read is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene where there has been personal injury and death.
Judge Cannone told attorneys on both sides last week that while jurors are deliberating, they should remain within about five minutes of the courthouse. Once a verdict is reached, WBZ-TV anticipates it will be read within about an hour.
Karen Read defense motions to change verdict slip
On Monday morning, the defense formally asked the court to amend the second verdict slip for manslaughter. Last week, Read's lawyers verbally asked for it to be changed.
"The current verdict slip, particularly the slip for Count Two, risk confusing the jury and thus causing errors," the defense says in its motion.
The lawyers say jurors only see a single "not guilty" option on the form that applies to all of count two, compared to four "guilty" options - one for each charge.
"This imbalanced presentation visually favors the guilty options and risks creating bias towards a guilty verdict in degradation of Ms. Read's rights, in addition to creating the risks of confusion and errors," the motion states.
Judge Cannone denied the motion without a hearing, writing that "the verdict slip is consistent with Massachusetts law."
Karen Read on verdict slip
Read spoke to reporters Monday morning about her concerns with the verdict slip.
"I think what happened last year with the same verdict form explains that the jurors themselves found it confusing and have said as much," Read said. "So, we just wanted to avoid that again and apparently the court is not concerned so we'll just move forward and wait on the jury."
Below is a look at the verdict slips that the jury will be filling out. Click here to see what the defense was proposing.
Karen Read trial verdict slips by CBS Boston on Scribd
WBZ legal analyst Katherine Loftus said concerns about the jury form are valid. "When you look at it, it does seem fairly confusing," Loftus said. "I think on the other side of that is that this is the standard for [lesser included offenses] when we have these types of charges."
Karen Read trial closing arguments
Read is accused of hitting and killing O'Keefe with her Lexus SUV and leaving him to die in the snow during a blizzard in January 2022.
Special prosecutor Hank Brennan attempted to show during his closing argument that Read and O'Keefe were arguing after a night of heavy drinking, she hit him and then drove off.
"She was drunk, she hit him, then she left him to die," Brennan said.
Defense attorney Alan Jackson, meanwhile, attempted to convince jurors there was a flawed police investigation that was corrupt in an effort to frame Read.
Jackson told the jury three times at the start of his closing argument, "there was no collision." The defense has argued that O'Keefe was killed during a fight, then dragged outside and left in the yard of 34 Fairview Road.
Read stood trial in 2024, but a "starkly divided" hung jury led to a mistrial. During Read's first trial, jurors deliberated for 27 hours before the mistrial was declared.
The retrial started on April 22 and featured dozens of witnesses before the defense rested its case last week.
