‘Clear your heads’: Judge sends Karen Read jurors back to reach verdict in murder trial

DEDHAM, Mass. — After jurors in the Karen Read murder trial informed the court that they hadn’t “been unable to reach a unanimous verdict,” Judge Beverly Cannone ordered them back to the jury room, saying they hadn’t been deliberating for a sufficient amount of time.

After about three hours of deliberations on Friday, a note penned by the jury foreperson and read aloud in court by Cannone stated, “I am writing to inform you on behalf of the jury that despite our exhaustive review of the evidence and our diligent consideration of all disputed evidence, we have been unable to reach a unanimous verdict.”

Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally, who delivered closing arguments on behalf of the prosecution earlier this week, responded to the letter by saying, “There simply hasn’t been sufficient time yet. Defense attorney David Yannetti responded, “We believe that there has been sufficient time.”

“Your honor, the jury received this case earlier this week. They’ve had slightly shortened days. I’m not in any way shape or form suggesting that they haven’t conducted their due diligence in regard to their deliberative process, but I will submit that it is far, far, far too early in their deliberative process,” Lally told Cannone. “Furthermore, the note doesn’t really indicate affirmatively that they can’t come to a conclusion.”

Yannetti said, “The word exhaustive is the word that’s operative here. They’re communicating to the court that they’ve exhausted all manner of compromise, all manner of persuasion and that they’re at an impasse. This is a case where the jury has the legal instructions. They’ve only really asked one question which was to try to get a report that they were not allowed to get. I think the message has been received that evidence is cold and they won’t get anything more. They’ve been working essentially non-stop over the last three, four days.”

Cannone said she wasn’t prepared to end deliberations in the trial at this point.

“This note arrived with less than three hours of deliberations today. The length of the trial, the length of the deliberations...We heard from 74 witnesses. There were 677 exhibits. There were complex issues in this case,” Cannone said. “I’m not prepared to find that there have been due and thorough deliberations at this point. So, I’m going to send them back out.”

Cannone then told the jurors, “Clear your heads, have lunch, and continue your deliberations.”

Deliberations started Tuesday afternoon after the defense and prosecution delivered closing arguments. On Wednesday, jurors asked Judge Beverly Cannone to see a Massachusetts State Police SERT team report on the search of 34 Fairview Road in Canton, where O’Keefe’s body was found. Defense attorney Alan Jackson also feuded with Cannone over the verdict slip that was given to the jurors.

The jury deliberated through the day Thursday without any interruption, but they ultimately left for the day without reaching a verdict.

As of Friday afternoon, jurors had deliberated for an estimated total of less than 20 hours.

Read, 44, of Mansfield, is accused of hitting her Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe with her car and leaving him for dead in the snow in Canton in January 2022, but the defense has made a case that she is being framed.

The jury is made up of six women and six men.

They are deciding whether Read is guilty or not guilty of second-degree murder, which in Massachusetts is punishable by life in prison with the possibility of parole. Read also faces lesser charges of manslaughter while operating a vehicle under the influence, punishable by five to 20 years, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, punishable by up to 10 years.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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