DEDHAM, Mass. — Karen Read’s lawyers say a fourth juror from her recent trial has come forward to allege that she was found “not guilty” during their secret deliberations on two of the three charges she faces in connection with the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe.
On Monday, Read’s legal team filed a motion to dismiss her second-degree murder and leaving the scene of fatal crash charges, citing unsolicited communications they’ve had with three jurors who claim the panel unanimously agreed to take both charges off the table.
In a supplemental affidavit submitted Wednesday, Defense Attorney Alan Jackson states that he was contacted by a fourth juror, who he doesn’t identify in the filing.
Breaking: New defense filing in Karen Read case says a 4th juror has come forward to report the jury found Read “not guilty” on the murder 2 and the leaving the scene charge. #boston25 pic.twitter.com/I8z7VupIzY
— Ted Daniel (@TedDanielnews) July 10, 2024
Jackson writes, “Juror D told me he/she decided to reach out to me because he/she was ‘uncomfortable’ with how the trial ended,” and, “Juror D said the jury actually discussed telling the judge they had agreed unanimously on NOT GUILTY verdicts on Count 1 and Count 3, and the disagreement was solely as to Count 2 and its lesser offenses.”
Once the case was over, Juror D remained “very uncomfortable” with the result of the trial and reiterated, “It didn’t feel right,” Jackson also noted.
Read’s first trial ended with a mistrial last Monday when the jury sent a note to Judge Beverly Cannone indicating they were at an “impasse” and future deliberations would be futile.
It was the third note the jury sent stating they could not reach a unanimous decision during the five days of deliberations.
“The jury believed that they were compelled to come to a resolution on all counts before they could or should report verdicts on any of the counts,” Jackson wrote in the filing.
The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office announced plans to retry Read and a new trial date could be scheduled as soon as later this month.
Boston 25 has reached out to the Norfolk DA’s Office for a response.
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