DEDHAM, Mass. — Wednesday marks Day 2 of jury deliberations in the high-profile Karen Read murder trial after they were handed the case Tuesday upon conclusion of closing arguments.
In his closing statements, defense lawyer Alan Jackson described a cancer of lies that turned into a cover-up, telling jurors the case included a “magic hair,” conflicts of interest, and “butt dials galore.” Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally painted a picture — through angry texts and voicemails — of a couple whose relationship was failing long before they embarked on a night of heavy drinking.
Boston-based defense attorney Peter Elikann said cases can really be made or broken on closing arguments.
“I thought that they did what they really had to do. The whole point was to try to tell a story...and lay out a narrative so it’s understandable,” Elikann said. “Both sides really did connect the dots.”
Key prosecution witnesses including Brian Albert, who owned the home at 34 Fairview home in Canton where Read’s Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe was found dead in the snow in January 2022, sat in court behind O’Keefe’s family as the closing arguments were delivered.
“There was definitely a clear strategy to that. They wanted to show some kind of solidarity to the jurors that we’re all here, and remember us, and look at our faces, and you know what we said and thought,” Elikann explained of the Albert family’s decision to show their faces in court on Tuesday.
Read’s fate is now in the hands of the jurors. So how long could it take for the jury to return a verdict?
“For the last two months they’ve been sitting in that jury room and they’ve been forbidden to talk to each other about the case at all,” Elikann said. “This is the very first time, yesterday afternoon, that they actually got to talk to each other. A lot of them must be ready to explode...Maybe they all have to get it out and it’s going to take them awhile...All 12 people are going to be heard.”
The jury of 12 comprises six men and six women, plus two alternates. One juror was dismissed before closing arguments on Tuesday morning.
“It’s hard to say how long this is going take. They [the jurors] really have to go around and around,” Elikann added. “Are they all in agreement on this? All it takes is one person to hold up and hang the jury there. Then they have to be debating against each other.”
Read is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while driving under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of a personal injury or death.
Elikann said the jurors will have to decide whether Read is guilty or not guilty of each charge separately, noting “it’s not all or nothing” and that the jury can “pick and choose which charge to convict somebody or if they want to acquit them of everything.”
“The one of course, which is going to be the toughest, is the murder charge,” Elikann said. “They would have to have laid out evidence, and I didn’t really see that, where she intentionally decided to kill him...Nobody was there, nobody saw it.”
While there’s a chance a verdict is returned Wednesday, Elikann said the seriousness of the jury leads him to believe that there’s also a possibility of a verdict coming up to a week from now.
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