The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Karen Read can be retried for her boyfriend’s murder, despite a mistrial last year.
In July, a jury failed to reach a verdict on two charges — murder and leaving the scene of a fatal accident — against Read. Though some of the jurors expressed, after the mistrial, that they were not as divided over a verdict as it seemed, Justice Serge Georges Jr. wrote that “posttrial disclosures cannot retroactively alter the trial’s outcome,” per Boston.com.
Following multiple rounds of deliberations, the jury informed the court they remained “deeply divided by fundamental differences in our opinions and state of mind.” They noted that this division was not the result of confusion or misunderstanding, but “deeply held convictions” that would make it impossible to reach a unanimous verdict.
The Boston Globe reported that weeks after the mistrial, multiple jurors came forward and claimed they unanimously agreed to acquit Read on two charges, murder and leaving the scene of an accident. Their claims would directly contradict notes sent to the judge, stating they were hopelessly deadlocked.
Since then, Read’s lawyers sought to have the case fall under double jeopardy — meaning she could not be prosecuted again.
“We are strongly considering whether to seek federal habeas relief from what we continue to contend are violations of Ms. Read’s federally guaranteed constitutional rights,” Martin G. Weinberg said in a statement issued to Boston.com following Tuesday’s verdict.
READ: MISTRIAL Declared in Karen Read Murder Trial After ‘Deeply Divided’ Jury Remains Deadlocked
A Norfolk County grand jury in Massachusetts indicted Read in 2022 for killing her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, a Boston police officer. She was initially arrested on manslaughter charges after she allegedly hit O’Keefe with her SUV, then left him for dead outside a friend’s residence in Canton.
Police said the incident happened after Read had a night out involving drinking. Read pleaded not guilty to the charges and claimed that she’s been framed. The defense suggested O’Keefe was beaten up inside his friend’s home and bitten by a dog before he left the residence.
The prosecution, however, asserted that Read’s SUV was damaged when she reversed into O’Keefe on Fairview Road. They argued that she left him for dead in a snowbank outside another officer’s home in the early hours of January 29, 2022.
Read remains free on bail. Her retrial is scheduled for April.
* Additional reporting by Leigh Egan
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