DEDHAM, Mass. — Karen Read’s lawyers filed a petition with the United States District Court of Massachusetts after Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone on Thursday denied the defense team’s request to delay the start of her second murder trial.
The defense filed a motion earlier this week seeking to push back Read’s retrial from April 1 to April 28 to allow them time to appeal to the First Circuit Court of Appeals after a federal judge’s ruling denied a request to have jurors from the first trial questioned about their verdicts on three charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death.
Defense lawyers say a delay will hopefully help them show that jurors unanimously found Read not guilty of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a crash. They are also arguing that Read’s double jeopardy interests haven’t been taken into consideration.
In denying the defense’s request, Cannone cited concerns about scheduling the large jury pool for retrial.
“Well, I’m not going to grant the motion. We have jurors coming in that were summonsed months ago,” Cannone explained. “I called the jury commissioner yesterday and asked how long it would take to get the right numbers that we were able to get starting April 1st at a minimum of ten weeks. But I’m not going to do that.”
In the federal court filing, the defense wrote, “Read will be irreparably harmed by the denial of a stay which would force her to undergo a retrial that she contends violates her double jeopardy rights.”
Cannone did note on Thursday that if a jury is in place by April 25 and if the federal appeals court hasn’t issued a ruling on the defense’s request to drop two charges against Read, she might revisit the request to delay.
Cannone’s statement isn’t sufficient enough to protect Read’s rights, her lawyers argued in the filing.
“If the superior court again denies Read’s motion at that point, she will immediately be placed in jeopardy a second time with no ability to seek a stay with this Court or the First Circuit to prevent what she asserts is a violation of her constitutional rights,” the defense wrote. “Additionally, Read’s trial counsel cannot realistically be expected to select a jury without knowing whether the trial will include all three counts or only Count 2.”
Read’s attorneys concluded, “In sum, the petitioner respectfully submits that the double Jeopardy protections at stake in this matter are simply too important to force Read to stand trial for murder, in what she contends would be a violation of her rights, before having the opportunity to appeal her ‘substantial’ constitutional claims.”
Read is accused of hitting her Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV in Canton on Jan. 29, 2022, and leaving him to die after a night of drinking. The defense has sought to portray Read as the victim, saying O’Keefe was actually killed inside the Albert family home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton and then dragged outside and left for dead.
Her first trial ended with a hung jury in July 2024. Jury selection in her second trial is slated to begin on April 1 as previously scheduled.
Read the full filing below:
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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