Updates: No verdict reached in Karen Read murder trial, jurors will return to deliberate Monday

DEDHAM, Mass. — After deliberating for a 4th day and hours after telling the judge they were unable to reach a verdict, Judge Beverly Cannone told court that the jurors in the Karen Read murder trial will return to deliberate on Monday.

Earlier Friday, the jurors in the high-profile Karen Read murder trial told Judge Beverly Cannone that they’ve been “unable to reach a unanimous verdict” after less than four full days of deliberations.

No verdict reached in Karen Read murder trial, jurors will return to deliberate Monday No verdict reached in Karen Read murder trial, jurors will return to deliberate Monday

After considering opinions on the matter from the prosecution and defense, Cannone ordered the jurors back to work to try to reach a verdict, saying they hadn’t been deliberating for a sufficient amount of time.

Around 3:45 p.m., the judge told the courtroom that the Jurors would like to continue deliberating until 4:15 p.m. Around 4:20, the courtroom briefly refilled before Cannone said jurors will continue to deliberate next week.

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.

Jurors 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.

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• Live court updates from Boston 25′s Ted Daniel

LIVE COURT UPDATES:

4:18 p.m.

• Cannone sends the jury in the Karen Read murder trial home for the weekend. They will return Monday to continue deliberations.

3:40 p.m.

• The courtroom briefly refills as the judge said the jury has asked to continue deliberating until 4:15 pm

12:20 p.m.

• Judge Cannone says she is not prepared to end deliberations due to the amount of witnesses, evidence, and complexity of this case. The judge is now telling them to continue to try to reach a verdict. Sending them back to deliberate.
• Video of the discussion over the deadlock is below.

Karen Read jurors tell judge they’ve been unable to reach unanimous verdict Karen Read jurors tell judge they’ve been unable to reach unanimous verdict

12:10 p.m.

• In a note, the jury says they have conducted an “exhaustive” review of the evidence.
• Breaking: Judge in Karen Read trial says the jury has sent a note saying they have been unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

11:55 a.m.

• The jury has another question for the court.

9 a.m.

• The judge said the jury could set their own timetable for leaving early and staying late.
• The defense team is getting dropped off on the left side of the courthouse and going straight in with a police escort.

PREVIOUS STORY:

Jurors were handed the case on Tuesday after closing statements were delivered and have been deliberating for about 16 hours at this point.

Read is accused of dropping O’Keefe off at another officer’s house party after a night of drinking, and then ramming him with her SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm. But her defense team argues she was framed, and that the evidence shows O’Keefe was beaten up by someone else inside the house, bitten by a dog, and left outside.

On Thursday, both sides including Read and her team only entered the courtroom twice, once in the morning when the jury arrived and again at the end of the day when they were sent home.

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Officer Killed Girlfriend Trial Karen Read speaks with her lawyer as the jury deliberates in her murder trail, Wednesday June 26, 2024, at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass. Read is charged with second-degree murder in the January 2022 death of her boyfriend Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool) (Greg Derr/AP)

Former state prosecutor and defense attorney Marty Kane said you’re generally looking for a quick verdict as a defense attorney and said he would have expected it sooner.

“They have heard six weeks, seven weeks of trial, 60, 70 witnesses. They respect their obligation as jurors, and they are going to be diligent, go through all that evidence, marshal the evidence, and come back with a unanimous verdict,” Kane told Boston 25.

Kane also reminds it’s the job of the foreperson to make sure the group of jurors comes to a consensus.

The jury of 12 comprises six men and six women, plus two alternates. One juror was dismissed before closing arguments on Tuesday morning.

The trial began on April 16 with jury selection. Opening statements were delivered on April 29, followed by 29 days of testimony in front of the jury.

Closing arguments came Tuesday after the Commonwealth called 68 witnesses, while the defense called six.

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