DEDHAM, Mass. (news agencies) — A judge declared a mistrial Monday after jurors deadlocked in the case of Karen Read, a woman accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend by striking him with her SUV and leaving him in a snowstorm.
A jury foreperson told the judge Friday that they hadn’t reached a unanimous verdict despite an “exhaustive review of the evidence.” They were told to continue deliberating. They did but came back Monday afternoon and said it would be futile to continue.
The jury was tasked with deciding whether prosecutors proved that Read drunkenly and intentionally slammed into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her Lexus SUV and left him to die. The defense challenged the evidence and suggested that one or more law enforcement colleagues killed John O’Keefe, dumped his body outside in a panic, and then framed Read to cover it up.
More about the case and the trial:
Read, 44, had worked as an equity analyst and was an adjunct lecturer in finance at her alma mater, Bentley University. O’Keefe, 46, was a 16-year veteran of the Boston Police Department who was raising his niece and nephew.
Jurors deliberated events that unfolded at the Canton home of Brian Albert, a Boston police detective, after a night of barhopping in January 2022. Brian Higgins, a federal agent who was among those gathered inside, had exchanged flirtatious texts with Read earlier that month.
The lead investigator was State Trooper Michael Proctor, who was friends with several witnesses and sent offensive texts about Read to friends, family and fellow troopers during the investigation. After the mistrial, Massachusetts State Police announced they were immediately relieving Proctor of duty, saying the move followed an earlier decision to open an internal affairs investigation. He will face a status hearing at which officials could potentially place him on restricted duty or suspend him.
Read was charged with second-degree murder, punishable in Massachusetts by life in prison with the possibility of parole. She also faced 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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