After weeks of gripping testimony and a jury deliberation process marked by unusual back-and-forth, Karen Read was today found not guilty of the murder of her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe. The verdict, delivered in a packed courtroom, concludes a case that has captivated public attention for three years.
Read was however found guilty of drunk driving and sentenced to one year of probation.
The decision comes after a dramatic day of deliberations, during which the jury initially indicated they had reached a verdict, then retracted it to continue deliberations, only to return a final verdict shortly thereafter.
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This unusual sequence was confirmed by Judge Beverly Canone, who earlier today described how court officers were first informed of a verdict, then told the jury did not have one, before ultimately confirming a final decision.
Jurors began their deliberations late last week, more than a month after the retrial commenced. Throughout the proceedings, the defense repeatedly attacked the integrity of the investigation, particularly focusing on former Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor.
Proctor, who was fired after offensive and sexist texts about Read surfaced, was accused by the defense of “blatant bias” that “tainted every aspect of the corrupt and flawed investigation.”
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Prosecutors, led by Hank Brennan in this retrial, had presented a starkly different narrative. In his closing argument, Brennan asserted that Read “callously decided to leave O’Keefe dying in the snow fully aware that he was gravely injured.”
He went further than prosecutors in the first trial, explicitly outlining a motive, stating that Read’s blood alcohol level was two to three times the legal limit after consuming multiple drinks at two Canton bars.
Brennan argued that an argument on the way to a house party escalated tensions, leading to O’Keefe’s death. “She was drunk, she hit him, and she left him to die,” Brennan powerfully concluded.
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