It is not clear whether the case will be re-examined or not
The jury couldn't reach a unanimous verdict on whether Karen Redd — the woman accused of killing her late boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, in a car crash in 2022 — is guilty or not. Massachusetts Judge Beverly J. Cannon declared a mistrial in the case on Monday.
Read it was charged with second-degree murder, negligent homicide while operating under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of injury and death after O'Keefe's body was discovered. He pleaded not guilty.
After a 10-week trial, which began April 16 in Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts Superior Court, a 12-person jury deadlocked after more than 24 hours of deliberations. Early Monday afternoon, the jury informed Judge Cannone for a second time that it was unable to reach a unanimous verdict. “Despite our commitment to the task at hand, we are deeply divided by fundamental differences in our views and state of mind,” said a memo sent to the judge. “The divergence of our views is not rooted in a lack of understanding or effort, but in deeply held beliefs that each of us carries, ultimately leading to a point where consensus is unattainable.” After being called to deliberate once more, the jury remained hung.
Read's case has become the subject of interest both in Massachusetts and on the Internet, as the prosecution and defense have been unable to agree on even the most basic admissions of evidence. On January 29, Read went to a bar with her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, dropping him off at the home of a fellow officer, Brian Albert, shortly after midnight. Surveillance footage showed he had several drinks while at the bar and admitted in a frantic early-morning call to O'Keefe's niece that he remembered very little about the night before and that O'Keefe had not returned home. After returning home to begin an investigation, Read and two other women found O'Keefe's body and called first responders. According to the officers' testimony, Reed said, “I hit him” repeatedly while crying at the EMT, but her defense argued that she made the statement as a question, saying, “Did I hit him?” The prosecution painted Read as an alcoholic girlfriend who ran from the scene of the crime. In her defense, she was a flawed friend who was flanked by members of the Boston Police Department.
The court will meet again on July 22 to determine next steps and whether the case will be retried.
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/karen-read-murder-trial-declared-mistrial-1235051088/
