Karen Read murder trial: mistrial after jury stalemate and investigator dismissal

CNN
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A judge has declared the murder trial of Karen Read invalid. The Massachusetts woman is accused of drunkenly hitting her boyfriend, a police officer, and leaving him to die in January 2022. The case involves allegations of a comprehensive police cover-up and investigative misconduct.

And the police officer who led the investigation – a man who admitted on the witness stand to sending sexist and offensive text messages about the defendant to friends – was relieved of his duties on Monday after the trial was declared void, Massachusetts State Police said.

The mistrial was declared after the jury twice told the judge on Monday that they could not reach a verdict after days of deliberations over Read’s fate. Jurors also said Friday that they could not reach a unanimous decision.

Read, 45, pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death in connection with the 2022 death of John O’Keefe, her boyfriend and Boston police officer.

“We thank the O’Keefe family for their commitment and dedication throughout this long process,” Morrisey said after the mistrial was announced. “They have not lost sight of the true essence of this case – finding justice for John O’Keefe.”

The Commonwealth intends to retry the case before a new jury after the mistrial, according to Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey. If convicted, Read could face life in prison under Massachusetts law.

Read’s attorney Alan Jackson, meanwhile, said prosecutors in the case had “failed miserably and would continue to fail,” according to a video from CNN affiliate WCVB outside the courthouse.

“No matter how long it takes, no matter how long they keep trying, we’re not going to stop fighting,” Jackson said. “Folks, this is what it looks like when you falsely accuse an innocent person.”

The Massachusetts judge presiding over the trial issued a so-called “dynamite injunction” to jurors Monday morning, instructing them to continue deliberating after declaring for the second time Monday that they could not reach a unanimous verdict. The Tuey-Rodriguez injunction asks jurors to reconsider their positions while considering the opinions of jury members with whom they disagree.

Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone read the indictment around 11 a.m. after the jury sent a note saying, “Despite our commitment to the duty entrusted to us, we are deeply divided by fundamental differences in our opinions and spirit.”

The jury resumed deliberations on Monday morning at the judge’s direction after initially declaring on Friday that they could not reach a unanimous decision. Cannone asked the jury to continue deliberating on Friday, but decided against reading the charges against Tuey-Rodriguez because case law warns against making them public prematurely.

The jury of six men and six women had been deliberating since midday on June 25, weighing the evidence in a case involving allegations of a major police cover-up and inappropriate behavior and sexist text messages from a senior investigator.

On both Friday and Monday, Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally argued against the judge who indicted Tuey, saying the jury had not deliberated sufficiently, citing, among other things, the complexity of the case and the large amount of evidence and testimony. Defense attorney David Yannetti, meanwhile, urged the judge to indict, saying the jury had indicated twice now on Monday that they were “hopelessly deadlocked.”

On Monday, Cannone sided with the defense and told the court that she was convinced the jury had conducted the required “due and thorough deliberation.”

“I have never seen such a note saying that reporting has reached a dead end,” the judge said.

If prosecutors seek a new trial, they could take a different approach, possibly seeking a lesser charge than second-degree murder if prosecutors conclude their evidence did not meet the required standards, or they could seek other experts or other witness testimony, trial attorney Misty Marris said.

“It’s a chance to find out what mistakes or gaps there might have been in the case,” Marris said. “And it gives the defense that advantage because they now know that you learn a lot, especially when you can talk to the jury after the fact. You learn a lot about their motivation.”

The trial centered on events that took place one winter evening over two years ago in Canton, Massachusetts.

On the evening of Jan. 28, 2022, Read and O’Keefe went out drinking with friends at two bars. Shortly after midnight, the couple got into Read’s SUV and drove to the home of one of O’Keefe’s Boston police colleagues in Canton for an after-party, court documents show.

In the morning, O’Keefe’s body was found bruised and battered in the snow outside the house, authorities said. Prosecutors allege that Read and O’Keefe, who had a turbulent relationship at times, got into an argument that night, after which she drove a drunken car into him and fled the scene, leaving him to die in the cold.

“What the constellation of facts and evidence here inevitably shows is that the defendant backed her vehicle 62 feet at 24 miles per hour, struck Mr. O’Keefe and inflicted these catastrophic head injuries, incapacitated him and left him frozen to death,” prosecutor Lally said in his closing argument on Tuesday.

In contrast, Read’s defense Off-duty police officers at the Canton house are said to have beaten O’Keefe to death, dumped his body on the lawn, and then used fabricated evidence and false witnesses to plot to incriminate Read.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this case was a cover-up, plain and simple,” said defense attorney Jackson. “I’m sure you’re saying to yourself, ‘I don’t want to believe it, I don’t want to believe that something like this could happen in our community,’ but unfortunately you’ve seen it right before your eyes over the last eight weeks.”

Closing arguments marked the end of a murder trial that has caused a stir both locally and far beyond the country’s borders. The trial included allegations of witness tampering, a federal investigation into the investigation and groups of pink supporters chanting “Free Karen Read.”

The prosecution was also hampered by a series of missteps and unusual investigative techniques. Most notably, Michael Proctor, a lead investigator on the case, admitted to sending a series of sexist and abusive text messages about Read in a private group chat, calling her a “nutcase,” mocking her health problems and telling colleagues he found “no nude photos” when searching for evidence on her phone. WCVB reported.

Proctor was relieved of duty Monday after state police learned of the mistrial, state police Col. John Mawn said in an online post Monday evening.

“This follows our previous decision to open an internal investigation after information about serious misconduct emerged during testimony at trial. That investigation is ongoing,” Mawn’s post said.

CNN has contacted the Massachusetts State Police Association for comment.

Although Proctor apologized for the “unprofessional” comments on the witness stand, the vulgar texts were sharply criticized inside and outside the court, including by the governor.

“This is completely unprofessional,” Gov. Maura Healey told WCVB of the text messages. “Frankly, it damages the dignity and integrity of the work of the men and women in the state’s police and law enforcement agencies. As a former attorney general and governor, I am disgusted by this.”

CNN’s Artemis Moshtaghian, Jennifer Henderson and Zoe Sottile contributed to this report.