DEDHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office on Monday said prosecutors plan to re-try Karen Read after a judge declared a mistrial in her second degree murder case.
Read was charged with second degree murder, among other charges, in connection with the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe.
Prosecutors said she ran O’Keefe over and left him to die in a snowbank outside the Canton home of Brian and Nicole Albert in January of 2022.
But the defense said she was framed, saying O’Keefe actually died after a fight inside the Albert home.
In a note to Judge Beverly Cannone, the jury said some jurors felt the prosecution met its burden of proof while others did not.
“To continue to deliberate would be futile,” the jury said.
Having already delivered a “Tuey-Rodriguez instruction” that effectively served as a last ditch request for jurors to consider their opinions, Cannone dismissed the jury.
“I’m declaring a mistrial in this case,” she said.
Cannone scheduled a new status conference in Read’s case for July 22 at 2 p.m.
Moments later, the DA’s office thanked the O’Keefe family “for their commitment and dedication to this long process.”
“They maintained sight of the true core of this case – to find justice for John O’Keefe,” the DA’s office said.
In addition to the statement from the DA’s office, Read’s defense attorneys spoke outside Norfolk Superior Court Monday, sharing their reaction to the mistrial.
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