Karen Read is appealing two of the three charges in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in the death of her boyfriend.Read's first murder trial ended in a hung jury. However, the defense said several jurors have come forward to report they were ready to acquit her of second-degree murder. The Superior Court judge denied her motion to dismiss the charges, a decision that the defense is now appealing to the state's highest court. Read, 44, of Mansfield, is accused of hitting John O'Keefe with her SUV outside a Canton home on Jan. 29, 2022, and leaving him to die in a snowstorm following a night of drinking.Her defense contends O’Keefe, a Boston police officer, was dragged outside after he was beaten up in the basem*nt and bitten by a dog at fellow Boston officer Brian Albert’s home in Canton.Read's trial came to an end on July 1 when the jury of six women and six men said repeatedly that they were hopelessly deadlocked, and Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial.Read's defense had asked the court to dismiss two of the three charges — second-degree murder and leaving the scene — after they heard from several jurors who said the jury had voted to acquit her on the charges. Her attorneys claimed retrying Read would violate double jeopardy protections.Read: Memorandum of Decision and an Order on Defendant's Motion to Dismiss"After careful consideration, this court concludes that because the defendant was not acquitted on any of the charges and defense council consented to the court's declaration of a mistrial, double jeopardy is not implicated by retrial of the defendant. The motion is therefore denied," Cannone wrote in her August decision.Read's team immediately said they would appeal. As of Wednesday evening, Weinberg confirmed they had petitioned the SJC to review Cannone's decisions. He said their primary argument is based on the constitutional protection against double jeopardy. "We are looking forward to the appellate court review," Weinberg said. The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office acknowledged the appeal and said their responses would be filed accordingly with the SJC. Read, a former adjunct professor at Bentley University, pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, along with manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol and leaving a scene of personal injury and death. The manslaughter charge carries a penalty of five to 20 years in prison, and the other charge has a maximum penalty of 10 years.Prosecutors suffered several notable setbacks during their presentation of the case, including surveillance video from a police garage that appeared to be inverted and embarrassing revelations about the "very regrettable" messages sent by a Massachusetts State Police trooper assigned to the case. That trooper was later suspended, and others have faced internal affairs investigations.Video below: Timeline set for Karen Read's 2nd trialIf the case stays on schedule, a second trial is planned to begin on Jan. 27.
BOSTON —
Karen Read is appealing two of the three charges in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in the death of her boyfriend.
Read's first murder trial ended in a hung jury. However, the defense said several jurors have come forward to report they were ready to acquit her of second-degree murder. The Superior Court judge denied her motion to dismiss the charges, a decision that the defense is now appealing to the state's highest court.
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Read, 44, of Mansfield, is accused of hitting John O'Keefe with her SUV outside a Canton home on Jan. 29, 2022, and leaving him to die in a snowstorm following a night of drinking.
Her defense contends O’Keefe, a Boston police officer, was dragged outside after he was beaten up in the basem*nt and bitten by a dog at fellow Boston officer Brian Albert’s home in Canton.
Read's trial came to an end on July 1 when the jury of six women and six men said repeatedly that they were hopelessly deadlocked, and Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial.
Read's defense had asked the court to dismiss two of the three charges — second-degree murder and leaving the scene — after they heard from several jurors who said the jury had voted to acquit her on the charges. Her attorneys claimed retrying Read would violate double jeopardy protections.
Read: Memorandum of Decision and an Order on Defendant's Motion to Dismiss
"After careful consideration, this court concludes that because the defendant was not acquitted on any of the charges and defense council consented to the court's declaration of a mistrial, double jeopardy is not implicated by retrial of the defendant. The motion is therefore denied," Cannone wrote in her August decision.
Read's team immediately said they would appeal.
As of Wednesday evening, Weinberg confirmed they had petitioned the SJC to review Cannone's decisions. He said their primary argument is based on the constitutional protection against double jeopardy.
"We are looking forward to the appellate court review," Weinberg said.
The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office acknowledged the appeal and said their responses would be filed accordingly with the SJC.
Read, a former adjunct professor at Bentley University, pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, along with manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol and leaving a scene of personal injury and death. The manslaughter charge carries a penalty of five to 20 years in prison, and the other charge has a maximum penalty of 10 years.
Prosecutors suffered several notable setbacks during their presentation of the case, including surveillance video from a police garage that appeared to be inverted and embarrassing revelations about the "very regrettable" messages sent by a Massachusetts State Police trooper assigned to the case. That trooper was later suspended, and others have faced internal affairs investigations.
Video below: Timeline set for Karen Read's 2nd trial
If the case stays on schedule, a second trial is planned to begin on Jan. 27.
