Karen Read listens to closing arguments during her trial in the death of her Boston cop boyfriend, John O’Keefe, inset via Boston police. (Law&Crime Network)
The case that has divided a small Boston suburb over whether or not Karen Read killed her police officer boyfriend has also stymied a jury.
After deliberating for more than 27 hours over five days, the jury of six men and six women could not come to an agreement on Read’s guilt. Therefore, Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial.
Read, 44, is charged second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of an accident in the death of Boston police Officer John O’Keefe.
After a night of drinking, Read drove O’Keefe, 46, to fellow cop Brian Albert’s house in Canton for a party during a winter storm shortly after midnight on Jan. 29, 2022.
Prosecutors say as O’Keefe walked toward the house, Read hit him with her SUV while backing up at 24 mph and left him to die out in the cold. The defense claimed she saw him go into the Albert house where a fight rendered him unconscious and the people inside threw him into the front yard and then conspired to frame her.
The case riled up Canton, a town of over 20,000 about 20 miles southwest of Boston, with residents firmly planting themselves on one side or the other. The highly-anticipated trial lasted nearly two months with more than 70 witnesses testifying and 650 pieces of evidence introduced.
After beginning deliberations June 25, jurors first said in a note to the judge around noon Friday that they were deadlocked, writing “despite our exhaustive review of the evidence and our diligent consideration of all disputed evidence, we have been unable to reach a unanimous verdict.” Cannone said she didn’t think they had deliberated long enough and sent them back for the rest of Friday. They jury returned on Monday to continue deliberating but shortly before 11 a.m. sent Cannone a note she said she’s never seen anything quite like.
“Despite our commitment to the duty entrusted to us, we find ourselves deeply divided by fundamental differences in our opinions and state of mind,” the note read aloud by Cannone said. “The divergence in our views are not rooted in a lack of understanding or effort, but deeply held convictions that each of us carry, ultimately leading to a point where consensus is unattainable. We recognize the weight of this admission and the implications it holds.”
Cannone read jurors Tuey-Rodriguez instruction, also known as the dynamite option, which basically urges jurors in the minority to consider differing opinions of the majority of jurors to try and come to a verdict.
But even with the dynamite option, jurors couldn’t come to a decision.
“Despite our rigorous efforts, we continue to find ourselves at an impasse,” the jury said. “Our perspectives on the evidence are starkly divided. Some members of the jury firmly believe that the evidence surpasses the burden of proof establishing the elements of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.”
As Cannone announced the mistrial, O’Keefe’s mother shed tears while holding the hand of a family member. Read then embraced her parents as her father shook the hands of her attorneys.
The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office said it will re-try the case. A scheduling conference is scheduled for July 22.
Attorneys lay out their case
Defense attorney Alan Jackson during closing arguments claimed cops framed his client to protect the fellow police officer, Brian Albert, who owned the home at 34 Fairview Road where O’Keefe was found, and Albert’s family and friends.
“Ladies and gentleman, there was a cover-up in this case, plain and simple,” he said.
Jackson argued O’Keefe made it inside the home where he got into a fight with ATF agent Brian Higgins because Higgins was romantically interested in Read. After O’Keefe was knocked out “panic sets in,” Jackson said.
“They didn’t mean for it to happen, but what’s done is done,” Jackson told jurors.
The Albert family, namely Brian Albert and his sister-in-law Jennifer McCabe who was also at the home, then plotted their next steps. McCabe allegedly Googled “Hos long to die in cold” at 2:27 a.m., which was central to the defense case.
“There is no innocent explanation for that Google search at 2:27 a.m.,” said Jackson.
McCabe testified she performed to Google search at Read’s behest after they found his body later that morning. An expert witness for the prosecution also confirmed the time of the search. Conversely a defense expert said it was made at 2:27 a.m.
Jackson said Albert and Higgins conspired to move O’Keefe’s body out in the front lawn sometime after 2:30 a.m. The defense claims this is true because a snowplow driver who went past the home several times but saw no body.
“Not once, not twice, three passes,” he told jurors. “There was no body on that lawn at 2:30 a.m. Period.”
Also key to the defense is the alleged cover-up by the lead investigator of the case, Massachusetts State Police Det. Michael Proctor. Jackson alleged that Proctor “erected a tall blue wall” in order to protect fellow police officer Albert. Not only did he want to shield a cop, but he also wanted to protect the Alberts because his family was close to them. Proctor allegedly planted evidence including placing pieces of taillight on Albert’s front lawn and steered the investigation so only Read would be scrutinized.
The evidence points to Read’s innocence, according to Jackson.
“When you stare the truth down, you’ll see the Commonwealth has not proven this case beyond a reasonable doubt and to a moral certainty — not even close,” he said.
‘I hit him’
But Norfolk County Assistant Prosecutor Adam Lally said Read’s own words — “I hit him, I hit him, I hit him, I hit him” — incriminated herself. Paramedics and firefighters on scene testified to that fact during trial. He added that she also made similar statements to a police officer, McCabe and another friend.
The defense was just trying to shift attention from Read, the prosecutor argued.
“It’s a defense by obfuscation,” he said.
He emphasized that the evidence shows a relationship on the verge of ending. As shown by text messages, voice mails and testimony to those closest to them, Read and O’Keefe were constantly fighting, he told jurors. On the night of her boyfriend’s death, she had no less than nine drinks at local bars, Lally said. Her blood alcohol level was between .13 and .29, which is over the legal limit to drive of 0.08, prosecutors said. Everyone who was at the Albert house that night testified that O’Keefe never made it inside.
According to prosecutors, Read drove away after the couple had a fight in the SUV in front of 34 Fairview and O’Keefe had gotten out of the car. Then, the prosecution alleges, she backed up 60 feet at 24 mph and struck her boyfriend. She is accused of then driving away and leaving a voicemail on his phone as he lay freezing to death on the ground with a serious head injury.
“John, I f—— hate you!” she said.
Read was “seething in rage” when she left that voicemail, Lally said. She continued to leave voice mails and spoke to friends acting like she didn’t know where he was when she knew full well he was out on the lawn, Lally told jurors. When McCabe and another friend drove Read back to 34 Fairview after 6 a.m. she immediately saw his body despite the darkness, he added.
“Why is it that the defendant can see Mr. O’Keefe when they eventually get to Fairview Road and no one else? It’s because she knew exactly where he was,” Lally said.
In the end, the jury couldn’t decide which version of events was true.
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