DEDHAM – Defense attorneys for Karen Read, a Mansfield woman accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend, Braintree native John O'Keefe, say retrying her on all charges is double jeopardy.
But prosecutors say the defense had the chance to object to the declaration of a mistrial at the time and did not, and the case does not have a verdict.
Attorneys made oral arguments on dueling motions at a hearing Friday afternoon in Dedham Superior Court.
Judge Beverly Cannone declared amistrialin the case in July. She has scheduled a second trial to begin Jan. 27, 2025.
Cannone took the matter under advisem*nt on Friday.
Defense lawyers Alan Jackson and Martin Weinberg want the charges against Karen Read dropped
Following the mistrial, Read's defense attorneys filed motions seeking to dismiss two charges in the case and said the jury had agreed unanimously that Read was not guilty of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of an accident with injury or death.
Attorney Alan Jackson said the defense was denied the chance to request that the court inquire about which counts the jury had deadlocked on after the jurors returned saying they were at an impasse.
The defense team earlier this week sought court permission to contact jurors about the deliberations "for the sole purpose of asking them to affirm the accuracy."
On Friday, Martin Weinberg, a new attorney on Read’s team, said the court can't just "accept fiction" that the jury was at an impasse on all three charges. He said there is evidence that they unanimously agreed that Read was not guilty on two of the three charges.
"We have to embrace that these are facts," he said. "This jury was unanimous in its acquittal of Ms. Read on counts one and three."
Weinberg suggested the court could have the jurors in for a hearing to establish evidence the jury acquitted her on two charges, calling it "the right thing to do."
"There hasn't been a single case where facts like this have been ignored," he said.
Norfok County District Attorney wants to have a second trial
In a response motion, Norfolk County Assistant District Attorneys Adam Lally and Laura McLaughlin opposed the motion and said it's "premised upon hearsay, conjecture and legally inappropriate reliance as to the substance of jury deliberations."
Lally and McLaughlin said there was no verdict acquitting Read and there are no grounds to "inquire into the deliberative process of a discharged jury."
Lally on Friday said the jury did not return a verdict, so retrying Read is not double jeopardy. He said calling jurors back to inquire about deliberations wouldn't be appropriate.
"It's backed by decades if not centuries of case law," he said. "There is no verdict in this case."
Karen Read charged with second-degree murder
The defense and the prosecution made theirclosing arguments on June 25 in the trial of Read, who was charged with second-degree murder afterO'Keefe's body was found in the drivewayoutside the Canton home of a fellow Boston police officer Jan. 29, 2022, during a snowstorm. Prosecutors say Read was drunk and angry when she purposely hit him.
But defense attorneys for Read say she was framed for O'Keefe's death.
Read is also charged with manslaughter while driving drunk and leaving the scene of personal injury and death.
Prosecutors called more than 65 witnesses intestimony that started April 29.
The defense's list of witnesses was much shorter and included a plow driver who said he did not see anything on the lawn in Canton where O'Keefe's body was found.
Investigations into police and law enforcement after Karen Read trial
In total, four state troopers and one Canton police officer have been placed under investigation stemming from the Read case.
The State Police, who drew much public criticism throughout the trial, issued a statement after the mistrial was declared stating that Michael Proctor, the lead investigator on the case, was being transferred out of the detective unit of the Norfolk County district attorney's office.
The following week, Interim State Police Superintendent Col. John Mawn accepted the recommendation made by a hearing board to place Proctor, of Canton, on unpaid leave.
During the trial, Proctor was questioned about inappropriate texts he had sent regarding Read during the investigation. He apologized to the jury for his "unprofessional" comments.
Canton police officer Kevin Albert was placed on paid leave in June pending an investigation related to testimony given during the trial.
Kevin Albert is a brother of Canton Select Board member Chris Albert and retired Boston police officer Brian Albert, who owned the house where O'Keefe was found dead outside in January 2022.
While testifying in the case, Proctor acknowledged that he and Kevin Albert texted about coordinating part of the O’Keefe investigation even though the Canton Police Department recused itself.
The texts also revealed that Proctor and Kevin Albert worked on a cold case together and went out drinking together afterward. Albert later sent Proctor a text asking if he (Albert) had left his badge and gun in Proctor's police cruiser.
Two more Massachusetts state troopers with ties to the Karen Read case are facing internal affairs investigations. A third trooper was investigated, but allegations of wrongdoing were "unfounded," the agency said in a statement.
State Police Detective Lt. Brian Tully and Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik are also facing internal affairs investigations and remain on full duty, according to a statement issued by the State Police. Tully and Bukhenik both testified in the first murder trial.
"The department respectfully declines further comment in fairness to the integrity of the process and pending investigative outcomes," the statement reads.
The agency said Lt. John Fanning was also investigated and the agency "determined that there was insufficient evidence to prove or disprove the allegation that Lieutenant Fanning violated rules and regulations by failing to uphold the responsibilities of a supervisory member." The allegation was categorized as "unfounded."
