Karen Read arrives at Massachusetts court through sea of ‘cop killer’ chants, supporters in fight to drop case
Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman who was accused of killing her police officer boyfriend with a vehicle in January 2022, was back in court Friday for a hearing discussing her defense team's motion to dismiss.
Her attorneys, Alan Jackson and David Yannetti, argued that two of three charges filed against Read, 44, including second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a fatal accident, should be dismissed following a mistrial in June.
Her lawyers told Judge Beverly J. Cannone that jurors reportedly agreed that Read was not guilty on two of the charges, and that another trial would subject Read to "double jeopardy."
Prosecutors plan to retry Read in January. Cannone heard arguments from both sides and said she will take them under advisement, without making a decision Friday.
Read arrived at the Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, on Friday afternoon surrounded by dueling onlookers: those who cheered her and held up signs that read, "Free Karen" and "Framed," versus those who chanted, "Cop killer" repeatedly as she walked up the courthouse steps.
Jackson and Yannetti argued during the June trial that accusations against Read alleging she killed her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, are part of an elaborate cover-up and frame job.
Following a weeks-long trial and 26 hours of deliberation, the Norfolk County jury was deadlocked and Cannone declared a mistrial on July 1.
Prosecutors argued during the trial that after a night of drinking on Jan. 28, 2022, a shouting match between O'Keefe and Read — a financial analyst — turned deadly when Read allegedly backed into O'Keefe with her SUV. Prosecutors further alleged she left her boyfriend to die in front of a Canton home during a nor'easter.
Authorities located his body on the front lawn of an influential family with deep ties to law enforcement and prosecutors.
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The question remains: Who killed John O'Keefe?
Read's defense claimed the family who owned the home where O'Keefe was found dead in the snow on the morning of Jan. 29, 2022, framed her for his death in an elaborate cover-up.
The case has sparked debate between Boston-area locals who blame Read for O'Keefe's death and those who think she's innocent.
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"It's turned into the Karen Read show," O'Keefe's brother, Paul O'Keefe, told CBS Boston in July. "She walks through a crowd that cheers her on. She goes in public and takes pictures and signs autographs.
"She's just living life like nothing ever happened," he said at the time.
The jurors who presided over the June trial were "deeply divided" because of "deeply held convictions," ultimately deciding that a "consensus is unattainable," according to the judge's notes from July.
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"Despite our commitment to the duty entrusted in us, we find ourselves deeply divided by fundamental differences in our opinions and state of mind," the jury wrote in its final note to the judge.
Fox News Digital's Chris Eberhart contributed to this report.