‘Too many holes.' Juror on Karen Read trial speaks about case.

Boston Globe

20-06-2025

'Seeing John O'Keefe's family leaving the courthouse melt[ed] my heart,' she said. 'I'm a mother and I saw her pain through all those days.'
On Wednesday,
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She will serve one year of probation as a first-time offender.
The decision marked the end of a
Prado said she did not realize the extent of the media coverage of the case. When jurors entered the courthouse, she occasionally saw a few people wearing pink shirts, but did not know that crowds of Read supporters were gathering outside the courthouse.
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Throughout her time on the jury, Prado said she didn't hear 'anything' inside the courthouse, and that the windows in the deliberation room were covered.
She said she thought 'justice was served' by the verdict and is '100 percent convinced' Read is not responsible for O'Keefe's death. She is 'happy' for Read and her family, she said.
'We couldn't prove there was a collision, and she was responsible for John's death,' Prado said. 'The Commonwealth and the investigators didn't do their jobs to prove that to us.'
Prado said she initially thought Read may be guilty of manslaughter but changed her mind about three weeks ago after evidence of DNA was presented, which she found inconclusive.
The investigation had 'too many flaws' and felt 'not precise,' she said.
'I just realized there [were] too many holes that we couldn't fill, and there's nothing that put her on the scene in our opinion, besides just drop[ping] John O'Keefe off,' Prado said. 'Too many pieces were missing.'
At the beginning of deliberations, the jurors decided not to vote, and instead went through the testimony, videos, and other evidence, Prado said. The group then talked about the charges one by one, eliminating the ones they didn't agree with, until they reached a verdict, she said.
Prado said deliberations were respectful and the jurors listened to each other's opinions. The discussion never got 'heated,' she said.
The
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'They did a very good job,' Prado said. She also said the prosecution's argument that the injuries to O'Keefe's arm came from the taillight of Read's SUV 'didn't make much sense,' and there were 'too many coincidences' in the evidence to blame Read.
'I don't think the car killed John O'Keefe,' she said.
In terms of the OUI, Prado said it was the 'only thing' the jurors could charge Read with because she said in a video played in court that she was drinking and video footage from the bars showed her drinking.
'We couldn't let that pass,' Prado said.
Asked about what she thought happened to O'Keefe, Prado said Read might have backed up her SUV and 'touched him somehow' but that was not what caused his death.
'In my opinion, he definitely went inside, and something happened inside the house,' Prado said. However, Prado said she 'can't say' Read was framed as she just began looking at more details on the case online.
Prado said the jury knew the case was a retrial and the jurors were 'positive' they would discuss all the evidence to reach a decision.
'We definitely didn't want to hang this jury,' Prado said. 'The amount of money spent on this trial made me very upset, and I'm sure made my fellow jurors upset too.'
Prado said she 'did not find it strange' that she didn't hear from
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Prado said she wants to tell the O'Keefe family it's 'not your fault' that Read was not convicted.
'I really, really hope there is a way for the case to be reopened, and they can investigate again and find who actually did that to John,' Prado said.
Ava Berger can be reached at