Judge impounds jury list in Karen Read retrial following her acquittal on major charges
In her order, Cannone wrote that the case 'has garnered significant and divisive attention in Massachusetts and across the nation' and noted that one person tied to the case has been indicted on charges of intimidating witnesses.
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She did not name the person, but Aidan Kearney, a Massachusetts blogger known as Turtleboy who championed Read's innocence and covered her case extensively,
The jury list was also impounded following the Read's first trial, which ended with a hung jury last year, but at least one juror was identified on social media with their picture and LinkedIn profile published on Twitter, Cannone wrote. (Twitter is now known as X.)
'Based on the circumstances of the first trial where a juror avowed that they were in fear for their safety and the safety of their family if the list of jurors were made public, and the fact that the case continues to receive daily, divisive attention in Massachusetts and beyond, the Court concludes that there is a real and present 'risk of [personal] harm to jurors [and] to the integrity of their service,'' Cannone wrote.
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The impoundment order does not prohibit jurors from choosing to identify themselves and speak publicly about the case, she wrote.
Cannone set the order, which was dated Wednesday, to expire after 10 days, but it could be extended.
Read was accused of hitting O'Keefe with her SUV after dropping him off at the Canton home of a now-retired Boston police officer for an after-party following a night of drinking at two Canton bars on Jan. 29, 2022, as a snowstorm moved into the region. O'Keefe's body was discovered in the snow on the home's front lawn several hours later.
Following weeks of witness testimony, the jury on Wednesday acquitted Read on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.
During both trials, Read's attorneys argued that O'Keefe entered the home and was fatally beaten and possibly mauled by a German Shepherd before his body was placed on the lawn.
Two of the 12 jurors have already spoken publicly since reaching the verdict. One juror, Paula Prado, told reporters Thursday that there were 'holes' in the prosecution's case that led her to decide Read was not responsible for O'Keefe's death.
'We couldn't prove there was a collision and she was responsible for John's death,' Prado said,
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Legal specialists have said the case against Read was undercut by
While her criminal trial is over,
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Citing the 'divisive' interest the high-profile case has received, Cannone said she believes 'there is a risk of immediate and irreparable injury should the list be made available to the public at this time.' In light of that, the list will remain sealed 'until and unless otherwise ordered by the Court.' Advertisement Read, 45, was acquitted June 18 in Norfolk Superior Court of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death. She was convicted only of a misdemeanor OUI offense and sentenced to a year's probation. Prosecutors said she backed her Lexus SUV in a drunken rage into Boston police officer John O'Keefe early on Jan. 29, 2022, after dropping him off outside a Canton home following a night of bar-hopping. Her lawyers said she was framed and that O'Keefe entered the property, owned at the time by a fellow Boston police officer, where he was fatally beaten and possibly mauled by a German Shepherd before his body was planted on the front lawn. Advertisement Read's first trial had ended with a hung jury last year, and she still faces a wrongful death lawsuit brought by O'Keefe's family in Plymouth Superior Court. Travis Andersen can be reached at
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