Latest news with #JudgeBeverlyCannone
Fox News
24-06-2025
- Fox News
Second Karen Read juror faults 'sloppy police investigation' in John O'Keefe murder case
Print Close By Michael Ruiz Published June 20, 2025 A second Karen Read juror has come forward after arriving at not guilty verdicts on most of the charges she faced in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O'Keefe. "It could just be bad police work, but if anyone had done their job correctly, we wouldn't be in this position," Paula Prado, who was Juror No. 11, told ABC News. "It would either be proved or disproved right away." Another of the 12 jurors explained the panel's reasoning Thursday, a day after her second trial came to a close. He also explained brief confusion Wednesday afternoon that arose out of a verdict that jurors later retracted before it was read in court. Judge Beverly Cannone sealed that one. Within minutes, jurors had a verdict for real. "Everything on that initial slip was the same as the slip that was presented," Juror No. 4, identified only as "Jason," told TMZ Live. He said they pulled the first slip back over the OUI charge – operating under the influence of liquor, of which jurors found her guilty. KAREN READ MURDER CASE VERDICT REACHED AFTER DEADLOCKED FIRST TRIAL WATCH: Juror No. 4's interview "In our deliberations, we had decided there was enough evidence and proof that she was driving under the influence," he said. Cannone ordered that the jurors' names remain sealed for 10 days, but she said individual jurors could come forward on their own, if they wanted. Jurors found Read not guilty of murder, manslaughter and fleeing a deadly accident in a trial that stretched on for more than 30 days of testimony and four days of deliberations. The lesser included charge of OUI is the Massachusetts term for drunken driving. "I don't know what happened to John," Jason said. "I was only presented a limited scope of what happened at the night, and I can only base my opinion off of the evidence that was shown in the courtroom. So, I don't really know if there was a cover-up or not. "I know that's the big conspiracy around it, but I don't really know. All I know is there was a lot of holes in the investigation. Whether they were deliberate holes or not deliberate holes, it's kinda hard for me sitting back to know that — you know, what actually happened." He said the defense claim that O'Keefe could have been killed by someone in the house — in an attack that involved a dog — was an "example of reasonable doubt." "We were tasked with finding ... with deciding this person's fate based on the proof in the evidence that the commonwealth was able to present, and there was a lot of holes," he said. He said another important factor for the jury was video that showed Read's taillight. "We could see from the car, after the alleged incident happened, when we could see the taillight it was lit up red, where it shouldn't just have been red," he said. "I don't believe that the SUV collided with John O'Keefe." Still, he added, there was no way for jurors to know whether claims of a "corrupt" police investigation were true. "I don't know that there was any corruption going on," he said. "But do I know that there wasn't enough proof or evidence secured by the police to convict Karen Read? Absolutely." Also Thursday, Massachusetts State Police brass broke their silence on the years-long case marred by investigative missteps and the firing of a state trooper who played a central role in the case. Read was accused — and acquitted — of killing her boyfriend by slamming an SUV into him and leaving him to die on the ground during a blizzard after a drunken argument. Jurors found her guilty only of drunken driving, for which she received a sentence of one year probation and outpatient treatment. Col. Geoffrey Noble, the state police commissioner, said the entire department sends its condolences to O'Keefe's family. "The events of the last three years have challenged our department to thoroughly review our actions and take concrete steps to deliver advanced investigative training, ensure appropriate oversight and enhance accountability," Noble said in a statement. "Under my direction as colonel, the state police has, and will continue to, improve in these regards." He said the goal is to deliver "excellent" service and maintain public trust. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB Jurors did not appear to trust the investigation after four days of deliberation, when they rejected the prosecution's case almost entirely. MASSACHUSETTS TROOPER MICHAEL PROCTOR 'TERMINATED' FROM STATE POLICE The lead investigator on the case, former State Trooper Michael Proctor, lost his job in March after an internal investigation concluded he shared confidential and sensitive law enforcement information with civilians in a group text, the contents of which were also lewd in nature and mocked Read's health issues. FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X It was Noble who announced the firing, days before Read's second trial began. Her first trial ended with a deadlocked jury last year after the texts were read in court and Read's defense exposed other glaring flaws in the investigation. "It is incumbent upon me, as well as every member of this department, to hold one another accountable when any member compromises our mission by failing to uphold our values," he said at the time. SIGN UP TO GET THE TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER Noble and the department were also sued by true crime reporters and some of Read's supporters over the enforcement of a "buffer zone" around the Dedham courthouse that their lawyers called unconstitutional. Separately, local police in Canton, Massachusetts, were subjected to an external audit that recommended increased training and oversight while dispelling claims of a conspiracy to frame Read for O'Keefe's death. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP A federal investigation into the case ended without charges against members of either law enforcement agency. Print Close URL
CBS News
18-06-2025
- CBS News
Watch Live: Karen Read trial jury deliberations enter fourth day
Jurors in the Karen Read trial are deliberating for a fourth day inside Norfolk Superior Court as they attempt to reach a verdict in the high-profile case. The deliberations come a day after the jury indicated in a question to Judge Beverly Cannone that they could be facing the possibility of being a hung jury on one charge. You can watch the start proceedings live on CBS News Boston when they begin at 9 a.m. by clicking on the video player above. Read is accused of hitting and killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, with her SUV and leaving him to die outside a Canton home in January 2022. Jurors have been deliberating for about 16 hours entering Wednesday. Cameras are allowed at the start of the day when jurors arrive in the courtroom. When Cannone dismisses jurors to deliberate, the feed is shut off and only returns when there is something like a question, procedural matter, a verdict is reached or court is ending for the day. Attorneys are required to remain within 10 minutes of the courthouse in Dedham, Massachusetts so they can arrive quickly if needed. WBZ-TV anticipates that if a verdict is reached, it will be read within an hour. Karen Read trial deliberations The judge answered questions for the jury Tuesday about what time of day the operating under the influence (OUI) charge related to, if Read's media interviews are considered evidence, and how the verdict slip worked. Cannone told jurors for the OUI time, jurors are the fact finders and did not specify a time. She told them they should consider Read's interviews as they do any piece of evidence. The judge also provided an amended verdict slip that she hoped would eliminate confusion. The fourth question was, "If we find not guilty on two charges but can't agree on one charge, is it a hung jury on all three charges or just one charge?" Cannone said she could not answer it because the jurors were asking a hypothetical question. What is Karen Read charged with? The prosecution says Read hit and killed O'Keefe with her Lexus SUV and left him to die in the snow outside the home of another Boston police officer after a night of heavy drinking in 2022. Read argues she is being framed and O'Keefe was actually killed during a fight inside the home, then dragged outside and left in the yard. Her first trial in 2024 ended with a mistrial due to a "starkly divided" hung jury. During arguments over verdict slip confusion, defense attorney Alan Jackson warned Judge Cannone that the second trial could end in a similar fate. "We are going to end up in the exact same position that we were in last year," Jackson told the judge during the tense exchange. Read has pleaded not guilty on charges with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene where there has been personal injury and death.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Yahoo
No verdict after 3rd day of deliberations in Karen Read retrial
Jurors in the Karen Read retrial did not return a verdict on Tuesday, the second full day of deliberations. It was an eventful day despite the lack of a verdict, as jurors sent four questions to Judge Beverly Cannone, including about the verdict slip and what would lead to a 'hung jury.' The jury has been deliberating for about 16 hours across three days. Deliberations will resume around 9 a.m. Wednesday morning. Jurors can deliberate for as long as needed to reach a unanimous verdict. Read, 45, is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident causing injury or death. She is accused of ramming her Lexus SUV into her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, outside the Canton home of another police officer. Read and her lawyers have said she was framed and O'Keefe was beaten to death inside the home. Jurors in Karen Read trial raise issue of 'hung jury' in 4th question to judge Judge gives Karen Read jurors new verdict slip after jury's 3 questions Jury in Karen Read retrial sends three questions to judge on 3rd day of deliberations Jury in Karen Read retrial resumes deliberations Tuesday morning Karen Read retrial: No verdict reached after 2nd day of deliberations Read the original article on MassLive.
Daily Mail
17-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Karen Read's defense makes last-minute request as jury deliberates on murder charges for a second time
Attorneys representing Karen Read filed a last-minute motion to avoid a second deadlock as the jury in her murder trial begins to deliberate - but it was quickly denied by the judge. The former adjunct college professor is accused of drunkenly ramming her SUV into her boyfriend former Boston police officer John O'Keefe and leaving him to die in blizzard conditions on January 29, 2022. She is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of a collision causing death. Read, 45, previously faced the charges at a trial last year. But after five days of deliberations, Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial as the jurors remained split on whether she intentionally killed her boyfriend. In order to avoid that from happening again, Read's defense team filed a motion on Monday to amend the verdict slip - which they called 'unclear and otherwise confusing.' They claimed jurors can only see a 'not guilty' option on the drunk driving manslaughter charge - rather than four guilty options on lesser charges including involuntary manslaughter and drunk driving, according to CBS News. 'Respectfully, the present verdict slip is unclear and otherwise confusing,' the defense attorneys wrote in the motion. 'This lack of clarity and reluctant risk of confusion and error can easily be minimized by tailoring and clarifying the verdict slip to better aid the jury in memorializing the verdict,' they argued. 'Indeed, there is no compelling reason not to do so.' They add that the way the 'imbalanced presentation visually favors the guilty options and risks creating bias towards a guilty verdict in degradation of Ms. Read's rights, in addition to creating the risks of confusion and errors.' Their amended slip, they noted, only 'presents formatting changes, not substantive changes.' But Cannone denied the motion as jurors began their first full day of deliberations, ruling that the current verdict slip 'is consistent with Massachusetts law and is to [be] viewed in conjunction with the jury instructions. 'A copy of the jury instructions was sent to the jury with the verdict slip on Friday,' she wrote. Speaking outside of the courthouse following the ruling, Read told reporters about her concerns with the verdict slip. 'I think what happened last year with the same verdict form explains that the jurors themselves found it confusing and have said as much,' she argued. 'So we just wanted to avoid that again and apparently the court is not concerned, so we'll just move forward and wait on the jury.' When she was then asked how she is feeling about the pending verdict, Read said: 'I feel well, I feel strong and the jury will do the right thing.' Read (pictured) has long maintained her innocence and insisted that she was framed by his police officer friends Read has long maintained her innocence and insisted that she was framed by his police officer friends. Read's attorneys have portrayed her as the victim, saying O'Keefe was actually killed inside Albert's home and then dragged outside. They argued that investigators focused on Read because she was a 'convenient outsider' who saved them from having to consider law enforcement officers as suspects. But prosecutors noted that O'Keefe and Read had been drinking with a group of friends at the Waterfall Bar and Grill in Canton - about 14 miles south of Boston, when they were invited to Albert's home for an afterparty. Read has even admitted to having several alcoholic drinks beforehand, but said she decided to drop her boyfriend at the afterparty before she returned to his house. The couple had been dating for two years at the time of O'Keefe's death. He had been serving on the Boston Police Department for 16 years. According to Read's version of events, she woke up at 4am to find that O'Keefe never returned home, leading her to frantically drive out to try and find him. After finding O'Keefe's body outside Albert's home, which party attendees claimed he never entered, first responders on the scene alleged that Read repeatedly told them she hit him while in a panicked state. O'Keefe's cause of death was ultimately listed as blunt force trauma and hypothermia after police say he was left outside in a blizzard. At the center of Read's defense has been claims that the investigation was inappropriately handled by dishonorably discharged State Trooper Michael Proctor, who sent vulgar text messages about Read. He was fired over texts that included calling Read a 'whack job' and a 'c***.' In other messages, he joked about rummaging through her phone for nude photos during the investigation, and remarked that she had 'no a**.' In his closing arguments on Friday, defense attorney Alan Jackson once again hit out at Proctor, arguing that the prosecution could only feign a case because 'their investigation was flawed from the start because their investigator was corrupted from the start by bias, personal loyalties,' according to the Boston Herald. He also argued that experts agree 'there was no collision,' and concluded by saying 'reasonable doubt abounds.' Supporters signal to Read, as the jury deliberated on Monday But prosecutor Hank Brennan said the story of how O'Keefe died is 'simple.' 'Ms. Read was with Mr. O'Keefe and she got drunk. She drank. She was two to three times over the legal limit and they went to a party, an afterparty and they were fighting. '...She got drunk, she hit him, she left him to die. It's that simple.' Yet jurors still had not reached a verdict by the end of the day on Monday, when Judge Cannone told them to clear their heads before they come back on Tuesday. Meanwhile, outside, massive crowds came out to support Read and watched trial coverage on their phones. They donned pink shirts and signed 'I love you' as the suspect walked past.
CBS News
13-06-2025
- CBS News
Watch Live: Karen Read trial jury to hear closing arguments, then begin deliberations
The jury in the Karen Read trial will hear closing arguments Friday morning, the last stage of the case before they begin deliberations at Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. You can watch them streaming live, starting at 8:45 a.m. on CBS News Boston in the video above. Alan Jackson is expected to deliver the closing argument for the defense first and then Hank Brennan will do the same for the prosecution. Judge Beverly Cannone is giving both sides an hour and 15 minutes each to argue their case. Then, after a lunch break, jurors will be given instructions and Cannone will select a jury foreman. Eighteen jurors were seated during the trial, but only 12 will be allowed to deliberate. The other six will become alternates in a random selection by the court clerk. Cannone wants the jury to start deliberations Friday afternoon. Closing arguments "almost the whole thing" WBZ-TV legal analyst Katherine Loftus said closing arguments play a "huge role" in the trial. "Closing arguments are almost the whole thing. It sounds a little wild to think that you've put all of this evidence in, but lawyering is about the art of persuasion. You have two really, really skilled lawyers here," she said of Brennan and Jackson. "I think both of them are very good at persuading but in different ways. Their styles are different. Their tones are different." Karen Read trial jury The jury heard from 49 witness during 31 days of testimony over eight weeks in Read's second trial. "I just hope they were listening, that's all I can ask for. They were in the same room I was," Read told reporters outside court on Wednesday after the defense rested its case. The jury will deliberate in a room with boxes of evidence including books of reports, John O'Keefe's clothes and the taillight from Read's Lexus SUV. The verdict slip and jury instructions will get extra attention this time, so, unlike in Read's first trial, jurors understand that they can come forward with a split decision to prevent another mistrial. Karen Read's second trial Read, 45, is accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, by hitting him with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow outside a home in Canton, Massachusetts after a night of heavy drinking in January 2022. Her attorneys have said she's being framed by law enforcement and that O'Keefe died during a fight inside that home at 34 Fairview Road and was then dragged outside and left in the yard. But in this trial, they're arguing that the police investigation was so substandard Read can't be found guilty. "I think it's the smarter and straighter path to a 'not guilty' for them," Loftus said. Read is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of bodily injury and death. If convicted of second-degree murder, she could face life in prison with the possibility of parole. Her first trial ended in a mistrial in July 2024 with a "starkly divided" hung jury. The retrial, which started on April 22, has had no shortage of courtroom drama with combative witnesses, air conditioning issues, an unusual number of sidebars and a jury and a judge who appeared, at times, to be impatient. The defense called for a mistrial twice this month, but the judge denied both requests. The jury this time around is much younger and more diverse so many are curious to see how that impacts deliberations.
