Massachusetts judge rules Karen Read's murder trial can be reopened after mistrial | Massachusetts

The Massachusetts judge presiding over Karen Read's murder trial has denied a defense request to drop two charges, including murder, setting the stage for a retrial in the case in January after jurors were unable to reach a consensus over the summer.

Read, 44, is accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, 46, by hitting him with her SUV and leaving him to die in a snow bank. She pleaded not guilty to charges including second-degree murder, manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

A two-month trial ended in July after the jury repeatedly indicated that its members were deadlocked in deliberating on a verdict. After the fifth day of fruitless deliberations, Judge Beverly Cannone declared the trial void.

O'Keefe, who served as a Boston police officer for 16 years, was found dead on January 29, 2022, outside the home of Brian Albert, a retired Boston police officer who had hosted a house party in the suburb of Canton.

According to investigators, O'Keefe had suffered numerous head injuries, including a skull fracture and a brain hemorrhage, and was also suffering from hypothermia.

Prosecutors argued that Read killed O'Keefe in an act of domestic violence. She is accused of hitting O'Keefe with an SUV while under the influence of alcohol and fleeing the scene when O'Keefe died.

Her defense team claimed she was framed by corrupt officials who tried to cover up O'Keefe's murder by others. She claimed she was wrongfully incriminated through fabricated evidence and false witness testimony.

Defense attorneys also argued that several conflicts of interest compromised the O'Keefe murder investigation.

Read's lawyers had asked for two of three counts to be dismissed, presenting evidence that several jurors said the jury had unanimously returned acquittals on those counts: second-degree murder and fleeing the scene. They said the jury was deadlocked on the remaining manslaughter charge.

The defense argued that retrial of Read on murder and fleeing the scene of the crime would violate constitutional protections against double jeopardy. But the judge said the jury did not tell the court during its deliberations that it had already reached a verdict on any of the charges.

In her ruling Thursday, Cannone wrote: “After careful consideration, this court concludes that retrial of the defendant does not constitute a case of double jeopardy because the defendant was not acquitted on any of the charges and the defense has agreed with the court's finding that the trial did not occur.”

The motion to dismiss the case against Read “is therefore denied,” she added.

Read's lawyers said they plan to appeal the decision to a higher court.

“We respectfully but strongly disagree with the cornerstones of today's rulings and fully intend to appeal to assert and uphold Ms. Read's rights under the double jeopardy clause,” attorney Martin G. Weinberg said in a statement shared by local news station WCVB.