DEDHAM – Defense attorneys for Karen Read, a Mansfield woman accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe of Braintree, will present their arguments today why at least two of the charges against her should be dropped, while prosecutors will argue to keep the charges.
A hearing on the competing motions is scheduled for this afternoon in Dedham Superior Court, where attorneys will present their arguments orally.
Judge Beverly Cannone declared the case not ready for trial in July. She has scheduled a second trial for January 27, 2025.
After the mistrial, Read’s defense attorneys filed motions to dismiss two counts, saying the jury unanimously concluded Read was not guilty of first-degree murder and leaving the scene of an accident causing injury or death.
Attorney Alan Jackson said the defense was denied the opportunity to ask the court to determine which charges had resulted in a deadlock within the jury after it returned saying they were at an impasse.
Earlier this week, the defense team asked the court for permission to contact the jury during deliberations “for the sole purpose of asking them to confirm the accuracy.”
In a response filed a few days later, Norfolk County Assistant District Attorneys Adam Lally and Laura McLaughlin opposed the motion, saying it was based “on hearsay, conjecture, and a legally improper reliance on the content of the jury’s deliberations.”
Lally and McLaughlin said there was no acquittal of Read and there was no reason to “investigate the deliberation process of a discharged jury.”
Cannone has scheduled the second trial for January “to make sure we have enough time.” She said she expects her decision on the motions to be appealed.
Read charged with premeditated murder
The defense and prosecution made closing arguments June 25 in the trial of Read, who was charged with premeditated murder after O’Keefe’s body was found in the driveway outside a fellow Boston police officer’s Canton home during a snowstorm on Jan. 29, 2022. Prosecutors say Read was drunk and angry when she intentionally struck him.
But Read’s defense attorneys claim that O’Keefe’s death was framed on her.
Read is also charged with manslaughter while driving while under the influence of alcohol and driving while under the influence of alcohol resulting in personal injury and death.
The public prosecutor’s office called more than 65 witnesses to testify, which begins on April 29.
The defense’s witness list was much shorter and included a snow plow driver who said he saw nothing on the lawn in Canton where O’Keefe’s body was found.
Consequences of the mistrial
In total, four state troopers and one Canton police officer have been investigated in connection with the Read case.
The State Police, which had been the subject of public criticism throughout the proceedings, issued a statement after the proceedings were closed announcing that Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in the case, would be transferred from the Criminal Division of the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office.
The following week, acting state police chief Col. John Mawn followed a hearing committee’s recommendation to place Proctor, of Canton, on unpaid leave.
During the trial, Proctor was questioned about inappropriate text messages he sent to Read during the investigation. He apologized to the jury for his “unprofessional” comments.
Canton police Officer Kevin Albert was placed on paid leave in June pending an investigation into his testimony during the trial.
Kevin Albert is a brother of Canton Select Board member Chris Albert and retired Boston police officer Brian Albert, who owned the house in front of which O’Keefe was found dead in January 2022.
During his testimony in the case, Proctor admitted that he and Kevin Albert had texted about coordinating part of the O’Keefe investigation, even though the Canton Police Department had disavowed itself.
The text messages also revealed that Proctor and Kevin Albert worked together on an unsolved case and went out for drinks afterward. Albert later texted Proctor asking if he (Albert) had left his badge and gun in Proctor’s patrol car.
Two other Massachusetts state police officers with ties to the Karen Read case are under investigation by the Internal Affairs Bureau. A third officer was investigated, but the allegations of misconduct are “unfounded,” the agency said in a statement.
State police Detective Lt. Brian Tully and Sergeant Yuri Bukhenik are also under internal investigation and remain on full-time duty, according to a state police statement. Tully and Bukhenik both testified in the first murder trial.
“Out of respect for the integrity of the process and the pending investigation results, the ministry declines further comment,” the statement said.
The agency said Lt. John Fanning was also under investigation and that the agency “determined there was insufficient evidence to prove or disprove the allegation that Lieutenant Fanning violated rules and regulations by failing to perform his duties as a supervisory member.” The allegation was deemed “unsubstantiated.”
