Judge orders jury to keep deliberating after it fails to reach unanimous verdict in murder trial of Karen Read

Artemis Moshtaghian, Jean Casarez, Eric Levenson and Faith Karimi, CNN

(CNN) — The Massachusetts judge presiding complete nan Karen Read execution proceedings ordered nan assemblage to proceed deliberations aft nan jurors sent a statement Friday saying they could not scope a unanimous verdict.

The six man and six female assemblage successful nan proceedings of Read, who is accused of drunkenly driving into her constabulary serviceman fellow and leaving him to dice successful January 2022, informed nan tribunal soon aft midday, saying, “Despite our exhaustive reappraisal of nan grounds and our diligent information of each disputed evidence, we person been incapable to scope unanimous verdict.”

After proceeding arguments from nan prosecution and defense, Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone asked nan assemblage to proceed to deliberate.

“Lunch will beryllium arriving shortly, erstwhile it comes, I’d inquire you to clear your heads, person luncheon and statesman your deliberations again,” Cannone told nan jurors.

The assemblage has been deliberating Read’s destiny since midday Tuesday. The lawsuit has featured accusations of a immense constabulary cover-up arsenic good arsenic allegations of improper behaviour and sexist matter messages from a lead investigator.

The prosecution and defense some weighed successful connected nan jury’s note, asking nan judge to see different outcomes successful her determination connected what to show nan jury.

“It is far, far, acold excessively early successful their deliberative process to moreover see giving them immoderate benignant of Tuey-Rodriguez instruction aliases thing adjacent to that,” Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally said, referring to a typical group of Massachusetts instructions that are publication to a assemblage erstwhile jurors are incapable to work together connected a verdict. “The statement doesn’t really bespeak affirmatively that they can’t travel to a conclusion, it conscionable says they haven’t travel to a conclusion done their deliberative process astatine this time.”

Alternately, defense lawyer David Yanetti based on nan assemblage should beryllium publication nan Tuey-Rodriguez criminal exemplary instructions, indicating that they would for illustration nan tribunal to proceed toward having a hung jury.

“The connection exhaustive is nan connection I deliberation that’s operative here,” he told nan judge. “They are communicating to nan tribunal that they’ve exhausted each mode of compromise, each mode of persuasion, and they’re astatine an impasse.”

The judge said she weighed some counsel’s views successful deciding to nonstop nan assemblage backmost to deliberate a verdict successful nan arguable case. The Tuey-Rodriguez instructions were not publication to nan jury. Case rule cautions against reference nan instruction prematurely.

Read, 45, pleaded not blameworthy to charges of second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and leaving nan segment of a collision resulting successful death. If recovered blameworthy of second-degree murder, Read faces a maximum condemnation of life successful prison, according to Massachusetts law.

The assemblage of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, was recovered bruised and battered successful nan snowfall connected January 29, 2022, extracurricular nan location of a chap Boston constabulary serviceman successful Canton, Massachusetts.

Prosecutors person alleged Read and O’Keefe, who had an at-times tumultuous relationship, sewage into an statement that night, and that she drunkenly backed into him and fled nan scene, leaving him to dice successful nan cold.

“What nan constellation of nan facts and nan grounds ineluctably show present is that nan suspect drove her conveyance successful reverse astatine 24.2 miles per hr for 62.5 feet, struck Mr. O’Keefe, causing those catastrophic caput injuries, leaving him incapacitated and freezing him to death,” charismatic Adam Lally said successful closing arguments Tuesday.

In contrast, Read’s defense has accused off-duty constabulary wrong that Canton location of fatally beating O’Keefe, dumping his assemblage connected nan section and past colluding done fabricated grounds and mendacious grounds to framework Read.

“Ladies and gentlemen, location was a cover-up successful this case, plain and simple,” defense lawyer Alan Jackson said. “You’ll surely opportunity to yourself, ‘I don’t want to judge it, I don’t want to judge that could hap successful our community,’ but sadly complete these past 8 weeks you’ve seen it correct earlier your eyes.”

The closing arguments represented nan extremity of a execution proceedings that has garnered liking some section and widespread, including accusations of witnesser tampering, a national probe into nan investigation, and groups of pink-wearing supporters chanting to “Free Karen Read.”

The prosecution’s lawsuit besides has been hampered by a bid of missteps and different investigative practices. Most notably, a lead interrogator successful nan case, Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, admitted that he sent a bid of sexist and violative texts astir Read successful a backstage group chat, calling her a “whack job,” mocking her aesculapian issues and commenting to coworkers that he had recovered “no nudes” while searching her telephone for evidence, CNN connection WCVB reported.

Proctor apologized for nan “unprofessional” comments connected nan stand, but nan vulgar texts person been sharply criticized successful and retired of court, including from nan governor.

“It’s wholly unprofessional,” Gov. Maura Healey told WCVB of nan texts. “It does harm, frankly, to nan dignity and nan integrity of nan activity of men and women crossed nan authorities constabulary and rule enforcement. So arsenic a erstwhile lawyer wide and arsenic governor, I americium disgusted by that.”