Current:Home > MyJudge declines to dismiss murder case against Karen Read after July mistrial -InvestPioneer
Judge declines to dismiss murder case against Karen Read after July mistrial
View
Date:2025-04-15 22:38:26
DEDHAM, Mass. (AP) — A judge ruled that Karen Read can be re-tried for murder in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend, dismissing arguments that jurors came forward after the mistrial to say they had unanimously agreed she wasn’t guilty on two of the three charges she faced.
Read is accused of ramming into John O’Keefe with her SUV and leaving him for dead in a January 2022 snowstorm. Her two-month trial ended in July when jurors declared they were hopelessly deadlocked and a judge declared a mistrial on the fifth day of deliberations.
Judge Beverly Cannone’s decision, released on Friday, means the case can move forward to a new trial set to begin Jan. 27.
The defense had presented evidence that four jurors said after the trial that the jury unanimously reached a not guilty verdict on second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a deadly accident and were deadlocked on the remaining manslaughter charge.
Trying her again on those two charges would be unconstitutional double jeopardy, the lawyers argued. They had also reported that one juror told them “no one thought she hit him on purpose or even thought she hit him on purpose.”
But the judge said the jurors didn’t tell the court during their deliberations that they had reached a verdict on any of the counts. “Where there was no verdict announced in open court here, retrial of the defendant does not violate the principle of double jeopardy.”
Earlier this month, Read’s attorney Marty Weinberg requested that Cannone consider a range of options to prove the jury acquitted Read on the two charges.
She could poll the jury, Weinberg said, on whether they reached a verdict on the three counts or bring in the four jurors to be questioned anonymously. If she didn’t want to accept the defense declarations, he added, she could authorize the defense lawyers to ask the jurors “whether or not they would execute an affidavit that could be two sentences — we reached a final decision unanimously to acquit Ms. Read on counts 1 and 3.”
Prosecutors described the defense’s request to drop charges of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a deadly accident as an “unsubstantiated but sensational post-trial claim” based on “hearsay, conjecture and legally inappropriate reliance as to the substance of jury deliberations.”
Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally, in the hearing earlier this month, urged Cannone to dismiss the defense motion.
Lally argued that the jury never indicated they had reached a verdict on any of the charges, were given clear instructions on how to reach a verdict, and that the defense had ample opportunity to object to a mistrial declaration.
veryGood! (39433)
Related
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Israeli military says it will begin a daily tactical pause to allow for humanitarian aid into southern Gaza
- 2024 College World Series live: Florida State-North Carolina score, updates and more
- Regret claiming Social Security early? This little-known move could boost checks up to 28%
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Arkansas lawmakers advance tax-cut bills and try to stave off shutdown of hunting, fishing agency
- Russian warships depart Cuba after visit following military exercises
- Jaylen Brown wins NBA Finals MVP after leading Celtics over Mavericks
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Rory McIlroy's collapse at US Open has striking resemblance to a heated rival: Greg Norman
Ranking
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- 'Partners in crime:' Boston Celtics stud duo proves doubters wrong en route to NBA title
- House fire in Newnan, Georgia kills 6 people, including 3 children
- Get free iced coffee from Whataburger in honor of the summer solstice: Here's what to know
- What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
- Gleaming monolith pops up in Nevada desert, the latest in a series of quickly vanishing structures
- Carrie Underwood's home catches fire from off-road vehicle
- Boston Celtics' record-setting 18th NBA championship is all about team
Recommendation
Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
'Middle of the Night' review: Childhood disappearance, grief haunt Riley Sager's new book
Majority of Americans favor forgiving medical debt, AP-NORC poll finds
California’s Black legislators make case for reparations bills while launching statewide tour
Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
What’s a heat dome? Here’s why so much of the US is broiling this week
Details on iOS 18: Better (and scheduled) messages just the start of soon-to-be features
Pro-Palestinian encampment cleared from Cal State LA, days after building takeover