Crime

Norfolk DA’s office says it’s heard from several jurors in Karen Read case

According to a new court filing, one of the purported jurors reached out to confirm the jury internally agreed to acquit Read on two charges, including second-degree murder.

By Abby Patkin

August 2, 2024

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When Karen Read returns to court next week, her lawyers will seek to dismiss two of the charges against her, arguing that several jurors have come forward to say the jury internally agreed to acquit her of murder before Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial.  

Now, prosecutors say at least one purported juror has reached out to them with the same claim.

In a Thursday court filing, the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office said it has received multiple voicemails and emails from purported jurors since Read’s first trial ended in a mistrial in July. Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally received an unsolicited voicemail on July 21 from someone who identified themselves as a juror and stated, “it is true what has come out recently about the jury being unanimous on charges 1 and 3,” according to the court document. 

In another voicemail on July 26, the same person allegedly reiterated that the jury was a unanimous “not guilty” on the charges of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. The person further alleged that as of the “last vote,” the jury was “9-3 guilty on the manslaughter charges… on the lower-level manslaughter charges,” according to the court document. 

Read was also charged with manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence, which carried lesser included offenses of involuntary manslaughter and motor vehicle homicide.

“The Commonwealth did not respond to this individual as the Commonwealth is ethically prohibited from engaging in discussions about the jury’s deliberative process,” the DA’s office wrote in its filing. 

Lawyers who wish to speak with jurors following a trial are subject to restrictions under Massachusetts case law and the Rules of Professional Conduct, which acknowledge that “in most cases common-law principles bar inquiry into the contents of jury deliberations and the thought processes of jurors.” The Massachusetts Trial Juror’s Handbook also warns jurors to “avoid revealing the names of other jurors, how any juror voted, or anything discussed during jury deliberations.”

The district attorney’s office said it has also received emails from three individuals who identified themselves as jurors and indicated they wanted to speak anonymously. Prosecutors said they responded to the emails on July 16 and told the purported jurors they “welcome the opportunity to discuss the evidence or the Commonwealth’s case, however we are ethically prohibited from inquiring as to the substance of your jury deliberations. That would include your individual or the jury’s collective thought process, the content of your deliberations, or the reasons for your decisions.” 

According to the court filing, the DA’s office also warned the purported jurors that prosecutors could not guarantee confidentiality, and that “the substance of any communications may necessitate disclosure to the defendant or the court.”

All three jurors declined to discuss the case further with prosecutors and provided no additional information about the jury’s alleged votes, according to the court document. 

Read’s lawyers have said five jurors reached out to them — three directly, two indirectly — to confirm that the jury unofficially decided to acquit Read of two of the three charges against her. Prosecutors issued a sharp rebuttal, asserting the defense motion “is premised upon hearsay, conjecture, and legally
inappropriate reliance as to the substance of jury deliberations.”

Both sides will argue the motion to dismiss the two charges on Aug. 9. 

Read, 44, is accused of drunkenly and intentionally backing her SUV into her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, outside a home in Canton following a night out with friends in January 2022. Her lawyers allege she was framed in a widespread coverup, and that O’Keefe was beaten inside the home, attacked by the family’s dog, and dumped outside in the snow. 

After several days of deliberations, jurors reported they were deadlocked and “starkly divided” over the evidence in the case, prompting Cannone to declare a mistrial. Read’s retrial is scheduled to begin Jan. 27, 2025.