Karen Read verdict: Judge declares mistrial

DEDHAM − After the third time the jury in the trial of Karen Read, a Mansfield woman accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend, came back telling Judge Beverly Cannone they were deadlocked, the judge was forced to declare a mistrial.

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Mistrial declared in Karen Read trial: Everything you need to know

Earlier in the day, in a note to Cannone on Monday, the jurors said they remain "fundamentally divided" despite their efforts to reach a unanimous verdict.

Cannone in response gave the jurors the Tuey-Rodriguez charge, a special set of instructions often read to deadlocked juries. The instructions are derived from a pair of state Supreme Judicial Court cases.

Cannone told jurors that absolute certainty could not be expected or attained.

She said there is no reason to believe a jury "more intelligent, more impartial or more confident" will be found in the future, and it's their duty to come to a resolution if possible.

The judge told the jurors they should consider and respect one another's opinions. She then sent them back to continue to deliberate.

Read is charged with killing 46-year-old Braintree native John O'Keefe with her SUV outside a Canton home in January 2022.

The jurors resumed deliberations just after 9 a.m. Monday after notifying Judge Beverly Cannone they were deadlocked Friday afternoon. She ordered them to continue to deliberate given the large number of witnesses and amount of evidence in the case. The testimony in the case started at the end of April.

The jury continued to work until about 4:15 p.m. Friday.

Karen Read trial: What happens if there is a hung jury in the Karen Read trial? What to know

The defense and the prosecution made their closing arguments last Tuesday in the trial of Read , who was charged with second-degree murder after O'Keefe's body was found in the driveway outside the Canton home of a fellow Boston police officer on Jan. 29, 2022, during a snowstorm.

She is also charged with manslaughter while driving drunk and leaving the scene of personal injury and death.

Prosecutors called more than 65 witnesses since testimony started April 29.

The defense's list of witnesses was much shorter and included a plow driver who said he did not see anything on the lawn in Canton where O'Keefe's body was found.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Karen Read verdict: Judge declares mistrial