The “unsubstantiated and sensational” claim made by defense attorneys Alan Jackson and David Yanneti indicating the “jury reached a unanimous decision to acquit” Read on second-degree murder and leaving the scene of fatal crash charges “lacks any merit or legal foundation,” the Commonwealth wrote in the Norfolk Superior Court filing.
Read’s two-month trial ended in a mistrial on July 1 after deadlocked jurors sent a note to Judge Beverly Cannone indicating they were at an “impasse” and future deliberations would be futile.
The filing alleged that the jury also unanimously believed that Read was not guilty of count three, which is leaving the scene of a fatal crash. Two days later, a second filing claimed a fourth juror from Read’s trial had come forward to allege that she was found “not guilty” during their secret deliberations.
In Friday’s filing, the Norfolk DA’s Office said the defense’s motion to dismiss is “premised upon hearsay, conjecture, and legally inappropriate reliance as to the substance of jury deliberations.”
“Further, contrary to the defendant’s claims, throughout jury deliberations the defendant was given a full opportunity to be heard,” the filing continued.
The DA’s Office also pointed out in the filing that “the jury’s communications to the court explicitly indicated an impasse on all charges” and the judge never asked the jury what the impasse was over.
Cannone has since ordered an impoundment of the jurors’ list.
Read is accused of killing O’Keefe by striking him with her SUV and leaving him in a snowstorm in Canton in January 2022.
Prosecutors said Read and O’Keefe had been drinking heavily before she dropped him off at a party at the home of Brian Albert, a fellow officer. They said she hit him with her SUV before driving away.
The defense sought to portray Read as the victim, saying O’Keefe was actually killed inside Albert’s home and then dragged outside and left for dead.
The DA’s Office plans to retry Read and a new trial date could be scheduled as soon as July 22.
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