DEDHAM, Mass. (AP) — Jurors in the Karen Read trial were scheduled to meet for a fourth day Friday to decide whose story they believe: that of prosecutors who say she drunkenly and angrily slammed into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her Lexus SUV and left him to die, or defense attorneys who claim one or more colleagues killed John O’Keefe and framed Read to cover it up.
The Massachusetts jury of six men and six women is deliberating behind closed doors in Norfolk County Superior Court, while a “sidewalk jury” of true crime bloggers and pink-shirted Read supporters gathers outside. The unofficial adjudicators, many of them waving Stars and Stripes, have been present every day since the trial began nearly two months ago.
Who’s who?
Read, 44, had worked as an equity analyst and was an adjunct lecturer in finance at her alma mater, Bentley University. O’Keefe, 46, was a 16-year veteran of the Boston Police Department who was raising his niece and nephew.
Jurors are deliberating events that unfolded at the Canton home of Brian Albert, a Boston police detective, after a night of bar-hopping in January 2022. Brian Higgins, a federal agent who was among those gathered inside, had exchanged flirty texts with Read earlier that month. The lead investigator was State Trooper Michael Proctor, who was friends with several witnesses and sent offensive texts about Read to friends, family and fellow troopers during the investigation.
The charges
Read was charged with second-degree murder, punishable in Massachusetts by life in prison with the possibility of parole. She also faces lesser charges of manslaughter while operating a vehicle under the influence, punishable by five to 20 years; and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, punishable by up to 10 years.
The evidence
Pieces of Read’s broken taillight were found at the scene and a single hair from O’Keefe was found on the rear bumper of Read’s SUV. Prosecutors say that Read repeatedly said, “I hit him. I hit him. Oh my God, I hit him” to first responders and others. Prosecutors replayed angry voicemails Read left for O’Keefe, painting a picture of a failing relationship. They also questioned her behavior, saying she never cried after O’Keefe’s body was found.
Read’s defense
Read contends that the prosecution’s case is based on lies by officers trying to protect themselves. Her lawyers say the pieces of taillight and the hair were planted at the crime scene, which was left unsecured. They also suggested O’Keefe might have been beaten up by Higgins, who had flirted with Read through texts, and that the men panicked, dumping his body outside before trying to cover up the crime.
Sloppy detective work
Regardless of any verdict, the case revealed questionable techniques and actions on the part of law enforcement. Proctor, who had personal relationships with several of the people involved, called Read a “wack job” and texted his sister saying he wished Read would “kill herself.” He said that was a figure of speech and that his emotions had gotten the better of him.
The defense also pointed to sloppy policing: The crime scene was left unsecured for hours; the house wasn’t searched; blood-stained snow was scooped up with red plastic drinking cups; and a leaf blower was used to clear snow. The defense also claims that a prosecution witness conducted an incriminating internet search hours before O’Keefe’s body was discovered and then deleted it, and that others linked with the case destroyed phones and manipulated videos.
Growing attention
As more evidence emerged about what might have seemed an open-and-shut case, interest picked up among true crime fans and others with suspicions about law enforcement. For more than a year, dozens of Read supporters have gathered outside the courthouse, calling for the charges to be dropped.
As jurors deliberate, members of this self-proclaimed “sidewalk jury” — wearing pink and waving American flags to symbolize what they call a fight for truth and justice — intently watch their phones for word of a verdict. Some take it further, including a man who dresses as the trial judge and a woman who wears plastic cups as earrings. Their mood has been jubilant, encouraged by passing motorists who honk their horns.
Many were drawn to the case by Aidan Timothy Kearney, aka Turtleboy, whose website has relentlessly questioned the prosecution. He and other supporters have also been accused of harassing witnesses: Kearney was charged with witness intimidation and conspiracy, which he denies.
The demonstrators, as many as 100 people, have been ordered to remain 200 feet (60 meters) away. At one point on Wednesday, some said a verdict had come, prompting a mad dash toward the courthouse.
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