(GoRealNewsNow.com) – In a shocking outcome of the murder of a Boston police officer, a mistrial has been declared in the Karen Read case after a jury was unable to reach a verdict on charges that she murdered her boyfriend, John O’Keefe.
The local district attorney’s office quickly issued a statement saying that prosecutors intend to retry the case, which jurors first began hearing in late April.
In the prosecutors’ statement, they thanked only the family of the late officer “for their commitment and dedication to this long process. They maintained sight of the true core of this case – to find justice for John O’Keefe.”
A jury of six men and six women began deliberating as to whether to convict 44-year-old Read of the murder of 46-year-old O’Keefe. Jurors indicated multiple times that they were deadlocked, but Judge Beverly Cannone instructed them to keep deliberating.
Cannone declared a mistrial after jurors were unable to reach a verdict. Supporters of Read began celebrating after Cannone’s decision.
Yet, prosecutors apparently sought to dampen such scenes with their practically immediate statement about intending to retry the case in front of another jury.
Moreover, O’Keefe was discovered dead on 29 January 2022 outside the home of Brian Albert, a retired Boston officer who hosted a house party in the Boston suburb of Canton.
According to investigators, O’Keefe suffered multiple head injuries, including a fractured skull and a brain bleed, while also sustaining hypothermia.
Prosecutors have argued that Read killed O’Keefe in an act of domestic violence. Read is accused of driving over O’Keefe with an SUV while under the influence and fleeing the scene while O’Keefe lay dying.
In his closing statement, prosecutor Adam Lally reshared witness testimony that reported hearing Read saying she “hit” O’Keefe with her car.
In turn, Read pleaded not guilty to several charges, including second-degree murder, manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of a deadly crash.
Additionally, defense lawyer Alan Jackson alleged that O’Keefe was beaten in the basement of Albert’s house and attacked by a dog before being dragged outside.
Defense attorneys also argued that several conflicts of interest biased O’Keefe’s murder investigation. “Ladies and gentlemen, there was a cover-up in this case, plain and simple,” Jackson told jurors.
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