Karen Read case shocker: Defense claims jury 12-0 to not convict for murder 2, split on vehicular manslaughter

In a stunning motion, Karen Read’s attorneys claim jurors have told them they agreed 12-0 that the Mansfield woman was not guilty of second-degree murder — it was “off the table” — but they were split on OUI vehicular manslaughter.

That information was leaked to the attorneys, they claim, “the very day after” a mistrial was declared a week ago.

“Undersigned counsel began receiving unsolicited communications from three of the twelve deliberating jurors indicating in no uncertain terms that the jury had a firm 12-0 agreement that Ms. Read was not guilty of two of the three charges against her,” the defense motion filed today states.

That included murder in the second degree, the harshest charge, the lawyers state.

“Given the central importance that acquittals have held in our criminal justice system for hundreds of years,” the motion adds, “the jury’s unanimous agreement precludes re-prosecution of Ms. Read on Counts 1 and 3 and mandates dismissal of those charges.”

The defense is also seeking a post-verdict review to determine why, if what they say is true, the jury could not settle on a lesser charge.

The Norfolk DA’s office has not responded today. They have stated they are moving ahead with a new trial.

Read is accused of killing her boyfriend of two years, a 16-year Boston Police officer, by backing her Lexus SUV into him at high speed, leaving him to die in the cold during a major snowstorm.

She is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.

The defense has alleged a massive frame-up job to ensnare Read, arguing that O’Keefe was beaten to death inside 34 Fairview Road before his body was dragged to the front yard on Jan. 29, 2022.

According to the documents filed today with the court, Read’s lawyers Alan Jackson and David Yannetti argue they were never consulted over the deadlock among jurors — was it “in relation to one, two or all of the charges in the indictment,” they write.

Attorney Jackson was contacted “the following day” on July 2 by a juror who wished “to inform [him] of the ‘true results’ of the jury’s deliberations.”

That juror, who is not identified in the court papers but is referred to as Juror A, said the jury unanimously agreed Read was “NOT GUILTY” of second-degree murder and that it was “off the table.”

The same was true for leaving the scene of injury or death, records state.

Yannetti, the motion continues, was then contacted by “two different informants” who “received information from two distinct jurors” were “split in half” for the second count of manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence.

“No one thought she hit (O’Keefe) on purpose,” those informants said in texts, the motion states.

It’s also alleged that a juror spoke of the Read case on a “Zoom meeting” at work — but after the mistrial and the jury was dismissed. That juror stated the vote was 6-6 then 8-4 for the on OUI vehicular manslaughter.

This is a developing story …

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Judge Beverly Cannone looks over the verdict slip the jurors have to fill out when they reach a verdict in Karen Read’s murder trail, Wednesday June 26, 2024, at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass. The defense has asked for some modifications. Read is charged with second-degree murder in the January 2022 death of her boyfriend Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)

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