Expectations high in Karen Read retrial as jurors may be near verdict

Flint McColgan, Boston Herald on Jun 18, 2025

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DEDHAM, Mass. — From media pundits to conversations overheard by devoted onlookers who came to wait in Dedham, many believe a verdict will come Wednesday in the Karen Read retrial.

The theory was sparked by two notes the jury sent to Judge Beverly J. Cannone that appeared to indicate jurors were narrowing down their choice and could be nearing a decision. But that decision did not come Tuesday and they were released, even a little early.

Then the morning hours passed Wednesday and jurors entered their lunch break without a peep.

“The length of today’s deliberations suggest that the judge was wise to release the jury a little early yesterday and not hold them late,” retired state Superior Court Judge Jack Lu told the Boston Herald.

“Today, they have been deliberating for more than three hours, and the clock is ticking,” he added. “This suggests that trying to get a verdict yesterday would have been not only a bad idea, but futile.”

Read is charged with killing Boston police Officer John O’Keefe, her boyfriend, by striking him with her car on Jan. 29, 2022.

The 45-year-old former financial analyst and college lecturer from Mansfield is indicted on three charges: second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.

The manslaughter charge also comes with subordinate, or “lesser included,” charges jurors can consider if they determine her actions do not make her guilty of the primary offense: involuntary manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide and operating under the influence of liquor, or OUI.

Jurors began deliberating after closing arguments Friday afternoon and had been at it for more than 15 hours before they were released for the day Tuesday. The jury’s work is informed by 31 days of testimony spanning more than seven weeks.

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