Defense criticizes prosecutors after Karen reads mistrial and state says it will retry case

The sensational case ended on Monday, July 1, when a judge declared a mistrial against a financial analyst and professor accused of murdering her boyfriend, police officer John O’Keefe.

John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty

Karen Read with defense attorney Alan Jackson

Karen Read’s lawyers have vowed to fight for their client after a judge threw out a mistrial in a high-profile murder case.

“We have no intention of letting up,” defense attorney Alan Jackson said as he emerged from the courtroom at the shocking conclusion to a months-long trial that gripped the country.

The trial ended on Monday, July 1, when Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone of Dedham, Massachusetts, declared a mistrial after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

Prosecutor Adam Lally told the judge he wanted the jury to continue deliberating after the judge was told a second time they could not reach an agreement.

Cannone ultimately concluded that the jury, according to notes given to the judge, was unable to reach a unanimous conclusion.

Kayla Bartkowski/The Boston Globe via Getty

Karen is reading

The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release that it “intends to retry the case.”

“First, we thank the O’Keefe family for their commitment and dedication throughout this long process,” they said in a statement. “They have kept the true heart of this case — finding justice for John O’Keefe — in mind. The Commonwealth intends to reconsider this case.”

Read has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, in the early morning hours of January 29, 2022.

Read, 44, also faces charges of manslaughter by driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident causing bodily injury or death.

The jury deliberated for 25 hours but failed to reach a unanimous decision.

After the mistrial was announced, Read hugged her family and supporters, News Nation reported.

Outside the courtroom, Jackson stood before Read’s supporters, who cheered and clapped, saying, “This is what happens when you make false accusations against someone,” NBC Boston reported.

“The Commonwealth did what it could.”

“They brought the state’s case on a false charge based on (a) compromised investigation and investigators and compromised witnesses. That’s what it looks like. And guess what? They failed. They failed miserably. And they will continue to fail, no matter how long it takes. No matter how long they try, we will not stop fighting.”

Jackson said, “First, I am in awe of the strength and courage of this extraordinary client, whom I have had the honor of representing from day one. Second, I want to send a message to all of her supporters. Your support has been invaluable. We are humbled and ask for your continued support.”

Related: Karen Read’s murder trial a ‘circus,’ says friend who criticizes claim she killed cop boyfriend (exclusive)

Prosecutors said Read was intoxicated when she ploughed her Lexus SUV into O’Keefe, 46, and left him for dead after dropping him off at a party at the Canton, Massachusetts, home of retired Boston police officer Brian Albert.

Read and her lawyers claimed O’Keefe got into a fight at the party, was severely beaten, attacked by her owner’s dog and then dragged into the yard.

O’Keefe was found unconscious in his front yard at 6 a.m. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead just before 8 a.m. The medical examiner determined that O’Keefe died of blunt force trauma to the head and hypothermia.

In an effort to establish reasonable doubt, Read’s defense attorneys accused Albert and others of knowing what happened that night and that Read was the victim of a massive cover-up by local and state law enforcement officials and others who closed ranks to protect their own.

Related: Lead investigator in Karen Read case admits on podium that he sent her a text message wanting her to commit suicide

They claimed that the lead investigator in the case planted evidence of a broken tail light at the scene to protect those in the house that night with whom he had a long-standing personal relationship, and that he provided expert testimony that the injuries could not have been caused by a vehicle impact.

In his closing argument, defense attorney Alan Jackson showed jurors a photo of the largely intact taillight of Read’s SUV, which was located where she was when she went searching for O’Keefe after he failed to return home that night after 5 a.m.

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