Karen Read’s defense team says jurors were unanimous on acquitting her of murder
DEDHAM, Mass. (AP) — Jurors in the trial of Karen Read unanimously concluded she was not guilty of murder or of leaving the scene of a deadly accident, and were deadlocked on only the remaining manslaughter charge before the judge abruptly declared a mistrial, her defense team said Monday.
The disclosure was made in a defense motion Monday seeking the judge’s permission to question all 12 jurors after three of them reached out to Read’s team. They hope to show that for reasons of double jeopardy, the state of Massachusetts cannot retry her for murder.
Read was accused of ramming into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV and leaving him for dead in a snowstorm in January 2022.
A judge made the mistrial declaration on the fifth day of deliberations after jurors declared that they were hopelessly deadlocked. The defense said she announced the mistrial without questioning the jurors about the individual charges, and without giving lawyers for either side a chance to comment.
The motion filed in Norfolk County Superior Court said the jurors told the defense team that they voted 12-0 to acquit Read of second-degree murder and of leaving the scene of an accident in which there was a death. The motion asked for those charges to be dismissed. Jurors were deadlocked, however, on the charge of manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, they said.