BOSTON (AP) — The state’s top court ruled Tuesday that Karen Read can be retried on all the same charges in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend, the latest twist in the long-running case that transfixed true crime fans nationwide.
Prosecutors have sought to retry Read this year on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene of a crime. They accused her of ramming into John O’Keefe with her SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm in January 2022. Read’s attorneys argue she was framed to protect other law enforcement officers involved in O’Keefe’s death.
A judge declared a mistrial in June after finding jurors couldn’t reach an agreement, without polling the jurors to confirm their conclusions. Read’s attorney Martin Weinberg argued that five jurors later said they were deadlocked only on the manslaughter count, and had unanimously agreed in the jury room that she wasn’t guilty on the charges of second-degree murder and leaving the scene. But they hadn’t told the judge.
The ruling from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court clears the way for a new trial on all three charges.
