A juror on the Karen Read murder trial who went into deliberations leaning toward a guilty verdict spoke out Friday and explained why her mind was changed. The jury of seven women and five men decided Wednesday that Read was not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the 2022 death of her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, a Boston police officer. Read was found guilty of a lesser charge of operating under the influence of alcohol.NewsCenter 5’s David Bienick sat down with Janet Jimenez — juror No. 12.”I felt like if they didn’t pick me, they’d be fools because I didn’t know anything about this case,” Jimenez said.Jimenez, a personal trainer from Medfield, said one of her clients had once mentioned the case but she said that’s the only time she’d heard about it.When she was picked to be on the jury, she suddenly had a front row seat.”I couldn’t help but see her. I mean, I think I had the best view in the house. Because she was right there. The defense was right there,” she said.”Did you form any impressions of her?” Bienick asked.”No, like I said, I knew nothing about her,” Jimenez said. Jimenez said she filled a notebook and a half as she listened to witnesses and studied evidence over eight weeks.She said when it came time for deliberations, she was open to listening to what the other 11 jurors had to say.”I was hoping that my fellow jurors could help me go through all of this. So I went in with a very open mind but definitely leaning towards she was guilty,” Jimenez said. Jimenez said what changed her mind was when she went looking for something in the more than 200 pieces of evidence. She won’t say what that something was, but she said she didn’t find it.”And it was one big part that led me closer to there’s a lot of doubt here,” she said. Jimenez said there were holes in the investigation, but she stopped short of saying that she believes someone else killed O’Keefe or that there was a police cover-up.”I’m not there to say the defense’s story was right or wrong. Do you know what I’m saying? Because there could’ve been other circumstances that happened. I think there were things that we saw, things that we heard, the evidence that it could have fit that scenario. So again, that’s the whole doubt thing,” she said. Jimenez said she did not believe the defense’s story about a Google search for hypothermia done hours before O’Keefe’s body was found.She said she found lead investigator Michael Proctor’s text messages about Read crude, but not necessarily proof of a cover-up.“Do you think (he) planted evidence or tampered with the investigation?” Bienick asked.“I can’t determine that,” she said.Since the trial has ended, she’s learned a few things she finds interesting, but nothing that makes her regret the jury’s decision.“I don’t want to be like, ‘Oh, should I second guess myself? cause I’m very comfortable with how I came to the decision. So, I guess it’ll be part of my story,” she said.Video below: What changed Karen Read juror’s mind?
A juror on the Karen Read murder trial who went into deliberations leaning toward a guilty verdict spoke out Friday and explained why her mind was changed.
The jury of seven women and five men decided Wednesday that Read was not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the 2022 death of her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, a Boston police officer. Read was found guilty of a lesser charge of operating under the influence of alcohol.
NewsCenter 5’s David Bienick sat down with Janet Jimenez — juror No. 12.
“I felt like if they didn’t pick me, they’d be fools because I didn’t know anything about this case,” Jimenez said.
Jimenez, a personal trainer from Medfield, said one of her clients had once mentioned the case but she said that’s the only time she’d heard about it.
When she was picked to be on the jury, she suddenly had a front row seat.
“I couldn’t help but see her. I mean, I think I had the best view in the house. Because she was right there. The defense was right there,” she said.
“Did you form any impressions of her?” Bienick asked.
“No, like I said, I knew nothing about her,” Jimenez said.
Jimenez said she filled a notebook and a half as she listened to witnesses and studied evidence over eight weeks.
She said when it came time for deliberations, she was open to listening to what the other 11 jurors had to say.
“I was hoping that my fellow jurors could help me go through all of this. So I went in with a very open mind but definitely leaning towards she was guilty,” Jimenez said.
Jimenez said what changed her mind was when she went looking for something in the more than 200 pieces of evidence. She won’t say what that something was, but she said she didn’t find it.
“And it was one big part that led me closer to there’s a lot of doubt here,” she said.
Jimenez said there were holes in the investigation, but she stopped short of saying that she believes someone else killed O’Keefe or that there was a police cover-up.
“I’m not there to say the defense’s story was right or wrong. Do you know what I’m saying? Because there could’ve been other circumstances that happened. I think there were things that we saw, things that we heard, the evidence that it could have fit that scenario. So again, that’s the whole doubt thing,” she said.
Jimenez said she did not believe the defense’s story about a Google search for hypothermia done hours before O’Keefe’s body was found.
She said she found lead investigator Michael Proctor’s text messages about Read crude, but not necessarily proof of a cover-up.
“Do you think (he) planted evidence or tampered with the investigation?” Bienick asked.
“I can’t determine that,” she said.
Since the trial has ended, she’s learned a few things she finds interesting, but nothing that makes her regret the jury’s decision.
“I don’t want to be like, ‘Oh, should I second guess myself? cause I’m very comfortable with how I came to the decision. So, I guess it’ll be part of my story,” she said.
Video below: What changed Karen Read juror’s mind?
