The jury in the Karen Read trial has reached a verdict. It will be read soon in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts.
When it happens, you can watch it streaming live on CBS News Boston in the video above.
Read is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of bodily injury and death in the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, in January 2022. She pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
The jury began deliberating late Friday afternoon and discussed the case for about 90 minutes before returning for more deliberations Monday. The panel of seven women and five men had the case for about 20 hours total.
During closing arguments Friday, prosecutor Hank Brennan said Read was driving drunk when she dropped O’Keefe off at a home in Canton, backed over him with her SUV in a rage over their failing relationship and drove off, leaving him to die in a snowstorm.
Read’s attorney Alan Jackson told the jury in his closing that there was no car crash and that O’Keefe was killed in a fight inside the home and that possibility was never investigated by the lead investigator, Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor. Proctor was fired for his conduct in the case. He was not called to testify in this trial.
Karen Read possible sentences
If Read is convicted of second-degree murder, she faces up to life in prison, with the possibility of parole.
If the jury convicts her of manslaughter Operating Under the Influence (OUI), she faces five to 20 years in prison and a fine of $25,000. The manslaughter charge includes several lesser offenses that Read could also be convicted of.
If she’s guilty of involuntary manslaughter, there’s a minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years behind bars.
A conviction for motor vehicle homicide would get Read a sentence of at least two-and-a-half years, but not more than 15 and a fine of no more than $5,000.
If they find her guilty of leaving the scene, it’s gets a bit more complicated. According to the Commonwealth, if she’s sentenced to state prison, it would between two-and-a-half and ten years, with a fine up to $5,000.
If she’s sentenced to a jail or house of correction, it would be for at least a year, but no more than two-and-a-half, with the same fine.
There is also one more additional lesser included charge this year – OUI – which carries “a fine of not less than five hundred nor more than five thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than two and one-half years, or both such fine and imprisonment.”
Read’s first trial ended in July 2024 with a mistrial due to a deeply divided jury. They deliberated for five days in that trial.
Karen Read retrial
The second trial began on April 22. The jury heard from 49 witness during 31 days of testimony before getting the case on June 13. They had access to more than 200 pieces of evidence, including the taillight from Read’s SUV and John O’Keefe’s clothes from the night he died.
