There is still no verdict in the murder trial of Karen Read.
Read is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the January 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe. She is accused of dropping him off at another police officer’s house party in Canton, Massachusetts, after a night of drinking, then hitting him with her SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm.
After about three hours of deliberation on Friday, the jury gave the judge a note saying: “Despite our extensive review and careful consideration, we were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.”
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After the memo was filed, Karen Read’s defense asked the judge to take the first step toward a mistrial.
The jury had the incentive to get the case done before the holiday weekend, but still couldn’t reach a decision. Now there’s talk of implementing the so-called dynamite instruction, which legal experts say usually leads to a quick verdict.
“Our position is that the jury should be read Tuey Rodriguez’s instructions and go from there,” said defense attorney David Yannetti for Karen Read.
The defense is urging the judge to take the first step toward a mistrial by asking her to read the so-called Tuey-Rodriguez count.
As jury deliberations in the Karen Read murder trial drag on for another week, the crowds gathered outside Norfolk Supreme Court want a resolution.
“I would argue it’s way too early to give them Tuey-Rodriguez orders or anything like that,” said ADA Adam Lally.
According to legal experts, the instruction, also known as a “dynamite charge,” is a series of instructions that the judge typically reads to jurors who are in a deadlock after they have deliberated several times.
“I am not prepared to assume at this time that due and thorough deliberations have taken place,” added Judge Beverly Cannone.
Legal experts say this rare step is taken only when jurors are deadlocked because it risks encouraging those who may be on one side or the other to change their minds and join the majority.
As we still await the verdict in the Karen Read trial, tensions have increased outside the courthouse and security presence has also increased.
“The instruction says there is no reason to believe that another group of 12 jurors would decide the case differently than you did if we were to assemble them. So please consider the viewpoints of your fellow jurors,” said retired Judge Jay Blitzman.
Blitzman says if the case needs to be retried, it will likely happen this year.
