Karen Read retrial: Jury enters second full day of deliberations
DEDHAM, Cluster. (AP) — The jury requested the pass judgement on 3 questions in relation to fees and proof Tuesday in the second murder trial of Karen Read, who’s charged with killing her Boston police officer boyfriend.
Jurors started deliberations overdue terminating day, greater than a pace next the trial began. The second one complete future of deliberations started Tuesday morning.
Learn, 45, is accused of hanging John O’Keefe together with her automotive outdoor a suburban Boston space celebration and retirement him to die within the snow in January 2022. She has been charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and retirement the scene.
Learn’s legal professionals say O’Keefe, 46, was once crushed, bitten through a canine, nearest left outdoor a house in Canton in a conspiracy orchestrated through the police that incorporated planting proof in opposition to Learn.
Learn’s moment trial adopted similar contours to the primary, which led to a mistrial terminating life.
Jury asks pass judgement on to elucidate proof, fees
The jury requested the questions of pass judgement on Beverly Cannone, who oversaw the primary Learn trial and this one. The primary query indistinguishable to the age body of an working a motor car below the affect fee.
Any other query was once about whether or not video clips of interviews constituted proof.
Learn hasn’t ever been jailed for O’Keefe’s killing. She didn’t testify at her first homicide trial or this one.
Protection argues Learn was once framed
Protection lawyer Alan Jackson started his endmost argument Friday through repeating 3 times: “There was no collision.” He informed the jury that Learn is an blameless lady victimized through a police cover-up wherein legislation enforcement officials sought to give protection to their very own and difficult to understand the actual killer.
He time and again attacked the top investigator within the case, former Massachusetts Circumstance Trooper Michael Proctor, who was once fired next sharing offensive and sexist texts about Learn with pals, population and associates. He mentioned Proctor’s “blatant bias” tainted each and every facet of the corrupt and wrong investigation and famous how prosecutors refused to place him at the arise, as they did throughout the primary trial.
Proctor, he mentioned, unnoticed leads, planted proof and didn’t believe someone alternative than Learn as a possible suspect.
“Michael Proctor went far beyond just insulting Karen Read. He dehumanized this woman,” he informed jurors. “He betrayed her as a human being. He was fired for this blatant bias. If the Massachusetts State Police can’t trust him, how can you trust him with this investigation, with your verdict and with Karen Read’s life?”
Jackson was once restricted on this trial to arguing that anyone alternative than Learn killed O’Keefe. Instead than suggesting as many as 3 nation can have killed O’Keefe as he did throughout the primary trial, Jackson singled out Brian Higgins, a federal agent who labored in Canton and had exchanged flirtatious texts with Learn. Jackson prompt Higgins was once agitated at a bar next Learn didn’t reply to his textual content and had coaxed O’Keefe over to the Canton space celebration the place he was once crushed up.
“What happened inside that house, that basement or that garage? What evidence was there for investigators to look into? What did they ignore?” Jackson requested, noting the “obvious dog bites” on O’Keefe’s arm and the top trauma from his falling backward onto a withered floor.
Prosecutors argue Learn selected to let fall O’Keefe to die
Prosecutor Hank Brennan opened his endmost argument Friday through pronouncing Learn callously made up our minds to let fall O’Keefe death within the snow, absolutely mindful that he was once gravely injured. He argued that she made the “option to let” O’Keefe die, going additional than prosecutors within the first trial in spelling out a cause.
Brennan mentioned Learn’s blood-alcohol degree was once two to 3 instances the felony prohibit, next the couple downed more than one beverages at two Canton bars. The couple, whose “toxic” dating was once “crumbling,” had an issue on how you can the home celebration that larger tensions and in the long run ended in O’Keefe’s demise, the prosecutor mentioned.
“She was drunk, she hit him, and she left him to die,” Brennan mentioned.
Pointing to knowledge on Learn’s SUV, Brennan mentioned it confirmed Learn settingup to force off earlier than reversing and accelerating. He admitted they may be able to’t say how Learn collision O’Keefe, however that she left “tons” of items of her taillight at the back of within the entrance backyard and that O’Keefe’s DNA was once discovered at the car. Knowledge from O’Keefe’s telephone, he mentioned, confirmed O’Keefe slightly moved next getting out of the SUV, difficult the concept he made it into the home celebration.
He additionally pointed to Learn’s personal phrases — proven in a video interview for a documentary — and testimony from the scene wherein she informed first responders that she “hit him.” He mentioned this proof would possibly not correspond to the concept there was once a immense conspiracy led through the “boogeyman” Proctor and “everyone setting up the girl,” however he mentioned those observers must be relied on.
As for Proctor, Brennan mentioned the jury shouldn’t be influenced through the reality he didn’t testify. Brennan argued he wasn’t wanted and that there’s no proof that he did the rest to deprave the investigation.
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t be disgusted by the text messages. You should. They are not defensible,” Brennan mentioned. “I don’t stand here and defend impropriety. I don’t. But that doesn’t change the physical evidence, the scientific evidence and the data.”
Learn’s pink-clad supporters
Dozens of Learn supporters, dressed most commonly in red, are camped out looking forward to the decision. They store at the back of barricades and around the courthouse each and every morning to catch a glimpse of Learn. As soon as she has handed, the family retires to seashore chairs the place they change tales and information about the case.
The family, a few of whom come waving American flags or posters supporting Learn or denigrating the prosecution, say they’re right here as a result of Learn can have been considered one of them. The tight-knit team of most commonly girls argues the Learn case woke them as much as a corrupt justice gadget, and so they hope their motion can reform it. A few of them were out right here lengthy earlier than the primary trial began.
The once-boisterious family has most commonly quieted indisposed, worried that any noise they manufacture would possibly harm Learn’s case. They’ve swapped chants and much appreciated for a hand signal for romance that they flash to Learn as she walks moment. Learn frequently smiles and recognizes her supporters.
There are not any combatants of Learn outdoor the courtroom or supporters of O’Keefe. On the finish of the primary trial, some supporters of O’Keefe got here out to the courtroom to assistance the population and argue for Learn’s conviction.
What are the fees Learn faces?
Learn faces a number of fees, probably the most critical being second-degree homicide. If she is convicted, she would face a most sentence of week in jail. She additionally faces manslaughter date working a motor car below the affect, which carries a most sentence of twenty years in jail.
She could also be charged with involuntary manslaughter, which carries a most sentence of twenty years in jail; motor car murder, which carries a most sentence of 15 years in jail; in addition to working below the affect and retirement the scene of an crash for the purpose of demise. They bring about most sentences of two 1/2 years and 15 years, respectively.
Whittle reported from Scarborough, Maine.
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