Supreme Court declines to hear Karen Read's double jeopardy appeal
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Karen Read speaks to the media at Karen Read's second murder trial on April 22. Photo: Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald
The nation's highest court declined to hear Karen Read's double jeopardy appeal.
Why it matters: Read has exhausted virtually all her legal options to get two of the three charges against her dropped before a second jury can weigh in.
Catch up quick: Read's attorneys have tried for months to get two charges dismissed against her in the killing of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, to no avail.
- Read's attorneys say jurors told them they agreed she was innocent of all but one charge, but that they were confused about how to present a partial verdict and ultimately said they couldn't reach consensus.
- Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial and oversaw proceedings as the state sought to try Read again.
Between the lines: If the Supreme Court agreed to take up the case, Cannone would have had to pause the second trial, per NBC Boston.
State of play: Read's second trial is underway after her attorney's failed attempts to have the Supreme Court delay the start of the trial due to their pending request.
- Read is accused of hitting O'Keefe with her SUV outside the home of Boston Police Officer Brian Albert and leaving O'Keefe to die Jan. 29, 2022.
The latest: A digital forensics expert testified Monday morning about Jennifer McCabe's iPhone search history when she and Read went searching for O'Keefe hours after he died.
Flashback: McCabe, Albert's sister in law, was at a bar with Read and O'Keefe the night of his death and an after-party at the Alberts' house.
- McCabe initially told the grand jury she heard Read ask out loud, "Did I hit him?" She later said during the first trial that Read said "I hit him," per WBZ.
Cannone spent the afternoon hearing testimony from two crash expert witnesses from the firm ARCCA without the jury present.
- Two witnesses from the firm, Daniel Wolfe and Andrew Rentschler, were initially hired by federal prosecutors and testified about the damage to Read's SUV in the first trial.
- Since then, Cannone and prosecutors have raised concerns about the defense not disclosing they paid ARCCA and failing to turn over deleted text messages between ARCCA and the defense to prosecutors.
What we're watching: Cannone asked Rentschler if ARCCA could complete a second report that's in the works.
- Rentschler said the firm could expedite the process if they receive a court order, per MassLive.