Karen Read Trial Bombshell: The Defense Files a Motion to Dismiss, Claiming the Jurors Had a Unanimous 'Not Guilty' on the Murder Charge
It's been exactly seven days since a mistrial was declared in the most celebrated trial in the lifetime of any living Masshole. At the time, I tried to remind everyone not to buy into the speculation from anyone claiming they knew the numbers of how the jury broke down along Guilty/Not Guilty lines:
People have been speculating about what the breakdown was in terms of numbers, and were predicting it was one lone juror holding out, like Henry Fonda in 12 Angry Men. I rejected that wholeheartedly because the only people walking the Earth who knew what was going on in that room were the jurors themselves. The very last thing that happens in a trial is the Court Officers swear and oath that they will guard the door. That they will "not speak to the jurors yourself nor suffer anyone else to speak to them, unless by order of the court." I got sworn in with those words literally hundreds of times and kept the oath. One, because there's absolutely no upside to breaking it. And because jobs are on the line. Anyone interfering with a deliberating jury is committing career suicide, even if it's a shoplifting case. Why would anyone want to risk their job and pension when it's the most talked about Massachusetts trial of our lifetimes?
And as it turned out, this is another case of "Right again, Old Balls." Which we'll get to in a minute.
If anyone thought this would be the last we'd hear of the court case that has dominated practically every social interaction we've been having for the last few months, they had another thing coming. Because after a week spent celebrating the blessings of liberty and the rights of the individual over powerful governments, Karen Read's defense team unleashed fireworks in the form of a court filing:
Source - Lawyers for Karen Read filed a motion to dismiss two of the three criminal charges that she faces in connection with the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe.
Read’s defense team states it received “unsolicited communications” from three of the 12 jurors who deliberated in her first trial, “indicating in no uncertain terms that the jury had a firm 12-0 agreement that Ms. Read was not guilty of two of the three charges against her, including the charge of murder in the second degree.”
The filing states that the jury also unanimously believed that Read was not guilty of count three, which is leaving the scene of a fatal crash.
Emphasis mine. Because if this is provably true?
There's a lot to unpack here. And some of it suggests the handling of the trial was mismanaged at the very least. And at most, was part of a broader effort to tamper with jury.
Beginning with the confusing, contentious nature of the verdict slip that I wrote about after the jury began deliberating:
Next, is a theory that's been floated out there over the past few days:
That, while the trial was still underway, three of the jurors reported to Judge Cannone that one of the others was repeatedly talking shit about Karen Read. Despite daily reminders from the judge not to discuss the case in any way until all the evidence is in and they've been ordered to begin deliberations. This is Standard Operating Procedure in any court proceedings. But these three alleged this one particular juror was in violation and brought it to the court's attention.
Weeks ago juror #5 was dismissed for unknown reasons. After she was called up by Judge Cannone these same three jurors – 2, 3, and 13 – were also called to speak with Cannone. The three of them reported juror #5 for something she said that led to her disqualification. It’s unknown what exactly they heard juror 5 say.
Coincidentally these same 3 women, the most obviously not guilty votes on the jury, were all eliminated as jurors last Tuesday. First juror #3 was called in front of Cannone after she was reported for allegedly talking about the case at a bar a month prior. They waited until closing arguments to report this to the judge. She seemed very upset and denied any wrongdoing.
It’s notable that the Massachusetts State Police are in charge of juror security. This means that an employee of the same organization that Karen Read’s defense team is framing her for John O’Keefe’s murder, is in charge of deciding who gets kicked off her jury.
So of the three who narc'd on their fellow juror, one was dismissed over a conversation in a bar a month earlier. One she denied having, claiming her friends know enough not to even bother asking. The other two, ended up being chosen as the alternates. Which is supposed to be a completely random process. Courtrooms in Massachusetts literally have a rotating drum, like the kind they use at the Knights of Columbus for calling Bingo. Essentially, the conspiracy theorists argue that the clerk pulled the old NBA Patrick Ewing Frozen Envelope trick:
… to eliminate what looked like three solid Not Guilty votes off the jury.
Even if you don't buy into the theory - and it is an absolute wild accusation and would be a major scandal if it's ever proven - it's not hard to see the inherent conflict of interest when the very law enforcement department that's entrusted with jury security is the one that being accused of acting in bad faith by the defense. In fact, the MA State Police's lead investigator is facing a disciplinary hearing for his handling of this case on the very same day this motion was filed:
NBC Boston - There is a duty status hearing Monday to help determine the future of the lead investigator in the Karen Read case.
Massachusetts State Police trooper Michael Proctor is already the subject of an internal investigation after sending vulgar and demeaning texts about Read to his family, friends and fellow troopers.
He was relieved of his duties last week.
And yet for all of this about the three solid Not Guiltys being removed from the jury, the three who reached out to the defense team with “unsolicited communications” were part of the deliberations. They were in the room where it happened. And they're speaking out to say Karen Read had the votes to skate on these charges and put this whole horrifying ordeal in her rearview once and for all.
Right now, we don't know for sure. Though there are all sorts of ramifications for the defense team if they're lying. Just like there are for the prosecution's witnesses if they pushed a false narrative during the investigation or perjured themselves on the witness stand. All of which helps explain why no one in this state can shut up about this whole sordid affair. The stakes are just that high.
My guess is we're still in the early stages of where this is all headed. Strap in. We're going to be here a while.