A jury found Karen Read not guilty of second-degree murder Wednesday in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend but guilty of a lesser charge of drunk driving.
The jury handed down its decision after deliberating for at least 22 hours since June 13.
The verdict in the polarizing and highly watched case comes nearly a year after a separate jury deadlocked over Read’s involvement in the January 2022 death of John O’Keefe and resulted in a judge declaring a mistrial.
It’s a huge victory for Read’s lawyers, who have long asserted she was framed by police after dropping O’Keefe off at a party at the home of a fellow officer. Prosecutors argued the 45-year-old Read hit O’Keefe, 46, with her SUV before driving away, but the defense maintained O’Keefe was killed inside the home and later dragged outside.
Read faced charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene outside Boston. A second-degree murder conviction would have carried a life sentence.
Much like during the first trial, attorneys spent months presenting their case, featuring hundreds of pieces of evidence and dozens of witnesses.
This story was originally published by the Associated Press.
