A Massachusetts jury has begun its second full day of deliberations in the second murder trial of Karen Read, the woman accused of hitting her police officer boyfriend with her SUV and leaving him for dead in 2022.
The 12-person panel has deliberated for more than nine hours and has not yet reached a decision on Read’s fate. They are scheduled to be back in court at 9 a.m. local time.
Read, 45, has pleaded not guilty to three charges: second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death.
Prosecutors accuse Read of backing into Boston police officer John O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV and leaving him to die in the snow after a night out drinking. O’Keefe’s body was found outside the house of another law enforcement officer.
Read’s defense claims police officers in the house beat O’Keefe, threw his body out in the snow and purposely bungled the investigation as part of a cover-up.
The deliberations come nearly a year after the prosecution’s first case against Read ended in a mistrial, when a jury could not come to a unanimous verdict on the charges against her.
Catch up with our coverage and analysis from the most pivotal moments of the retrial.
The high-profile whodunnit has sparked massive intrigue from true crime fans across the country, spurring an array of podcasts, movies and television shows. On Monday, crowds of people gathered outside the courthouse and cheered in support of Read as they awaited a verdict.
Contributing: Karissa Waddick
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jury in Karen Read trial begins second full day of deliberations
Karen Read, John O’Keefe, murder trial, deliberations, police officer, law enforcement officer
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