Jurors resume deliberations in the Karen Read trial after saying they could not reach unanimous verdict

The jury in the Karen Read murder trial resumed deliberating Monday morning, after saying Friday they could not reach a unanimous verdict.

The jury in the Karen Read murder trial resumed deliberating Monday morning, after the Massachusetts judge overseeing the case ordered the panel to persist – despite a note from jurors saying they could not reach a unanimous verdict. Jurors in the trial of Read, who is accused of drunkenly driving into her police officer boyfriend and leaving him to die in January 2022, sent the note to the court shortly after midday Friday, saying, “Despite our exhaustive review of the evidence and our diligent consideration of all disputed evidence, we have been unable to reach unanimous verdict.” After hearing arguments from the prosecution and defense, Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone asked the jury to continue to deliberate, which it did until shortly after 4 p.m. Friday. Deliberations resumed at 9 a.m. The jury of six men and six women has been deliberating Read’s fate since midday last Tuesday. The case has featured accusations of a vast police cover-up as well as improper conduct and sexist text messages from a lead investigator. The prosecution and defense both weighed in on the jury’s note, asking the judge to consider different outcomes in her decision on what to tell the jury. “It is far, far, far too early in their deliberative process to even consider giving them any kind of Tuey-Rodriguez instruction or anything close to that,” Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally said, referring to a special set of Massachusetts instructions that are read to a jury when jurors are unable to agree on a verdict. “The note doesn’t really indicate affirmatively that they can’t come to a conclusion, it just says they haven’t come to a conclusion through their deliberative process at this time.”