A judge in Massachusetts reprimanded Karen Read on Wednesday after she appeared to make a face during a conversation over critical evidence as the jury deliberated for verdict at the high-profile murder trial.
A screen showed Read seated, largely hidden by her lawyer Alan Jackson who was standing and facing the judge. An uneasy hush filled the courtroom as both sides awaited the jury’s verdict.
Suddenly, Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone stopped and said: “Excuse me. This is funny, Ms. Read?”
The back of Read’s head could be seen shaking back and forth.
The judge responded: “All right, we’re done.”
It wasn’t clear what prompted Cannone to reprimand Read.
Jackson was contesting the verdict sheet that the jury must fill out, arguing that the wording would unfairly steer jurors toward a guilty verdict.
Later, the judge took an unusual step of reconsidering a question from Jackson about the verdict sheet. She instructed the jury in further detail to parse what was meant and then how they felt about whether Webster’s actions met this standard so as to reach their conclusion. The judge also provided them with an updated version of the form to avoid such bias.
Read is accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, by running him over as he walked down the street after a night out drinking. They say she then abandoned O’Keefe to freeze in the snow and a storm on January 28, 2022 It was a grim recitation of the events as they allegedly unfolded and described an utter indifference to O’Keefe’s life by his attackers, prosecutors have said.
Read faces life in prison if convicted. There was a sense of gravitas in the charge and potential sentence at play, making that courtroom even more tense than it would be under ordinary circumstances.
Tuesday the jury deliberated for 3 hours, and still again today into its second day. The defense, the prosecution, and those observing testimony across six days are all eagerly awaiting their verdict. The case has attracted wide media attention because of the violent circumstances and involvement of law enforcement.
