Jurors in the Karen Read trial said that they can’t come to an agreement over whether the ex college professor murdered her cop boyfriend.
The jurors – six men and six women – wrote a note Monday morning on their fifth day of deliberations telling a judge they haven’t been able to reach a unanimous verdict.
The jurors first told the judge on Friday morning that they couldn’t agree.
At the time, Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone found the panelists hadn’t been at it long enough to declare a mistrial and instructed them to return to deliberations.
Cannone called a brief recess after hearing from Read’s lawyers who said the jury had conducted thorough deliberations while prosecutors said considering the length and breadth of the case, they still needed more time.
In all the panel members have been conducting their decision making process for roughly 23 hours.
If convicted of second-degree murder, Read faces up to life in prison.
Read, 44, is accused of mowing down her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, with her Lexus SUV and leaving him for dead outside of a Canton, Mass. home in a snowstorm.
After the quick break, Cannone brought jurors in to read them an additional instruction before telling them to continue deliberating.