A Boston judge has added another twist to the never-ending roller coaster that is Karen Read’s murder trial – by extending an order impounding the jury list indefinitely.
In her decision on Thursday, Judge Beverly Cannone cited one juror’s “credible” and “reasonable fear for their safety and the safety of their family.”
“I am frightened for my personal safety as a result of learning that someone associated with this case has been criminally charged with intimidation,” the concerned juror named as “Juror Doe,” said in an affidavit filed in the Norfolk Superior court.
Cannone’s move to indefinitely impound the jury list — which prohibits the release of the jurors’ names and identifying information — is unusual, according to Boston Attorney Brett Levy, owner of a criminal defense law firm. Levy said he hasn’t seen an order like it in his 30 years of practicing law.
“Basically it just means that their information is going to be not available to the public,” he told The Post of the judge’s order.
“When you pick a jury, you get a list of names – you get their biographical information, you get their jobs, you get all of this information, so you can do some research on them…,” Levy explained. “So presumably, the defense and the prosecution has all of that information [and the impoundment order says] anybody who has that information would not be allowed to disseminate it or make it known to the public or anybody else.“
Though Cannone didn’t name names in acknowledging the juror’s “credible” concerns, it’s public knowledge that Aidan Kearney, a blogger known as “Turtleboy,” was arrested last fall on witness intimidation charges in connection to the Read case.
What to know about the Karen Read murder case
- Karen Read, 44, was charged with second-degree murder for allegedly mowing down her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, as she was dropping him off to meet friends in Canton, Mass., on Jan. 29, 2022.
- The night of O’Keefe’s death, the couple had been out on a bar crawl, with Read allegedly consuming seven drinks in just 90 minutes, according to reports.
- Prosecutors claim that after Read drunkenly ran over her boyfriend, she drove off and left O’Keefe to die outside as a snowstorm was set to sweep in.
- Read’s lawyers argued she was framed in a sweeping law enforcement cover-up and that O’Keefe actually died after getting into an altercation with his officer friends.
- The two-month trial that had 74 witnesses featured stunning revelations, including “unprofessional” messages by the lead detective, and crowds of fawning supporters who cheered Read outside court each day.
- On July 1, 2024, Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial in the case, since the jury was not able to reach a unanimous verdict after five days of deliberations.
- Read faced up to life in prison if she had been convicted on the top count of murder.
Kearney allegedly harassed witnesses by filming himself while calling them at their homes and confronting them at their places of work, the special prosecutor in the case said.
The judge’s order comes after Read’s legal team filed motions to dismiss two of the three criminal charges against her in connection with the alleged murder of her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe.
Read’s murder trial ended in a mistrial on July 1 as a result of a deadlocked jury.
The Norfolk District attorney’s office said it plans to retry Read, which could happen as soon as July 22 – despite her attorney’s argument that the retrial should not be allowed – calling the state’s push for her conviction “grossly unfair.”
Read was accused by prosecutors of striking O’Keefe with her SUV and leaving his body out in the snow in Canton, MA in January 2022.
But her defense team said she is a victim of framing, claiming that O’Keefe was beaten inside the home of a friend and then moved outside and left to die.
“This case has garnered significant and divisive attention in Massachusetts and across the nation. Individuals associated with this case have been charged with intimidation,” Cannone said in her decision Thursday.