The Karen Read saga will continue to drag on, as the murder defendant’s second trial has been delayed until the spring.
Both the Norfolk DA’s Office and Read’s attorneys asked for the postponement from January until April, and Judge Beverly Cannone granted the joint request on Monday.
“Endorsement on Motion to continue trial date (Commonwealth and Defense Joint Motion), (#402.0): ALLOWED,” reads the judge’s ruling.
“The parties are to jointly propose a scheduling order for the court to consider on December 12, 2024,” Cannone added.
Read’s first trial earlier this year ended in a mistrial. She has been charged in Norfolk Superior Court with second-degree murder (Count 1), motor vehicle manslaughter (Count 2), and leaving the scene of a collision causing death (Count 3).
She’s accused of mowing down her boyfriend of two years, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, with her SUV and leaving him to freeze and die on a Canton front lawn in the early morning of Jan. 29, 2022.
A trial ended on July 1 with a hung jury. Read’s attorneys shortly after the first trial ended said that jurors came forward to say that they were unanimously ready to acquit Read on Counts 1 and 3, and were only hung on Count 2 but didn’t know how to indicate a partial verdict.
This information, Read’s team argues, means she should only be retried on the manslaughter charge in the upcoming proceedings. Cannone disagreed and denied their motion, so Read’s team has taken it to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Meanwhile last month, both Read’s lawyers and the Norfolk DA’s Office filed a joint motion to continue the trial date from Jan. 27 to April 1, 2025.
The motion was from Read’s attorneys, Alan Jackson and David Yannetti, along with the special prosecutor for the Norfolk DA’s Office, Hank Brennan.
“The joint request will allow both the Commonwealth and defense adequate time to prepare for the trial, accommodate the schedule of new witnesses, including expert witnesses, will allow for the testing and disclosures by the experts timely before trial, and will result in a far more efficient and streamlined presentation of evidence by both parties,” the Norfolk DA’s special prosecutor and Read’s defense attorneys wrote.
The Norfolk DA’s Office also filed a notice that they intend to re-test forensic evidence ahead of the second trial.
“Further, the Commonwealth has provided notice to the defense that it has retained a biomechanical engineer who is expected to testify at trial,” reads the joint motion.
The Norfolk DA’s Office also said new experts will likely testify during the second trial, and the defense will need time to respond to such experts.
The joint motion reads, “The Commonwealth is doing everything in its power to be as expeditious as possible to properly prepare for this trial and ensure the defendant is given a fair trial.”