April 28 (UPI) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected Karen Read’s petition for a writ of certiorari and is refusing to review her case.
Read, who is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of her police officer boyfriend after a night of drinking, had asked the Supreme Court to intervene in her case earlier this month over what she claimed was double jeopardy. On Monday, the high court released a list of “certiorari denied” decisions, with Read’s case included.
Prosecutors allege Read, 45, intentionally backed her SUV into her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, two years ago during a snowstorm. She was charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. Read pleaded not guilty to the charges and accused law enforcement and others of trying to frame her.
Read, who is currently in the second week of her retrial, appealed to the Supreme Court to drop the charges of murder and leaving the scene on the grounds of double jeopardy. Defense attorneys argued jurors in her first trial agreed to acquit her on the two charges and were only undecided on manslaughter.
Martin Weinberg, an attorney for Read, argued in the petition that jurors were not told by Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone that they could return a partial verdict.
“The jury’s not guilty verdicts were not announced because the trial court, believing but not confirming that the impasse reported in a series of three juror notes applied to all, rather than only some, counts, never inquired regarding the scope of the deadlock and the jurors failed to volunteer to the trial court that their impasse was limited to one of the three counts rather than all,” Weinberg wrote.
The judge declared a mistrial in the case last July after jurors said they could not reach a verdict due to “deeply held convictions that each of us carry.”
On Monday, Read’s retrial resumed with testimony from Ian Whiffing, a digital forensics examiner from Cellebrite, as the prosecution continued to call key witnesses.
Whiffing testified that health data from O’Keefe’s cell phone indicated he died around 6:04 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2022, as it did not register any additional movement.
