Jury deliberation is under way in the high-profile murder trial of Karen Read, a woman accused of killing her boyfriend, a Boston police officer.
Closing arguments from both sides concluded earlier on Tuesday following a two-month-long trial that has captivated Massachusetts and triggered a wave of conspiracy theories.
A jury of six men and six women will now decide whether Read, 44, murdered John O’Keefe, 46, in an act of domestic violence, or whether she was framed by corrupt authorities trying to cover up the killing.
O’Keefe, a veteran police officer, was found dead on 29 January 2022, outside the home of Brian Albert, a recently retired Boston police officer who had hosted a party in the suburb of Canton.
O’Keefe was pronounced dead hours later, having sustained multiple head injuries – including a skull fracture and brain bleed – as well as hypothermia, according to investigators.
Prosecutors allege Read, a former adjunct professor at Bentley College, struck O’Keefe with her SUV after an argument and that she drunkenly fled the scene, leaving him to die in a snowbank.
Read pleaded not guilty to charges including second-degree murder, manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of a deadly crash.
Her lawyers say she is the victim of an elaborate cover-up, and have attempted to present to the jury a tale of police corruption in which a tightly knit circle of law enforcement officials framed Read.
Defense lawyer Alan Jackson, in his closing arguments on Tuesday, said O’Keefe had been beaten up in the basement of Albert’s home and attacked by a dog before being dragged outside.
The defense argued that police had conspired through fabricated evidence and false testimony to “frame” Read.
“Ladies and gentlemen, there was a cover-up in this case, plain and simple,” Jackson told jurors, according to WCVB.
Prosecutor Adam Lally began his closing argument by citing witness testimony that reported hearing Read say “I hit him” the morning O’Keefe’s body was found. “Those were the words that came from the defendant’s mouth,” he told jurors.
Prosectors also pointed to a voice message Read left for O’Keefe moments after her car was recorded driving in reverse and then leaving the scene.
“What the constellation of the facts and the evidence ineluctably demonstrate here is that the defendant drove her vehicle in reverse at 24.2mph for 62.5ft, struck Mr O’Keefe, causing those catastrophic head injuries, leaving him incapacitated and freezing him to death,” Lally told jurors, according to CNN.
The prosecution’s case has been hampered by a series of missteps, including text messages from the lead investigator in the case, Massachusetts state trooper Michael Proctor, calling Read a “wack job” and saying he wished she would “kill herself”, according to AP.
Jurors deliberated for less than three hours before adjourning for the day, and are expected to return on Wednesday morning.
