After Judge Beverly Cannon declared a mistrial, Karen Reed turned around and embraced her father, then shared hugs with her family.
A 44-year-old financial analyst accused of murdering the boyfriend of a Boston police officer, John O’Keefe, has walked free from a Dedham, Massachusetts, court two years later.
The jubilation from Reed’s side in the courtroom contrasted starkly with the tears of O’Keefe’s mother, as family and friends rubbed her shoulders and tried to comfort her.
But the saga isn’t over yet. “The Commonwealth intends to retry the case,” the prosecutor said before a smiling Reed and his defense team finished speaking to supporters and the press.
Karen Reed murder case ends with ‘deeply divided’ jury verdict
Karen Reed receives a long hug from her father, William, before the jury breaks for lunch, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. (Greg Durr/Patriot Ledger via The Associated Press, Pool)
The Massachusetts jury deliberated for nearly 26 hours and could not reach a consensus for several days.
The first of two memos sent to the judge on Monday said they were “deeply divided” by their “strong beliefs” and that “agreement cannot be reached.”
Cannone filed the controversial dynamite charge (or Allen charge), a last-ditch effort to force the jury to continue deliberating and reach a unanimous verdict.
Karen Reed trial could sink other high-profile murder cases, expert warns: ‘I don’t see why it wouldn’t’
Karen Reed smiles during a news conference outside Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, Monday, July 1, 2024. A judge declared a mistrial Monday after jurors could not agree on a case in which Reed was accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend by running him over with an SUV and leaving him in a snowstorm. (AP Photo/Stephen Sene)
The dynamite charge’s “stalemate-breaking, sentence-fixing effect is well documented,” one lawyer said. Blog Post by Texas-based law firm Varghese and Summersett.
But the system is not used in nearly two dozen states, and opponents argue it “can lead to verdicts that are not truly unanimous because jurors may change their vote due to peer pressure rather than genuine conviction,” the company said.
The result was the same: “Though we are fully committed to the duties entrusted to us, we are deeply divided by fundamental differences of opinion and sentiment,” the jury wrote in their final report to the judge.
Karen Reed smiles as her attorney, David Yannetti, speaks to reporters outside Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, Monday, July 1, 2024. A judge declared a mistrial Monday after jurors disagreed in the case of Reed, who was accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend by running him over with an SUV and leaving him in a snowstorm. (AP Photo/Stephen Sene)
Karen Reed speaks with her defense attorneys in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, on Monday, July 1, 2024. This is the fifth day of deliberations in Reed’s murder trial. Reed is accused of backing into her boyfriend, Boston Police Department officer John O’Keefe, with her SUV in Canton in 2022 and leaving him to die in a snowstorm. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via The Associated Press, Pool)
Judge Beverly Cannon looks over the verdict forms that jurors must complete if they reach a verdict during the murder trial of Karen Reed in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, June 26, 2024. The defense requested several amendments. Reed is charged with second-degree murder for the January 2022 killing of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe. (Greg Durr/Patriot Ledger via The Associated Press, Pool)
The jury deliberated for several weeks in a trial that included 74 witnesses and about 700 pieces of evidence.
Prosecutors argued that a drunken altercation in January 2022 led to an argument that turned deadly, when Reed allegedly rear-ended O’Keefe with his SUV in northeasterly winds, causing O’Keefe’s death.
Dashcam footage of the night John O’Keefe was found dead
O’Keefe’s body was found in the front yard of a powerful family with deep ties to law enforcement and prosecutors, and Reid claimed the family framed her for O’Keefe’s death in an elaborate cover-up.
The dissenting jurors were as divided as the sleepy Boston suburb of Canton, and the conflicted jurors refused to back down.
“While we are committed to the task entrusted to us, fundamental differences of opinion and sentiment have deeply divided us,” the jury said, before Judge Cannone declared a mistrial.
Now that Reed has not been found guilty or innocent, experts say here’s what could happen next.
Flags, flowers and memorials flank the headstone of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe at Blue Hill Cemetery in Braintree, Massachusetts, Thursday, June 27, 2024. On Monday, July 1, 2024, a judge declared a mistrial after jurors reached a deadlock in the case of O’Keefe’s girlfriend, Karen Reed. Reed had been accused of killing O’Keefe by running her over with an SUV and leaving her in a snowstorm. Prosecutors said in a statement they intend to retry the case. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
Judge Beverly J. Cannon, right, speaks to the defense and prosecution before the jury enters the trial of Karen Reed, Monday, July 1, 2024, at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via The Associated Press, Pool)
Option 1: The case is closed and no further charges are filed.
Reed was cleared of charges of second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in injury to another person, but only because the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict, not because they believed she was innocent.
That puts the ball in the hands of prosecutors.
They can now choose to end the two-year saga.
Karen Reed, center, listens as Judge Beverly J. Cannoni addresses the jury at the beginning of the third day of deliberations in her murder trial, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via The Associated Press, Pool)
Prosecutor Adam Lally speaks in court during jury selection in the Karen Reed trial, Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. Reed, 44, was accused of crashing her SUV with her boyfriend, a Boston Police Department officer, in northeast winds, causing his death after a night of heavy drinking. (David McGlynn/New York Post via Associated Press, Pool)
Karen Reed speaks with her attorney in court during jury selection, Thursday, April 18, 2024, at Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. Reed, 44, is accused of ramming her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in northeast winds, causing his death after a night of heavy drinking. (David McGlynn/New York Post via Associated Press, Pool)
Option 2: New trial on the same charges, new jury.
The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office quickly released a statement indicating it would reopen the case.
“We’re not going to stop fighting,” Reed’s lawyer, Alan Jackson, said.
This has once again put the two at odds, but experts point to pitfalls that could once again doom the DA’s office.
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Daniel Medwed, a professor of law and criminal justice at Northeastern University, believes prosecutors need to present more evidence if this is their choice.
“They may talk big about retrying her right after the incident,” Medwed said. Northeastern Global News.
“But ultimately, I think unless new evidence comes forward, this may be a challenge and they may not continue with the investigation.”
Supporters of Karen Reed rally outside the courthouse in Dedham, Massachusetts, on Friday, June 28, 2024. (Patriot Pics/Backgrid, courtesy of Fox News Digital)
Supporters of Karen Reed rally outside the courthouse in Dedham, Massachusetts, on Friday, June 28, 2024. Reed was facing three charges for the January 2022 murder of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe. (Patriot Pics/Backgrid, courtesy of Fox News Digital)
The situation is further complicated by an investigation into Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, who may have undermined the prosecution’s case with sexist and vulgar writing, and an ongoing audit of possible misconduct at the Canton Police Department.
“The officers’ testimony was a real shock to the state,” said Rosanna Cavallaro, a professor at Suffolk University’s law school. He told NBC 10 Boston.
“If in fact he is suspended or disciplined in any way for misconduct, it will make it very difficult for the state government to decide how to plead its case.”
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Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor testifies at the trial of Karen Reed, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. (Greg Durr/Patriot Ledger via The Associated Press, Pool)
Option 3: New trial, new jury, new indictment.
Legal expert Shira Diener told Fox News Digital that one way to avoid the potential pitfalls of retrying Reed on the murder charge is to charge him with a different crime.
Mr. Diner is a lecturer and clinical instructor at Boston University School of Law and president of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Lawyers.
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Karen Reed talks with her attorney while a jury deliberates in her murder trial, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. (Greg Durr/Patriot Ledger via The Associated Press, Pool)
“I think (the prosecution) has full control of the charges and they can prosecute them in a different way,” she said.
If prosecutors go this route, it remains to be seen what charges will be brought.
WATCH: Diner explains how Proctor’s testimony could jeopardize another murder case
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For now, the case is closed. It’s free to read.
Both sides, with their opposing supporters, will retreat to their respective corners of the ring. Families will have to reunite.
His next court appearance is scheduled for conference on July 22.
