Related: Jury in Karen Read case completes first day of deliberations
The jury heard two months of raw, emotional testimony, which included vulgar text messages sent by the lead state police investigator about Read, and agitated voicemails Read left on O’Keefe’s cellphone in the middle of the night as he lay in the snow. The case has drawn extraordinary media attention, with the trial at Norfolk Superior Court livestreamed and hundreds of pink-clad supporters gathering daily outside, often chanting “Free Karen Read.”
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In closing arguments, lawyers on each side stuck to many of the points they hit throughout the trial, which began April 29. In his address to the jury, Read attorney Alan Jackson asserted that she is being framed to cover up a murder by others in their group that night.
“You’re the only thing standing between Karen Read and the tyranny of injustice,” Jackson said.
Norfolk County prosecutor Adam Lally led his closing by quoting Read’s own words, as recalled in the testimony of several first responders who treated O’Keefe on the morning of Jan. 29, 2022.
“I hit him, I hit him, I hit him, I hit him,” Lally said. “Those were the words that came from the defendant’s mouth.”
Karen Read trial closing arguments, in five minutes
The jury deliberated for 2½ hours on Tuesday before going home. Deliberations are scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Read is charged with second-degree murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, along with manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving a scene of personal injury and death.
The prosecution maintains Read had dropped O’Keefe off at the Canton home of Brian Albert, a fellow Boston police officer, after a night of barhopping, and then backed her Lexus SUV into him in a drunken rage after an argument, and left him for dead. She discovered O’Keefe’s body the following morning, after calling two friends to help her locate him after he did not come home.
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Lally ticked through the prosecution’s main points: DNA connecting O’Keefe to a dent on the bumper of Read’s Lexus, pieces of broken tail light later found on the front lawn, and her furious voicemails. Jurors listened against as her voice screaming “John, I (expletive) hate you” boomed through the tiny wood-panel courtroom.
The stylistic differences between the lawyers were on display Tuesday: Lally, speaking in a quiet, even voice, churned through a discussion of evidence during his statement before ending on a quote from John Adams.
Related: Adrian Walker: The State Police are already big losers in the Karen Read trial
In contrast, Jackson, the defense attorney, gave a colorful, animated speech.
He repeatedly told jurors that authorities want them to “look the other way” in their effort to “deceive you.” Her defense argued Read dropped O’Keefe off and left, that he was then beaten by people in the house owned by Albert, who was in court on Tuesday, sitting with O’Keefe’s family. The defense said O’Keefe was left to die outside, possibly after also being bitten by Albert’s dog, Chloe, a German shepherd.
Jackson noted that State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in the case, texted that officials would put “serious charges on the girl.” He also sent crude texts about Read and noted that Albert was a police officer as he said the homeowner wouldn’t face blowback.
Jackson said police lied “over and over and over” in the case, manipulated evidence, and exhorted the jury to “pay no attention, look the other way.” He said the jury saw a “coverup” unfold “right before your eyes.”
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The jury includes 14 people, 12 of whom will deliberate, plus two alternates. Court staff used a large wooden tumbler to draw the names of the alternates.
Related: John O’Keefe’s loved ones are focused on remembering a ‘good man.’
Jurors were specifically chosen for their lack of exposure and opinions on the case, and, as is in every trial, they’ve been forbidden to talk about it or read up on it. As such, the deliberations are the first time the 12 had the chance to do what many others in the Boston area have been doing for the past few months: talking about the case and debating what happened.
After closing arguments, Read was met by a roar from a large crowd of supporters when she appeared outside the courthouse. She and her defense team fought through a scrum of media dozens deep, and at one point she was surrounded by a circle of people with hands joined. Read crossed the street and walked up a sidewalk lined with screaming fans, cheering her as if she were a rock star arriving on stage.
Some sat in camping chairs or posted signs on the open trunks of their cars, as if tailgating at a sports game. Many attended every day of the trial, sometimes arriving at dawn. Others traveled from out of state, including Florida and Michigan.
Lindsey Smith, 35, posed for a photo outside the courthouse after Read entered. “No photos,” a state trooper told her, but Smith wasn’t going to miss her opportunity — she had come from Frisco, Texas, for this.
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Her black tank top and cap read “Jackson-Yannetti 2024,” referring to the defense team that also includes attorney David Yannetti, a Boston lawyer.
”I get emotional about it,“ Smith admitted. “I’m actually really a nervous wreck about it.”
Sarah Theriault, 45, drove four hours from Vermont to show her support for Read. It was her fourth time making the trek, she said, and she plans to return Wednesday.
“I’ve always been into true crime, and this case was the most corrupt case that I’ve been able to come witness,” she said. “I think it’s important that corruption is brought to light and that we can’t let cops dictate everything. I support the blue all the way, but this is not supporting the blue.”
Theriault wore a black tank top and shorts but wore hot pink shoes, earrings, and bracelets to show her support for Read. As she spoke, a small group of children in pink dresses, bows, and baseball caps ran by.
One of them, a little girl, had a question for her mom, sitting on a lawn chair nearby: “Can we go home now?”
Globe correspondents Natalie LaRoche Petri and Madison Hahamy contributed.
Sean Cotter can be reached at sean.cotter@globe.com. Follow him @cotterreporter. Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com. Madeline Khaw can be reached at maddie.khaw@globe.com. Follow her @maddiekhaw.
