With the murder trial of Karen Read winding down on Tuesday and jury deliberations started, her supporters dressed in pink waited in anticipation for the verdict.
Jurors left the courthouse shortly before 4:30 p.m. without reaching a decision. Deliberation will continue on Wednesday.
“Is the jury out?” Pauline McGowan, of Londonderry, N.H., asked a fellow spectator as she sat in the shade outside the courthouse. Like many in the crowd of several hundred, she was clad in pink, a show of support for Read.
On the blocks outside Dedham’s Norfolk County Superior Court, Read’s supporters — known collectively as the “Free Karen” movement — lounged on lawn chairs and blankets as they listened to closing arguments.
In some spots, crowds of several dozen packed around radios or laptops streaming the trial.
Read, 44, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe, who was found cold to the touch and unresponsive on Jan. 29, 2022, outside of a home in Canton.
For more than a year, the case has gained national attention for the defense’s claims that Read is being framed and that others are responsible for O’Keefe’s death.
Outside the courthouse on Tuesday, Canton residents Eleanor and Ron Boudreau said they’ve watched the case closely from Florida and Tuesday was the first time they were able to attend in person.
Jennifer Pray, right, of Quincy, takes a picture of Colleen Egan, of Weymouth, holding signs in support of Karen Read outside Read’s murder trial at Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., June 25, 2024.Will Katcher/MassLive
“This thing is huge. You live in town and you want to know what’s going on,” Eleanor Boudreau said. “Everybody’s talking about it. It’s important.”
Other people shared their theories of the case and discussed the various legal motions, hearings and witness testimonies from the 2-year-old case.
Barbara Jones, of Taunton, listed the many elements of the prosecution’s case she doubted: O’Keefe’s injuries that investigators said came from Read’s SUV, the claim by police that they found shattered pieces of the car’s tail light near O’Keefe’s body, testimony that the couple’s relationship had soured.
“Everyone has arguments with their boyfriend,” Jones said. “That’s not motive.”
If Read is acquitted, “I’ll be happy for her,” Jones said. It’ll be “justice,” her friend, George Doyer, also of Taunton, said.
And if Read is convicted, Jones was adamant: “Total bull—.”
Some in the crowd had followed the case for a year or more — well before the jury selection began in mid-April.
“What are we going to do after this?” Colleen Egan, of Weymouth, wondered.
A truck parked down the street from Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham bears multiple homemade signs showing support for Karen Read on the day of closing arguments in her trial. (Tréa Lavery/MassLive)Tréa Lavery/MassLive
Shannon French, of Townsend, said she believed the jury would find Read not guilty. She expected the verdict to come in quickly because of all of the evidence, “or lack thereof,” she said.
Peabody resident, Kim Marino, said she’s watched the trial since day one and she felt it important to come to the courthouse on Tuesday for closing arguments “to be part of history, especially as a woman,” and called in sick to work so she could be there.
Marino said working in healthcare, she had seen people lose loved ones and her “heart aches” for Read.
“I’d say she’s 110% innocent, but you never know with the jury,” Marino said. “Your life is in their hands, literally. You can give them all the information and it’s what they take away from it.”
One man held a homemade sign saying “Now get the bad guys.”
Sarah Spahiu, of Braintree, said she and a friend from work spent their lunch break every day watching the trial. Now that school is out, they’re able to watch even more, she said.
While they had not been able to attend the trial in person before, Spahiu said she texted her friend Tuesday morning saying they should go that day to show their support.
Seated outside Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., supporters of Karen Read follow a video stream of her trial as it unfolds on June 25, 2024.Will Katcher/MassLive
“If this was a man, this wouldn’t be happening,” she said. “They think she’s voiceless and unintelligent. I think it has to do with misogyny and men thinking women aren’t capable of defending themselves. … She was the easiest target.”
She said watching the trial had led her to question a lot about the justice system.
“This is the great state of Massachusetts. We’re supposed to feel like we can trust cops, but I have to worry about people like (Trooper) Michael Proctor going through my phone looking for nudes,” she said.
Proctor, one of the case’s lead investigators, texted his colleagues and bosses at the state police that he was going through Read’s cell phone during the investigation looking for “nudes” and called Read “retarded” in the same text.
Spahiu said while she believed Read was not guilty and agreed with many of her supporters, she did not like the angry rhetoric she had seen from some. She said she believes it doesn’t help people to disparage others, and it’s better to use kindness.
“No matter what happens, someone’s family is going to feel the brunt of all this,” she said. “I don’t want anybody to feel that way.”
Jennifer Pray of Quincy has been attending in person throughout the trial, and said it was exciting being able to contribute to the community of Read supporters and participate in a cause she believes in.
“It’s cool seeing her come in and out [of the courthouse],” she said. “We can give her the love to start the morning. I can’t believe we’re doing something real right now.”
Jennifer Pray, of Quincy, said: “In the end, it’s about him. It’s about John. A Boston Police officer died on someone’s lawn.”
