Jurors' questions in Karen Read retrial signal potential good news for defense

The archetypal acceptable of jurors' questions sent backmost to the tribunal successful Karen Read's retrial could beryllium a affirmative motion for her defence – astatine slightest arsenic it pertains to the astir superior complaint she faces, experts say.

Judge Beverly Cannone work the 3 questions successful tribunal astir 11 a.m. Tuesday:

1. "What is the timeframe for the OUI (operating nether the influence) charge? 12:45 oregon 5 a.m.?"
2. "Are video clips of Karen's interviews evidence?"
3. "Does convicting blameworthy connected a subcharge, for illustration discourtesy 2 No. 5, convict the wide charge?"

KAREN READ'S VERDICT COULD COME FAST – OR NOT: HERE'S WHAT OTHER CASES SHOW

Karen Read leaves Norfolk Superior Court arsenic assemblage deliberations begin, Tuesday, June 17, 2025, successful Dedham, Mass. (Richard Beetham for Fox News Digital)

"No uncertainty the defence is elated," said Jack Lu, a retired Massachusetts justice and Boston College instrumentality professor.

Questions 1 and 3 are favorable for the defense, Lu told Fox News Digital, portion 2 is "neutral." All 3 bespeak jurors are considering a lesser included complaint alternatively than the apical number of first-degree murder.

Read is accused of sidesplitting her then-boyfriend John O'Keefe' successful a drunken hit-and-run connected Jan. 29, 2022 extracurricular a enactment successful Canton, Massachusetts.

WATCH: Karen Read recounts nighttime of drinking astatine section barroom successful 2024 tv interview

Mark Bederow, a New York City-based defence lawyer who represents Read state and Canton blogger Aidan Kearney, said the questions would person been addressed if the defence question for an amended assemblage gaffe wasn't rejected Monday.

KAREN READ'S DEFENSE WANT VERDICT SLIP SIMPLIFIED AS JURORS DELIBERATE MURDER CHARGE

"It does look that the assemblage is wholly focused connected OUI based connected each 3 questions," helium said. "This encapsulates the occupation with the number 2 gaffe and appears to beryllium a repetition of what happened astatine the archetypal proceedings – erstwhile a confused assemblage seemingly acquitted connected each homicide charges and got confused with the convoluted instructions connected the number 2 lessers."

WATCH: Karen Read jurors sent 3 questions to justice arsenic deliberations continue

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Read's archetypal proceedings ended successful a hung assemblage past twelvemonth aft jurors went much than 25 hours implicit 4 days without reaching an agreement.

Defense lawyer David Yannetti warned that the existing verdict gaffe has a "real imaginable to confuse the assemblage and origin errors" – focusing connected Count 2 – the drunken driving manslaughter charge. The gaffe indicates that jurors tin find her not blameworthy of the complaint and a bid of included lesser offenses, oregon they tin find her individually blameworthy of 3 less-serious crimes ranging from involuntary manslaughter to drunken driving.

Karen Read and John O'Keefe airs for an undated photograph. (Karen Read)

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Read addressed her drinking successful the hours earlier O'Keefe's decease successful a documentary interrogation played astatine trial.

"The drinks that they were pouring maine astatine McCarthy's, which was wherever I consumed astir of the alcohol, was the weakest vodka tonic," she told the camera. "It tasted conscionable similar each soda h2o with lime, not that I request it to beryllium a martini, but it mightiness person a splash of vodka successful it."

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Officer John O’Keefe poses for his authoritative headshot. O’Keefe’s girlfriend, Karen Reed, is presently connected proceedings for execution aft helium was recovered dormant extracurricular of a Massachusetts location successful January 2022. (Boston Police Department)

Read's blood-alcohol level was estimated to beryllium astir .09% erstwhile she was hospitalized for a intelligence wellness cheque pursuing the find of O'Keefe's remains. Nine hours earlier, astatine the clip of his death, it was estimated to beryllium importantly higher, though the defence argued she could person continued to portion aft returning home.

"That tells maine they are focusing connected however intoxicant played a relation successful this case, which is what the past assemblage recovered important also," said Grace Edwards, a Massachusetts defence lawyer who is pursuing the case.

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Read faces up to beingness successful situation if convicted connected the astir superior complaint – second-degree murder. Some of the OUI-related charges besides transportation multi-year penalties, Edwards said.