A Plymouth County Superior Court judge declared a mistrial on Sept. 4 after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict following more than five weeks of testimony and roughly seven days of deliberations. The jury was reported to have split 11-1, with the majority prepared to find Clancy not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility.

Clancy, 36, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of her children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, at the family’s home in Duxbury on Jan. 24, 2023. The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office previously said investigators determined that the children’s deaths resulted from asphyxia and that Clancy was charged after investigators developed probable cause in the case.

Retrial decision remains unresolved

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz has not publicly announced whether prosecutors will retry Clancy following the mistrial. Options reported in connection with the case include another prosecution on the existing murder charges, pursuit of lesser charges or resolution of the case without another trial.

The Sept. 29 hearing was scheduled by Judge William Sullivan after the mistrial to address the next steps in the case.

The defense is separately seeking to prevent another trial. Clancy’s attorneys have argued that the mistrial should not permit a retrial and have invoked the constitutional protection against double jeopardy. They have also challenged aspects of the jury deliberations and the conduct of the juror who opposed the majority.

Those arguments remain claims by the defense and have not been established as findings by the court.

First trial ended without a verdict

The first trial centered heavily on whether Clancy was criminally responsible for the killings.

Her defense argued that she was experiencing postpartum psychosis and was not criminally responsible for her actions. Prosecutors acknowledged that she had experienced mental-health problems but argued that she understood what she was doing and was criminally responsible for the deaths.

The jury was unable to resolve that question unanimously. Judge Sullivan therefore declared a mistrial after the jury reported that it could not reach a verdict.

Defense seeks dismissal

Clancy’s lawyers have continued efforts to prevent the case from proceeding to a second trial.

Attorney Kevin Reddington said the defense would seek dismissal on double-jeopardy grounds, arguing that there was not sufficient legal necessity for the mistrial. A subsequent defense motion also sought a required finding of not guilty, according to reporting on the filings.

The defense has also sought access to normally confidential jury information and has challenged the circumstances surrounding the juror who prevented a unanimous verdict. The arguments concerning that juror remain disputed and should not be treated as established findings unless the court rules on them.

What happens next

Tuesday’s proceedings could clarify whether prosecutors intend to seek a second trial and how the court will address the defense motions.

A retrial has not been ordered, and prosecutors had not announced a final decision before the hearing. The court could therefore be required to resolve the defense’s legal challenges before any new trial could proceed.

The case remains pending. Clancy remains in state custody at a psychiatric facility while the legal proceedings continue.

Reporting Credit: Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office; Massachusetts Court System; court proceedings and filings reported from the Plymouth County Superior Court.

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Jury selection has begun in the retrial of Karen Read, who is accused of causing the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, less than a year after a judge declared a mistrial in the case.

Read, from Mansfield, faces charges of second-degree murder and other offenses in connection with the death of O’Keefe, a 46-year-old police veteran. O’Keefe was found unresponsive outside a house party in Canton after a night of drinking. Prosecutors claim that Read struck him with her SUV during a three-point turn just after midnight and left him to die in a snowbank, only returning hours later to find his lifeless body.

However, Read’s defense team argues that O’Keefe was killed by someone else at the party—possibly another law enforcement officer—and that Read was framed for the crime.

The original trial ended in a mistrial last year after jurors were deadlocked, with reports indicating that they were unable to reach a consensus on the charges. Several jurors later came forward, saying they had unanimously found Read not guilty of the most serious charge of second-degree murder and a lesser charge. Despite this, the judge decided to proceed with the same charges in the retrial, rejecting the defense’s arguments to dismiss the case due to alleged governmental misconduct.

In the retrial, prosecutors will again attempt to prove that Read’s actions were intentional, pointing to the couple’s strained relationship. Testimonies from O’Keefe’s family members are expected, including his brother, who testified that the couple regularly argued about issues like how Read interacted with O’Keefe’s children. The brother also claimed to have witnessed a fight between the couple in Cape Cod in 2021 and testified that Read told his wife that O’Keefe kissed another woman while they were in Aruba.

Read’s defense team plans to argue that the investigation was mishandled, highlighting the close relationships between investigators and the police officers at the party. One key figure, former State Trooper Michael Proctor, led the investigation but was fired after sending crude and sexist texts about Read. These texts are expected to play a crucial role in the defense’s strategy, as they argue that Proctor was biased against Read and failed to investigate other potential suspects.

The defense will also suggest that Read was framed and that O’Keefe was actually killed inside the house during a fight with another partygoer, before being dragged outside. They will argue that Read became a “convenient outsider” for investigators, preventing them from considering law enforcement officers as suspects.

After the mistrial, Read’s attorneys fought to have the charges dropped, claiming that the jurors had already decided she was not guilty of murder and leaving the scene. They argued that retrying her would violate the principle of double jeopardy, but the judge rejected this claim, as did both the state’s highest court and a federal judge.

The retrial will feature a new lead prosecutor, Hank Brennan, a former prosecutor and defense attorney with experience handling high-profile cases, including that of notorious gangster James “Whitey” Bulger. Experts predict that Brennan’s approach will be more forceful than that of the previous prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally.

The retrial is expected to follow a similar structure to the first, with the same judge, courthouse, and many of the same witnesses. Read’s supporters, who rallied passionately during the first trial, are once again expected to make their voices heard outside the courthouse.

Source: AP News – Jury selection begins in Karen Read’s retrial over the death of her Boston police boyfriend

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