Karen Learn retrial: First jury questions may favor protection, specialists say

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The primary set of jurors' questions despatched again to the court docket in Karen Read's retrial might be a constructive signal for her protection – a minimum of because it pertains to probably the most severe cost she faces, specialists say.

Choose Beverly Cannone learn the three questions in court docket round 11 a.m. Tuesday:

"What's the timeframe for the OUI (working below the affect) cost? 12:45 or 5 a.m.?" "Are video clips of Karen's interviews proof?" "Does convicting responsible on a subcharge, for instance offense 2 No. 5, convict the general cost?" KAREN READ'S VERDICT COULD COME FAST – OR NOT: HERE'S WHAT OTHER CASES SHOW

<source media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/06/672/378/karen-read-boston-ma-retrial-john-okeefe-day-36-006.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/06/1344/756/karen-read-boston-ma-retrial-john-okeefe-day-36-006.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="378" width="672"><source media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/06/931/523/karen-read-boston-ma-retrial-john-okeefe-day-36-006.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/06/1862/1046/karen-read-boston-ma-retrial-john-okeefe-day-36-006.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="523" width="931"> Karen Learn leaves Norfolk Superior Court docket as jury deliberations start, Tuesday, June 17, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Richard Beetham for Fox Information Digital)

"Little question the protection is elated," stated Jack Lu, a retired Massachusetts choose and Boston Faculty legislation professor.

Questions one and three are favorable for the protection, Lu instructed Fox Information Digital, whereas two is "impartial." All three point out jurors are considering a lesser included cost somewhat than the highest depend of first-degree homicide.

Learn is accused of killing her then-boyfriend John O'Keefe' in a drunken hit-and-run on Jan. 29, 2022 exterior a celebration in Canton, Massachusetts.

WATCH: Karen Learn recounts evening of ingesting at native bar in 2024 tv interview

Mark Bederow, a New York Metropolis-based protection legal professional who represents Learn ally and Canton blogger Aidan Kearney, stated the questions would have been addressed if the protection movement for an amended jury slip wasn't rejected Monday.

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

"It does seem that the jury is solely centered on OUI based mostly on all three questions," he stated. "This encapsulates the issue with the depend 2 slip and seems to be a repeat of what occurred on the first trial – when a confused jury seemingly acquitted on all murder fees and acquired confused with the convoluted directions on the depend 2 lessers."

WATCH: Karen Learn jurors despatched 3 questions to guage as deliberations proceed

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Learn's first trial led to a hung jury final 12 months after jurors went greater than 25 hours over 4 days with out reaching an settlement.

Protection legal professional David Yannetti warned that the prevailing verdict slip has a "actual potential to confuse the jury and trigger errors" – specializing in Depend 2 – the drunken driving manslaughter cost. The slip signifies that jurors can discover her not responsible of the cost and a sequence of included lesser offenses, or they will discover her individually responsible of three less-serious crimes starting from involuntary manslaughter to drunken driving.

Karen Learn and John O'Keefe pose for an undated {photograph}. (Karen Learn)

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Learn addressed her ingesting within the hours earlier than O'Keefe's loss of life in a documentary interview performed at trial.

"The drinks that they had been pouring me at McCarthy's, which was the place I consumed a lot of the alcohol, was the weakest vodka tonic," she instructed the digicam. "It tasted identical to all soda water with lime, not that I want it to be a martini, nevertheless it might need a splash of vodka in it."

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Officer John O’Keefe poses for his official headshot. O’Keefe’s girlfriend, Karen Reed, is at present on trial for homicide after he was discovered useless exterior of a Massachusetts residence in January 2022. (Boston Police Division)

Learn's blood-alcohol stage was estimated to be round .09% when she was hospitalized for a psychological well being test following the invention of O'Keefe's stays. 9 hours earlier, on the time of his loss of life, it was estimated to be considerably larger, though the protection argued she may have continued to drink after returning residence.

"That tells me they're specializing in how alcohol performed a job on this case, which is what the final jury discovered essential additionally," stated Grace Edwards, a Massachusetts protection legal professional who's following the case.

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Learn faces as much as life in jail if convicted on probably the most severe cost – second-degree murder . Among the OUI-related fees additionally carry multi-year penalties, Edwards stated.