Crime

Karen Read trial judge agrees to keep jury anonymous, citing juror safety fears

If the jury is publicly identified, “we will be constantly threatened and harassed and there will likely be a physical confrontation at some point,” one juror argued.

By Abby Patkin

July 18, 2024

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Email
• Email
• 77

The judge presiding over Karen Read’s murder trial has agreed to keep the jury anonymous indefinitely after a juror said they fear for their safety in light of the media circus surrounding the case.

The juror — identified as “Juror Doe” in court documents — is “in reasonable fear for their safety and the safety of their family if the list of jurors is made available to the public,” Judge Beverly Cannone ruled Thursday. 

The judge indefinitely extended her July 8 order impounding jurors’ names, adding, “This Order shall not preclude any juror from identifying himself or herself and/or from speaking to the public about his/her jury service.”

Read’s high-profile case ended in a mistrial on July 1, after jurors said they had reached an impasse and were “starkly divided” on the evidence. The 44-year-old Mansfield woman is accused of intentionally backing her SUV into her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, outside a home in Canton on Jan. 29, 2022.

Prosecutors allege Read was driving drunk following a night out and left O’Keefe to die in the snow. However, Read’s lawyers say she was framed in a widespread coverup, suggesting O’Keefe was severely beaten inside the home and dumped on the front lawn. 

Read’s case has had a polarizing effect in Greater Boston and beyond, with crowds congregating outside Norfolk Superior Court for each day of testimony. Debate over the case continues to rage on, especially after Read’s lawyers said they’ve heard from four jurors that the jury internally agreed to acquit Read on two of the three charges, including second-degree murder.

In an affidavit Thursday, Juror Doe said they are “frightened” for their safety, noting that jurors could hear protesters “screaming and yelling” outside the courthouse during their deliberations. Juror Doe also recalled witnesses’ testimony about the alleged harassment they faced as a result of their ties to Read’s case. 

“I do not know any of the specifics of any such harassment, but I fear that my family and I will not only be harassed if the names of the jurors are made public, but that our personal safety will be seriously compromised,” Juror Doe wrote.

Cannone’s initial impoundment order also noted that “people associated with the case have been charged with intimidation,” an apparent reference to Turtleboy blogger Aidan Kearney. Kearney, who has long promoted the defense team’s coverup claims, is facing criminal charges for allegedly targeting witnesses in Read’s case. 

According to Juror Doe, members of the jury would meet up at a “secret” location and take a bus to and from the courthouse throughout Read’s trial. When the bus dropped them off at the meeting point following Cannone’s mistrial declaration, “we observed what appeared to be members of the media including photographers,” Juror Doe recalled. “I was so much in fear on my way home that I pulled over to the side of the road to see if I was being followed.” 

If jurors are publicly identified, Juror Doe argued, “we will be constantly threatened and harassed and there will likely be a physical confrontation at some point.”

Juror Doe also expressed fears of “doxxing,” the act of publicizing someone’s personal information as a form of harassment. They pointed to a video Kearney made about how he had identified the jury foreperson and pinpointed where the foreperson works and lives.

“I have seen social media posts that were very demeaning of and attacking the integrity of the trial judge,” they wrote. “If someone is going to attack a sitting judge, I see no reason why they would not demean and attack, verbally and physically, a juror who sat on this jury.” 

Juror Doe noted their concerns “are not limited to a particular blogger or to a particular ‘side’ of this case,” acknowledging animosity on all sides of the case. “In light of the mistrial — there is no end in sight to this irrational behavior, which clearly continues today,” they wrote.

Juror Doe also acknowledged it was an honor to serve on the jury and said they understood it would be a significant time commitment going into the trial. 

“What I did not anticipate, however, was the likelihood that I and other members of the jury would become targets of intense public scrutiny and likely harassment campaigns strictly due to the outcome of our private deliberations,” they wrote. 

Read is due back in court July 22 for a status conference.

Read Juror Doe’s affidavit: