What are the charges she faces? –NBC Boston

Jurors in the murder trial of Karen Read, accused of hitting her Boston police officer boyfriend with his SUV, are currently deliberating over her guilt or innocence on three separate counts.

Prosecutors said Read struck John O’Keefe with his vehicle and then left the scene in January 2022, leaving him unconscious in the snow after a night of bar-hopping. He was found unconscious hours later outside the Canton home of another Boston police officer who was hosting a party.

Read’s attorneys have argued she was framed. They say O’Keefe was dragged out after she was beaten at Brian Albert’s Canton home and bitten by Albert’s dog. The defense said investigators focused on Read because she was a “convenient outsider” who spared them from having to examine other suspects.

Let’s break down the charges against Read and what it will take for jurors to find her guilty:

The first and most serious charge Read faces is second degree murder. To be found guilty, the Commonwealth must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that:

• Read caused O’Keefe’s death;
• Read either intended to kill O’Keefe, intended to cause him grievous bodily harm, or intended to commit an act which, in the circumstances known to her, would have given rise to a strong and obvious probability that death would result.

The second accusation is manslaughter while driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Be found guilty. the Commonwealth must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that:

• Read was driving a motor vehicle;
• Read did so on a public highway or in a place where the public has a right of access or in a place where members of the public have access as guests or licensees;
• That while operating a motor vehicle, Read was under the influence of intoxicating liquor;
• That while driving a motor vehicle, Read did so in a reckless manner so as to endanger the life or safety of the public;
• Read’s actions caused the death of another person.

The third and final accusation Read faces is leaving a scene of bodily injury and death. Once again, the Commonwealth must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that:

• Read was driving a motor vehicle;
• This occurred on a public road or in a place to which the public has access;
• Read knowingly collided with O’Keefe.

Morjieta Derisier, a criminal defense attorney with Baystate Law Group, said she thinks it will be difficult for jurors to reach a guilty verdict on any of the three charges because intent must be proven .

“So with second degree, and this is coming from a defense attorney, you have to prove intent, and I think the hardest battle they’ll have here is proving that she had intent to do this,” she said. “And not only that, they have to prove all the elements of second-degree murder, and I think they’re going to have a hard time doing that, especially with intent.”

Regarding the manslaughter charge, Derisier sees similar problems. “Same thing: You have to look at the other elements that indicate intentional or reckless behavior. All the counts have that intent. You have to prove that Karen did it and did it knowingly. It’s going to be really difficult.”

Even if there is a charge of fleeing, she thinks jurors will have a hard time reaching a guilty verdict.

“I also think there’s an element of knowledge,” Derisier said. “One of the instructions contains an element of knowledge. It can’t just be one of them. It has to be all three.”

As to whether there could be a hung jury — where a juror is unwilling to set a budget — she said she didn’t think that would happen in this case.

“Listening to the demeanor of the jurors, I think they all reached a consensus, but I don’t know yet what that consensus is,” Derisier said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.