A jury of six women and six men began deliberations on Tuesday afternoon in the murder trial of Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman accused of hitting John O'Keefe, her boyfriend, with an SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm.

They deliberated for less than three hours before adjourning for the day. Their work will resume on Wednesday morning.

Read, 44, of Mansfield, is accused of hitting O'Keefe with her black SUV outside of a home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking. Her defense contends O’Keefe was dragged outside after he was beaten up in the basement and bitten by a dog at Boston officer Brian Albert’s home in Canton.

Read, a former adjunct professor at Bentley College, pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, along with manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol and leaving a scene of personal injury and death. The manslaughter charge carries a penalty of five to 20 years in prison, and the other charge has a maximum penalty of 10 years.

Her case has been surrounded by a media storm, underpinned by a distrust of police and fanned by crime bloggers.

One juror was dismissed Tuesday morning, causing a delay of over an hour in the planned start of closing arguments.

When the closing arguments finally began, defense attorney Alan Jackson told the jury, "You have been lied to." He argued that evidence, including an inverted video of Read's SUV in the Canton Police Department's garage, was intentionally manipulated by an investigation that sought to protect other members of the law enforcement community.

Karen Read trial: Watch full closing arguments from her defense, prosecution

“Ladies and gentlemen, there was a cover-up in this case, plain and simple,” Jackson said.

Prosecutor Adam Lally offered jurors a timeline, paired with evidence numbers, documenting their theory of the case. He also opened his presentation by quoting numerous first responders who testified that they heard Read say, "I hit him."

“Those were the words that came from the defendant’s mouth," Lally said.

He also pointed to a seething voicemail message Read left for O'Keefe moments after data from her car shows she reversed at approximately 24 mph and then drove away.

“The defendant leaves that voicemail, seething in rage as she's screaming, ‘John, I (expletive) hate you!’”

The defense said witnesses who claimed to have heard her say she hit O'Keefe had changed their story or couldn't have heard the comments due to the chaotic scene. Jackson said investigators focused on Read because she was a “convenient outsider” who saved them from having to consider other suspects, including Albert and other law enforcement officers who were at the party. In particular, they highlighted connections between Albert and the state trooper leading the investigation.

“Michael Proctor didn't draw a thin blue line; he erected a tall blue wall," Jackson said. "A wall that you can’t scale, a wall that Karen Read certainly couldn’t get over. A wall between us and them. A place you folk are not invited. We protect our own.”

Karen Read trial: Key updates, evidence from every day of testimony

Although Read has said she was willing to testify, she never took the stand in her own defense.

Read, a former adjunct professor at Bentley College, is charged with second-degree murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, along with manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. The manslaughter charge carries a penalty of five to 20 years in prison, and the other charge has a maximum penalty of 10 years.

Live updates:

• 1:26 p.m. Jury sent to begin deliberations.
• 1:25 p.m.The clerk pulls out the "bingo cage" and selects two jurors as alternates. Both are women. They leave the jury box and sit in a corner of the courtroom. The final jury is composed of six women and six men.
• 1:24 p.m. A couple of jurors seated next the foreman are smiling at him about his nomination.
• 1:23 p.m. The judge finishes her instructions and calls the attorneys to the bench for a sidebar.
• 1:22 p.m. The judge says the foreperson must be certain of the unanimity of a verdict before announcing it the judge. He nods affirmatively.
• 1:20 p.m. The jury will not be provided with a transcript of the testimony. They will need to rely on their memories of what witnesses said.
• 1:17 p.m. The judge has not spoken individually with the jurors during the trial but she did question them individually during jury selection. The judge encourages jury not to take a straw poll at the start of deliberations but rather to start by talking about the evidence.
• 1:15 p.m. Judge selects juror in seat number one to serve as foreperson. He says, "I will."
• 1:11 p.m. Leaving scene of accident resulting in death 1/ operated motor vehicle 2/ drove on public roads 3/ knowingly collided with victim 4/ caused injury 5 / failed to stop 6 / sought to avoid prosecution.
• 1:09 p.m. Vehicular manslaughter while OUI includes the lesser charge of motor vehicular homicide 1/ operated motor vehicle 2/ drove on public roads 3/ was under the influence 4/ operated in negligent manner 5 / caused death. (Note negligent vs reckless).
• 1:06 p.m. Vehicular manslaughter includes a lesser charge of involuntarily manslaughter 1/ caused death 2/ intended conduct that caused death (for this they may consider alcohol level) 3/ wanton or reckless conduct (more than negligence).
• 1:02 p.m. Vehicular manslaughter while under the influence: 1/ operated motor vehicle 2/ drove on public roads 3/ under the influence of alcohol with BAC of 0.08% or greater 4 / drove wantonly or recklessly 5/ caused death.
• 12:54 p.m. Judge explains second-degree murder: 1/ defendant caused a death 2/ intended to do so, intended to serious harm, or did something that a reasonable person would know created strong likelihood of death. (This is more than negligence.)
• 12:50 p.m. The judge says they must not consider the fact that Read chose not to testify nor even discuss it during deliberations.
• 12:47 p.m. Brian Albert, Jen McCabe, Colin Albert and Kerry Roberts remain seated with the O'Keefe family. By inviting them here, the O'Keefe's may be sending a signal to the jury about whose story they believe.
• 12:40 p.m. The judge is now instructing the jury on how to consider any problems with the police investigation. She says they can decide to exclude or give less weight to elements of the investigation if they feel it is not credible.
• 12:36 p.m. The judge says jurors will be able to keep their notes during deliberations but should not share them with each other.
• 12:29 p.m. The judge is explaining reasonable doubt. She's using some of the same language she did when speaking to each of the jury pools.
• 12:27 p.m. Judge thanks the jury and begins her instructions. She will give them some legal definitions, the elements of the crimes, charges and guidelines for deliberating.
• 12:26 p.m. Jury returns and judge begins delivering instructions.
• 12:16 p.m. The judge excuses the jury for a break recess before issuing her instructions for deliberations. Read speaks with her family then leaves the courtroom.
• 12:13 p.m. Lally concludes his closing argument with a quote from John Adams. The judge tells him time is up then allows him to say his final sentence.
• 12:09 p.m. Jackson's closing argument included references to tyranny and justice. He complimented the jurors for their civic duty. Lally's closing is more of a recitation of evidence he presented at trial.
• 12:06 p.m. Jackson's notes were printed and in a binder. Lally's notes are handwritten on a yellow legal pad.
• 12:02 p.m. Lally mockingly asks if Brian Albert was such a "criminal mastermind" why did he leave O'Keefe on his own front yard.
• 11:59 a.m. Lally says the reason the "magic hair" and the glass were still on the bumper is because the SUV was caked in snow and ice.
• 11:57 a.m. "I know it was a lot of testimony about snow," Lally says. But he says there was a purpose to that. Says O'Keefe had no snow under him when he was found. Says that indicates how long he'd been there.
• 11:55 a.m. Lally says Read did not take off her shoes when she arrived at O'Keefe's house with McCabe and Roberts even though that was O'Keefe's rule. Lally says she knew didn't have to because she knew O'Keefe was dead.
• 11:52 a.m. Lally has notes in front of him but seems to be talking off the cuff for part of his argument. Jackson stuck closer to his script.
• 11:50 a.m. Lally says Read repeatedly asked at the scene, "Is he dead?" because he says she was looking for confirmation.
• 11:46 a.m. Read leans over and whispers something to Jackson. Now she takes a breath mint and folds her arms in front of her.
• 11:44 a.m. Lally says Read tried to call O'Keefe 53 times and called several other people but never called 911.
• 11:41 a.m. Read is looking down at a document in front of her. Now she looks up at the ceiling.
• 11:36 a.m. Jurors seem to have the same expressions as during Jackson's closing argument. The juror with his head down earlier is doing the same now.
• 11:34 a.m. Lally says Read was the first to spot O'Keefe in the snow because he says she'd already gone back to the scene that morning.
• 11:28 a.m. Lally shows more of the timeline and starts playing the voicemail messages she left.
• 11:26 a.m. Lally is now showing what he says was the Read's SUV's route to 34 Fairview Road.
• 11:25 a.m. The jurors are all looking at the timeline on the screen. A couple are leaning forward. One has to lean to the side to see around Lally.
• 11:23 a.m. Read is not looking at the timeline being shown to the jury. Instead, she is writing a note that she then passes to Jackson.
• 11:22 a.m. Lally's timeline shows that Read had nine drinks that night between 8:58 p.m. and 10:54 p.m.
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  Karen Read case: Prosecution displays timeline of events, evidence during closing argument

  

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• 11:19 a.m. Lally is showing this timeline about what he says happened leading up to O'Keefe's death.
• 11:18 a.m. Lally says Proctor's text messages are inexcusable but provide no evidence of a conspiracy or cover-up.
• 11:15 a.m. "Little things matter," Lally says. He encourages the jurors to pay attention to the evidence.
• 11:12 a.m."I hit him, I hit him, I hit him," Adam Lally says as he begins his opening arguments, citing what first responders say they heard Read say at the scene.
• 11:11 Jackson concludes his statement and prosecutor Adam Lally immediately rises to start his closing argument.
  
• 11:09 a.m. Jackson is asking the jury not just to find Read not guilty but to put a stop to what he describes as a culture of corruption.
• 11:05 a.m. Jackson says Trooper Paul's explanation for how O'Keefe was injured "borders on the laughable."
• 11:02 a.m. Jackson is nearly an hour into his closing argument. Most jurors have not taken their eyes off of him.
• 11:01 a.m. Jackson says the medical examiner could not determine the manner of death.
• 10:59 a.m. Jackson describes what he says was "evidence manipulation" involving the taillight fragments.
• 10:53 a.m. Jackson tells the jury they were intentionally deceived by the inverted video of the SUV shown during the trial.
• 10:50 a.m. The juror who'd been looking down is now looking at Jackson as he describes the video of the SUV at the Canton PD garage.
• 10:45 a.m. Jackson describes a "blue wall" that he says Trooper Proctor constructed to protect other people in the case.
• 10:42 a.m. Jackson shows an image of the video of Read's SUV backing out of O'Keefe's driveway. Says the taillight was cracked but not broken when he says it came into contact with another vehicle.
• 10:39 a.m. "That makes no sense," Jackson says about why Read tried to call O'Keefe 53 times during the time when the prosecution says she'd already killed him.
• 10:38 a.m. Karen Read listens as Jackson describes her waking up in a panic to discover O'Keefe was missing.
• 10:32 a.m. Jackson is now demonstrating what he imagines was a 22-second phone conversation between Brian Albert and Brian Higgins on the night O'Keefe died.
• 10:27 a.m. The juror looking at the floor is now looking up at the ceiling. His arms are folded.
• 10:25 a.m. One of the jurors glances over at Jen McCabe on the opposite of the courtroom as Jackson talks about her.
• 10:23 a.m. All of the jurors are looking at Jackson, except one man who is closing his eyes, now looking at the floor.
• 10:20 a.m. "If an argument with a loved one is a motive for murder, folks, we're all in trouble," Jackson says.
• 10:19 a.m. As Read's attorney talks about the prosecution "dragging her through the mud", Lally clasps his hands, sighs and looks ahead.
• 10:17 a.m. As the jurors look at Jackson, they see Colin Albert, Jen McCabe, Brian Albert and Kerry Roberts behind him.
• 10:16 a.m. "They'll show you a video and tell you left is right and right is left," Jacksons says referring to the "mirrored" video of the Canton Police garage.
• 10:14 a.m. This is Jackson's most direct reference so far to an alleged "cover up" in this case. Jurors are all looking at him as they listen.
• 10:13 a.m. "Look the other way," Jackson says as he begins his closing argument. He says that's what the prosecution wants. Tells them they've been lied to.
• 10:11 a.m. Outside, my colleague reports the jury bus has left with one passenger on board. The judge reminds jurors closing arguments are not evidence, asks the jurors to put their notes away and just listen.
• 10:10 a.m. Judge welcomes remaining jurors back into courtroom. The judge thanks them for their patience. Says a juror has been dismissed for a reason personal to her. Says no impact on the others.
• 10:01 a.m. The judge speaks with the attorneys then exits the courtroom. Another recess. The court clerk says the juror has been dismissed.
• 9:59 a.m. The juror exits.
• 9:58 a.m. After showing Karen Read at her table for several minutes, the courtroom camera again pans up to the ceiling fan, which has been shown throughout the case during breaks in the trial. The juror strides back in. She has her hands on her hips as she listens to the judge.
• 9:50 a.m. Judge returns to courtroom, calls both sides up to her sidebar.
• 9:35 a.m. NewsCenter 5's David Bienick recounts what occurred with the juror in the courtroom.
• 9:31 a.m. The judge leaves the courtroom. The lawyers return to their tables. Read and her attorneys are standing in a huddle. ADA Lally is sitting at the table reviewing notes.
• 9:28 a.m. The juror has a detemined look on her face. She's standing with her arms crossed and her back against the wall as the judge and the lawyers talk. One of the court officers just led her out of the courtroom.
• 9:26 a.m. The juror just shrugged her shoulders as the judge said something to her. Now she steps away from the bench. The judge and the lawyers are talking.
• 9:25 a.m. This is one of the jurors that was previously questioned by the judge prior to another juror being dismissed. She's standing with her arms crossed.
• 9:25 a.m. A large crowd of Read supporters, mostly wearing pink, are gathered outside the Norfolk County Superior Court.
• 9:24 a.m. One of the jurors has just been brought into the courtroom. She enters with her hands on her hips and walks up to the bench. The judge is speaking with her.
• 9:22 a.m. The judge enters the courtroom and tells the lawyers she needs to see them at the bench for a sidebar. The courtroom camera is now turned on. Read is looking at the lawyers.
• 9:17 a.m. The jury started out with 17 members. Two jurors were excused during testimony for what the judge called "personal" reasons. The current jury includes nine women and six men.
• 9:11 a.m. The court staff has allowed 12 media representatives into the courtroom today, instead of the 10 allowed until now. We're even more crowded. One court officer has reminded us to make way for the judge when she enters.
• Follow posts from reporter David Bienick

Closing arguments captivate Karen Read supporters outside courthouse

Related links:

• Recap of testimony, evidence from each day of the case
  
• Evidence slideshow
  

What to know about the case:

• Karen Read, 44, of Mansfield, is accused of second-degree murder and other charges. The prosecution says she hit her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, with her vehicle outside of a home in Canton during a snowstorm on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking. She returned hours later to find him in a snowbank.
• Read has pleaded not guilty.
• Read and her defense team claim she is the victim of a cover-up and plan to present a third-party culprit defense. They claim O'Keefe was beaten inside the home, bitten by a dog, and then left outside.
• In pretrial motions, prosecutors revealed the existence of text messages they said suggested a "romantic entanglement" with a friend who was present at locations Read and O'Keefe visited on the night of the incident. Other documents have also suggested trouble in the relationship between Read and O'Keefe.
• Read is also accused of having frequent contact with a controversial blogger known as "Turtleboy," Aiden Kearney, who now faces charges in related cases.
• Opening statements were delivered on April 29 and closing arguments were delivered on June 25.

Karen Read trial: Key updates, evidence from every day of testimony

The defense, which has been allowed to present what is called third-party culprit evidence, argues that investigators focused on Read because she was a “convenient outsider” who saved them from having to consider other suspects. Those they have implicated include Brian Albert, who owned the home in Canton where O’Keefe died, and Brian Higgins, an ATF agent who was there that night.

Higgins testified about a "romantic" encounter and a series of text messages he exchanged with Read. In those flirty messages, Read told him that O'Keefe had "hooked up" with another woman during a vacation.

AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool

Trooper Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in the case, acknowledged during his testimony that he was friends with several witnesses, including the brother of the man who hosted the house party where O'Keefe's body was found outside. The defense also criticized Proctor for sharing details of the investigation with friends and family on text exchanges and for texts in which he appeared to single out Karen Read as responsible for O'Keefe's death less than 24 hours after his body was found.

Proctor acknowledged to the jury that he called Read a series of names, including “wack job” in texts to friends, family and fellow troopers. Proctor also repeatedly apologized for language used in text exchanges, saying they were "something I am not proud of and I shouldn't have wrote in private or any type of setting.” But he insisted the comments had no influence on the investigation.

Hearst Owned

The defense is trying to convince the jury that O'Keefe was beaten and suggested that Colin Albert had been in a fight. Albert said a hand injury came when he fell in a driveway and that he never saw O'Keefe during the celebration of his cousin's birthday on the night in question.

He also confirmed on cross-examination that he has known Proctor since he was a child.

Greg Derr

A former Massachusetts police toxicologist, Nicholas Roberts, testified that Read's blood alcohol content at 9 a.m. was between .078% and .083%, right around the legal limit for intoxication in Massachusetts. Based on a police report that suggested her last drink was at 12:45 a.m., her peak blood alcohol level would have been between .135% and .292%, he said.

O’Keefe had been raising his niece and nephew, and they told jurors that they heard frequent arguments between him and Read. Both of the teenagers described an incident in which O'Keefe asked Read to leave the house and she refused.

The trial's first few days detailed the futile efforts of first responders to save O'Keefe. They found him face up when they arrived just before dawn on Jan. 29. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, and an autopsy later found he died of hypothermia and blunt force trauma.

Several of the first responders said they heard Read make statements, including, "I hit him," after O'Keefe was found. Defense attorneys confronted several of those witnesses by asking why those alleged remarks were not included in official reports.

Officers also testified about unusual procedures used during the investigation, including the decision to collect bloody snow in red plastic cups and clearing snow from the crime scene.

One of the final witnesses was a retired forensic pathologist who testified Monday that some of O’Keefe's injuries were inconsistent with being struck by the Lexus SUV.

Dr. Frank Sheridan, who worked previously as chief medical examiner for San Bernardino County in California, testified he would’ve expected more bruising if O’Keefe had been hit by such a heavy vehicle. He also suggested that scratch marks on his arm could've come from an animal, possibly a dog, and that other injuries were consistent with an altercation.

Two witnesses from an independent consulting firm that conducts forensic engineering also suggested some of the evidence doesn’t line up with the prosecution version. “You can’t deny the science and the physics,” Andrew Rentschler from ARCCA, testified at one point. ARCCA was hired by the FBI as part of a federal investigation into state law enforcement’s handling of the Read case.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.