With the jury in the Karen Read murder trial set to enter its fourth day of deliberations on Friday, anxiety is starting to set in among those involved with the case and even Read's supporters.
Read is charged with second-degree murder in the January 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe. She’s accused of dropping him off at another officer's house party in Canton, Massachusetts, after a night of drinking, and then hitting him with her SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm.
Her defense team argues she was framed, and that the evidence shows O’Keefe was beaten up by someone else inside the house, bitten by a dog and left outside.
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Each day this week since the case went to the jury, pink-clad supporters of Read have gathered outside the courthouse awaiting a verdict. They've cheered and interacted with Read as she's entered and exited court.
But as the case drags on, the mood has changed a bit, according to Sue O'Connell, NBC10 Boston's courtroom insider and commentator. She shared her insights during Thursday night's episode of "Canton Confidential."
"There's a level of disappointment and anticipation," she said. "It's now another day where they expected something to happen. It felt a little bit like some air was let out of the balloon."
O'Connell said she's spoken with some of the Read supporters, and they're asking why it's taking so long and what's happening. But jury deliberations aren't always as quick as people expect.
"It's not like television. It's not like 'Law & Order' where it starts, goes on and ends," she said. "There's just this anticipation and worry creeping in for Karen Read supporters. That's what I'm hearing from them. There is this sort of anxiety.
O'Connell also said that Read and her defense team are not engaging with the crowd of supporters as much as they had earlier in the week, which she guesses is "to keep her energy level up and to keep her sane." Read also did not answer questions outside court at the conclusion of Thursday's proceedings.
"There's definitely a different feeling out there," she said. "There is now this anxiety that's slipping in."
