A Massachusetts lawyer and former prosecutor was found guilty of rape in a Boston court Wednesday.
Gary Zerola was accused of breaking into the home of a 21-year-old woman early the morning of Jan. 12, 2021, and sexually assaulting her while she sl…
Massachusetts
Mass. boy, 1, safe after mom without custody fled with him to Alabama, police say
A woman fled Massachusetts with her 1-year-old son last week, telling the boy’s guardian, her aunt, she was going on a brief trip to Dunkin’, police said.
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Sea of pink-clad supporters continue to support Karen Read as jury deliberates
A sea of pink surrounds the streets leading to Norfolk Superior Court as the jury in the Karen Read murder trial is in its second day of deliberations.
These Read supporters, who have grown in numbers over the past nine weeks, say they feel a verdict will be coming soon.
“There is no doubt in my mind that this jury is going to bring back a not guilty verdict and exonerate Karen Read,” said Rita Lombardi, a Read supporter.
Stacey Doherty, of Braintree, said, “Everyone’s here for justice. We want answers.”
NBC10 Boston legal analyst Michael Coyne said that while he expects a relatively quick verdict, he thinks the jury will be mindful to weigh all the evidence before reaching a decision – especially knowing the intense amount of interest in this high-profile case.
But he thinks the jury will be hard-pressed to side with the government.
“That reasonable doubt standard is an incredibly hard standard for good reason, and I just think that the jurors are going to have problems getting past some of the various open questions that still exist,” Coyne said.
Many outside the courthouse think that even when this trial is wrapped up, there will continue to be questions. And they say their advocacy for Read and against the prosecution will not end on the sidewalks surrounding the courthouse here in Dedham.
“Norfolk County DA’s office works for us and that’s why they’re here,” Karen Read supporter Marshall Lane said. “We’re letting them know they work for us. We are not in servitude to them, and they cannot strip us of our rights like they’re trying to do to Karen Read.”
This group of supporters said they’ll continue to show up as long as it takes for the jury to reach its verdict.
Severe storms could bring heavy rain, damaging wind and hail to New England
Wednesday is the hottest day of our 10-day forecast, and we also see a surge in humid air thanks to a gusty southwest wind ahead of a cold front.
Highs reach the upper 80s and low 90s with dewpoints returning to the mid-60s for one day only.
With the heat, humidity and a developing boundary across southeastern Massachusetts this afternoon, we may see isolated showers and storms popping at any time.
The main cold front and line heads in later Wednesday night across western New England around 8 p.m., moving through Boston midnight through pre-dawn Thursday.
The storms could become isolated strong to severe Wednesday or Wednesday night with damaging wind and hail as the reason we may see a severe t-storm warning issued.
Also, heavy rain and lightning is a concern. The thunder may wake you up overnight, in fact. Around 1 inch of rain is likely to be widespread through Thursday morning.
The front moves offshore by sunrise Thursday, but some showers may linger on the Cape through mid-morning. While sun breaks out elsewhere across the northeast.
A weaker, secondary cold front sweeps in from the north in the afternoon as this combined with a cool pool of air aloft, has the potential to trigger pop up showers or thunder across the interior through sunset.
Otherwise, we have some clouds, highs in the low 80s and lowering humidity. Temperatures fall a bit more Friday as highs only reach the 70s and the air is so dry, we have a clear sky.
Highs for the weekend return to the low 80s. Saturday looks dry until evening out west. Another system heads through Sunday bringing another round of scattered rain or storms.
The week around Independence Day looks like a typical summer week with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s and dry weather for the most part.
Watching for a nearby system sometime around July 4th that may bring some showers around. Stay tuned.
‘This is funny, Ms. Read?’ Watch judge snap at Karen Read as jury deliberates
There was a dramatic exchange in Norfolk Superior Court Wednesday while the jury in the Karen Read trial deliberated the charges.
It ended with Judge Beverly Cannone snapping at Read: “Excuse me, this is funny, Ms. Read? All right, we’re done.”
Court reconvened about 10 a.m., without the jury present. Cannone asked what they were doing there, and defense attorney Alan Jackson argued that the verdict slip given to the jurors is inappropriate because of a lack of not guilty boxes on the slip for them to check.
Cannone explained that if jurors don’t check the guilty block, the verdict reads not guilty.
“That is not how it should be, and it’s over our strong objection. They need to see that there is a not guilty option,” Jackson said.
But Cannone disagreed and said she thought the verdict slip was appropriate. As she was explaining that to Jackson, she appeared to notice a reaction from Read that she didn’t appreciate, leading to her comment that ended the session.
NBC10 Boston is requesting a copy of the verdict sheet.
Watch the Karen Read trial live on nbcboston.com, NECN, NBC Boston streaming platforms (including Roku, Peacock and Samsung TV) and NBC10 Boston’s YouTube page. Every night of the trial at 7 p.m., come back for analysis and more.
Email questions to canton.confidential@nbcuni.com.
Here’s how Karen Read feels as murder trial nears its end
The Karen Read murder trial, which has intrigued people around the world, is in now in the hands of the jury.
The trial has been underway for more than two months, and now we’re approaching the end.
Read is accused of hitting her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe, with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow. Her defense team claims it was a cover-up by law enforcement.
Read’s team was visibly caught off guard Tuesday by the crowds and media outlets from all over the world in Dedham, Massachusetts.
“Karen how are you feeling leaving court today,” asked NBC10 Boston reporter Kirsten Glavin.
“I don’t know if nerves are the right word, uh, anticipation and —” said Read before defense attorney Alan Jackson intervened, saying, “Excuse us, excuse us. It’s a little overwhelming.”
Emotions were at an all-time high for Read and her defense team leaving the entire murder trial in the hands of the jury.
Outside of court, hundreds of supporters lined the streets around the courthouse wearing pink and holding signs.
“A not guilty verdict is coming back. I mean, the evidence showed it,” said one of Read’s supporters.
Also leaving were members of the Albert family and Jennifer McCabe who all testified have declined to comment.
Inside the courthouse, during closing arguments, Read’s defense summarized an alleged conspiracy to frame Read for O’Keefe’s death.
“Conflicts of interest? Doesn’t matter. Just look the other way. Magic hairs, magic glass, look the other way. Late night calls and Google searches, falsified affidavits, inverted videos and butt dials galore, just look the other way,” said Jackson.
The Commonwealth laid out a timeline of events from the drinks at the bar, to voicemails left on O’Keefe’s phone.
Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally asked jurors to stick to the facts.
“What the constellation of the facts and the evidence ineluctably demonstrate here, is that the defendant drove her vehicle in reverse, 24.2 miles per hour, 62 and a half feet, struck Mr. O’Keefe, causing those catastrophic head injuries, leaving him incapacitated,” said Lally before the judge stopped him for going over the allotted time.
National and international media crews were at the courthouse to cover the verdict on top of the hundreds of supporters already standing by.
