Massachusetts

Anticipation is continuing to build in Dedham, Massachusetts, as we enter day three of jury deliberations in the Karen Read murder trial.

It was tense day inside the courtroom Wednesday as the defense also went head-to-head with the judge over the charges jurors are considering.

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.

There was a very contentious exchange over the verdict slips between the defense team and Judge Beverly Cannone.

“Alright, so why are we out here?” Cannone asked defense attorney Alan Jackson.

“Your honor, I just saw the verdict form and as we discussed yesterday, the amendments that the court indicated — you didn’t make them,” said Jackson.

“Oh, no, no. OK I didn’t say I would make it. I said I would think about it. I said I was tired, and I needed to think about it,” said Cannone.  “Alright, excuse me, this is funny, Ms. Read? Alright, we’re done.”

Cannone admonished Read for apparently laughing during this exchange.

Jackson was upset that there was not a “not guilty” box for jurors to check on two of the lesser included charges Read is facing — motor vehicle homicide and involuntary manslaughter.

They eventually resolved the issue and sent the updated form back to the jury.

Throughout the day, the jury had a couple of questions, including asking to see the “SERT” report from when Massachusetts State Police searched the property at 34 Fairview Road, where John O’Keefe’s body was found.

Cannone told them simply that all evidence has been provided.

International jury consultant David Davis says in a case like this, it can be hard to predict how long deliberations may take.

“In a long trial, jurors are often very conscience and feel like they should take their time and go through the questions they have to answer and look through the instructions and review the evidence and that can make the deliberations last longer,” said Davis.

The jury will begin its third day of deliberations around 9 a.m. Thursday.

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It was quite a night Wednesday night. Flooding rain, swaths of damaging wind, tremendous volleys of lightning and even a tornado warning.

Thankfully, it’s all behind us Thursday as the drier air moves in and the sun returns to the forecast. H…

There are fewer bars and clubs dedicated to the LGBTQ community in Boston compared to the past, with so much migrating online. But if meeting people via app isn’t your thing, there are other options.

“There’s always something to do,” said Beth McGurr. “You just need to know how to find it.”

McGurr is the founder of Lesbian Nightlife, which produces events primarily for lesbian, trans and queer women.

“You can come, you can make friends, or you can find the love of your life,” she said.

Her events take over different venues across the region, giving people a chance to discover new places and meet new people — and in person, rather than online.

“You actually get to see somebody in person and meet them, I think it’s just a different vibe,” McGurr said.

Hundreds of people in the LGBTQ community, mostly gay men, are making friends through flag football.

“It started as a way for people to meet each other, who were like-minded,” said Mike Beamer of FLAG Flag Football.

Players are on a different team each season, so there’s a constant rotation of people to get to know.

Some are there for the sport and exercise, others for social activities before and after practices and games — or all of the above.

“This gives people a different way to meet that doesn’t necessarily have to have alcohol involved, for one, and a way for a network to come together, doing something everyone wants to be there to do, but also to meet new people, as well,” Beamer said.

Since 2006, the Boston Gay Professionals Meetup Group has hosted get-togethers at various venues monthly.

“When people comes to the Boston Gay Professional events, people are there to network and meet, you know why everybody’s in the room,” said Daniel Batterman.

There’s no mystery, unlike online, where you might not know exactly who you’re dealing with.

“When somebody’s standing in front of you, they’re standing in front of you — you’re able to assess them, you’re able to view them, and you’re just able to observe, and I think you just walk away with a fuller experience than just meeting someone virtually,” Batterman said.

It’s a more casual experience, and perhaps less anxiety-inducing than a bar or club. Event hosts even help introduce people to each other.

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A new emergency shelter at a former prison in Norfolk, Massachusetts, is now open to more than two dozen families.

The first 20 to 25 families, many of them migrants, moved into the shelter at the decommissioned Bay State Correctional Center Wednesday afternoon, Norfolk Select Board Chairman Jim Lehan told NBC10 Boston.

The facility will house up to 140 families, or 450 people in total, who qualify for emergency assistance.

The decision sparked controversy in Norfolk, with protesters holding signs objecting to the move Wednesday.

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Nearly a quarter of a century after Molly Bish’s murder, the NBC10 Boston Investigators are taking an exclusive look at the evidence that’s been kept in cold storage for decades.

The 16-year-old girl disappeared from her lifeguard shift at Comins Pond in Warren, Massachusetts, on June 27, 2000 — 24 years later, her murder remains unsolved.

There are bags of evidence tucked away on shelves at the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab in Sudbury. Some of the evidence possibly contains the key to finding Bish’s killer.

Sherri Mittelholzer, the forensic support section manager for the Massachusetts State Police, gave our team a look inside the storage room and some of the evidence.

“This is our cold storage location where we store evidence for a multitude of cases, including Molly Bish. Anything that may be tested for DNA is kept in a cold storage location,” said Mittelholzer.

The room is kept cold and humidity is controlled to preserve the evidence.

Inside one brown bag is the bathing suit Bish was wearing the day she disappeared. There are evidence samples cut for DNA testing, her knapsack that was left by her chair that day, soil samples and much more.

The Bish family has been praying for justice for 24 years. Bish’s sister, Heather, is frustrated and heartbroken.

“Molly’s presence is missed every single day,” she said. “I miss my sister, it never ends. I don’t look at the world the same way. My sister was taken by somebody, and I’ve learned there are many dangerous people out there.”

The crime scene was never secured and was trampled on because at first, police thought Bish may have drowned. Her flip flops were left behind, and the lifeguard medical kit was open.

She vanished 13 minutes after she arrived at the pond. Her remains were found a few miles down the road from Comins Pond, in the woods of Palmer three years after her disappearance.

The hunt for the killer led investigators to convicted rapist Frank Sumner, who died in 2016. He operated auto body shops in the area and looks like the man Bish’s mom spotted sitting in a white car the day before her daughter disappeared.

Worcester County District Attorney Joe Early Jr. said Sumner had access to a white car. He was officially named a suspect in 2021, but DNA from evidence tested so far hasn’t linked him to the crime.

“There’s lot of evidence that leads to Frank Sumner, yes. That’s why we first named him a person of interest and then a suspect,” Early said when asked whether he believes if Sumner killed Bish. “We’re not stopping, we’re going to do everything we can to, you know, make sure that this case gets closed out.”

There are 267 pieces of physical evidence in the case. Investigators have received more than 6,700 leads and tips throughout the decades.

Surveillance video from a local convenience store captured the last images of Bish before she went to the pond on that fateful day. Her family and investigators are hoping advances in science and the evidence stored at the crime lab will finally lead them to the killer.

“We don’t typically name people of interest, and we don’t name suspects, but we did in this case because we got some solid information that came in,” Early said. “We want to see a little bit more.”

The Bish family is frustrated there hasn’t been more progress on Sumner. Loved ones would like outside DNA experts to be involved in the case.

“My hope is to use my voice and stand up for Molly as much as possible and continue to look for resources available to support the investigation into solving her crime,” Heather Bish said.

If you have any information about Bish’s murder, you are asked to call the Massachusetts State Police tipline at 508-453-7575.

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A man accused in a fatal shooting in Fall River, Massachusetts, in February was arrested after being shot by law enforcement in the Atlanta area Tuesday, prosecutors said.

Kevin Barton, 32, had been indicted on charges including murder and larceny…