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Hours after a 12-person Massachusetts jury found Karen Read not guilty of murdering her Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe, several jurors have spoken out about how they came to their decision.

Read was accused by prosecutors of hitting O’Keefe with her SUV and leaving him to die during a snowstorm on Jan. 29, 2022. Her first trial in 2024 ended in a hung jury, but on June 18, she was acquitted on charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter.

The jury did, however, find her guilty on a drunk driving charge. She was sentenced to one year of probation.

Read’s defense team has long alleged O’Keefe’s death stemmed from an incident inside the Canton, Massachusetts house of fellow police officer Brian Albert. O’Keefe was found dead on Albert’s front lawn, but he says O’Keefe never came inside.

Here’s what jurors have said so far.

Karen Read trial: What happens now that she has been found not guilty of murder?

Karen Read juror says ‘there was a lot of holes in the investigation’

One of the jurors in Read’s trial, who was identified only by his first name, Jason, told TMZ he believes she is innocent.

“I think for the jurors there’s a mix of, some people think that she was definitely innocent, and the other people, there was a lot of reasonable doubt at least to where we didn’t want to convict her,” he said.

Regarding the theory that Read may have been framed in O’Keefe’s death, Jason said he doesn’t know if there was a coverup.

“I was only presented a limited scope of what happened at the night, and I can only base my opinion off of the evidence that was shown in the courtroom,” he said.

He added, “All I know is that there was a lot of holes in the investigation.”

Juror says she hopes investigation into John O’Keefe’s death reopens

Paula Prado, another juror who found Karen Read not guilty, spoke out in several media interviews after the verdict was handed down.

She told local media on June 19 that she found there were too many inconsistencies in the investigation.

“I thought Karen Read was actually maybe guilty of manslaughter in the beginning. But as the weeks passed by, I just realized there was too many holes that we couldn’t fill and there is nothing that put her on the scene, in our opinion, besides just dropping John O’Keefe off,” Prado said, per WBZ News and NBC 10 Boston.

Prado, who is a lawyer from Brazil, said in an interview on the TODAY show on June 20 that she’s “confident we did the right thing,” but feels “sorry that justice wasn’t served” for O’Keefe’s family.

“The reason why I’m coming out and talking to people is to keep the flame going and the supporters going after the DA, or whatever they have to do, to reopen the case and find who really killed John O’Keefe,” she said.

Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com.

Watch : Karen Read Speaks Out After Not Guilty Verdict

Key figures in the Karen Read retrial are speaking out about the case.

While the 45-year-old was acquitted of second-degree murder charges in the 2022 death of her boyfriend John O’Keefe, five of the prosecution’s witnesses—Jennifer McCabe, her husband Matt McCabe, her sister Nicole Albert, Nicole’s husband Brian Albert and Brian’s brother Chris Albert—explained that they’re still feeling the effects of their involvement in the trial, particularly from conspiracy theories that have surrounded the case.

“They’ve dehumanized us to the sense where we’re not real people,” Chris said in an interview with ABC News released June 20. “We’re almost like caricatures. We’re pawns.”

During the trial, the defense argued that Read had been framed by local and state law enforcement officials to cover up a fight that occurred in Brian and Nicole’s home on Jan. 29, 2022. As a result, Brian—a prominent police officer and colleague of O’Keefe’s—said that he’d been called a murderer “on a daily basis” by members of the public, while his cohorts said they faced the same scrutiny.

A juror in the high-profile Karen Read trial believes “something happened inside the house” to Boston cop John O’Keefe after his financial analyst girlfriend dropped him off — hours before he was found dead.

Paula Prado, one of the 12 jurors in the closely watched murder trial, spoke out Thursday about the panel’s decision to find Read, 45, not guilty of murder and manslaughter charges even though she conceded Read could have possibly “touched him somehow” with her SUV outside the Canton house.

“Either he got out of her way or something, and maybe he lost his shoes in the process,” Prado said, according to WBZ News in reference to O’Keefe only having a shoe on when he was found the morning of Jan. 29, 2022.

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Juror Paula Prado talked about the Karen Read verdict. CBS News

“But in my opinion, he definitely went inside and something happened inside the house.”

While prosecutors accused Read of hitting O’Keefe, 46, with her car and leaving him for dead in a snowbank, the defense claimed the former adjunct professor was the lackey of a police cover-up and the police officer was beaten up at the party and even bitten by a dog.

Ultimately Read was only convicted of drunk driving Wednesday and sentenced to a year of probation.

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“I don’t think she was responsible for his death. I think she dropped him off,” Prado said. “If she backed up fast enough to maybe touch him, maybe.”

The head injuries he suffered weren’t caused by getting hit with a car, she argued.

Prado, who is a lawyer from Brazil, said initially she thought Read might be guilty of manslaughter, but that assumption quickly eroded.

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“But as the weeks passed by, I just realized there was too many holes that we couldn’t fill and there is nothing that put her on the scene, in our opinion, besides just dropping John O’Keefe off,” she told WBZ.

She also said it didn’t “make much sense” that the injuries on O’Keefe’s arm were caused by the taillight on Read’s SUV.

“We couldn’t prove there was a collision, and she was responsible for John’s death,” Prado adding she is “100% convinced.”

She said authorities and prosecutors didn’t prove the case, but can’t say whether Read was framed by police.

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Prado also found it confounding Brian Higgins, an agent of the Bureau, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, who exchanged flirty texts with Read two weeks before O’Keefe’s death, and Brian Albert, the homeowner at the time O’Keefe was found outside, didn’t take the stand.

“The owner for the house and the person who had sent text messages with Karen Read a few days before John O’Keefe’s death … I think it was weird not to hear from them,” Prado said.

Prado called the deliberations a “little overwhelming” while he understood the emotions on both sides of the trial.

“I really, really, hope there is a way for the case to be reopened and they can investigate again and find out who actually did that to John,” she said.

Several key prosecution witnesses in the Karen Read trial released a statement on Wednesday, saying the verdict that acquitted her of the most serious charges is a “devastating miscarriage of justice.”

Read was found not guilty of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of bodily injury and death in connection to the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe. She was found guilty of operating under the influence and sentenced to one year of probation.

Statement from Karen Read trial witnesses

Shortly after the verdict was announced, a statement was released by several people involved in the case, who are also friends of the O’Keefe family.

The statement was issued on behalf Jennifer McCabe, Matthew McCabe, Chris Albert, Julie Albert, Colin Albert, Nicole Albert, Brian Albert, Kerry Roberts, and Curt Roberts.

“Today, our hearts are with John and the entire O’Keefe family. They have suffered through so much and deserved better from our justice system. While we may have more to say in the future, today we mourn with John’s family and lament the cruel reality that this prosecution was infected by lies and conspiracy theories spread by Karen Read, her defense team, and some in the media. The result is a devastating miscarriage of justice,” the statement read.

Brian and Nicole Albert owned the Canton home where O’Keefe’s body was found. Jennifer McCabe and Kerry Roberts were with Read when O’Keefe’s body was discovered on January 29, 2022.

Read’s defense attempted to show, more during the first trial than in the retrial, that O’Keefe was not hit by Read’s SUV and was instead killed during a fight involving Brian Albert, his nephew Colin Albert, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent Brian Higgins.

John O’Keefe’s friend speaks

Tara Kerrigan, a friend of O’Keefe’s who was in court every day for both of Read’s trials, shared a statement Friday that called the verdict “a chilling sign of the times.”

“This verdict stands as one of the most egregious miscarriages of justice in recent history,” Kerrigan’s statement said, in part. “I do not agree with the jury’s decision, nor do I believe they remained unbiased given the relentless and unethical PR campaign that has poisoned our community and deeply divided our city for three plus years.”

Canton Board of Selectman response

John McCourt, chairman of the Board of Selectman in Canton, also released a statement. Brian Albert’s brother, Chris Albert, is a member of the board.

“The Town of Canton acknowledges today’s verdict in the Commonwealth’s case against Karen Read. The Town respects the legal process and the role of the jury in weighing the facts and rendering a verdict. We thank the members of the jury for their service and attention over the past several weeks. This case has been the subject of intense public interest, scrutiny and speculation for three years. Our community has been deeply affected.

“Today’s outcome may bring a sense of relief to some and continue to raise questions for others. We encourage members of the community to move forward together, treating one another with respect through civil, constructive dialogue.”

Members of O’Keefe’s family have not yet commented. Norfolk Country District Attorney Michael Morrissey only issued a short statement to WBZ-TV, saying “The jury has spoken.”

Paula Prado is recounting the gravity and emotions of being one of the 12 jurors in the high-profile Karen Read retrial. She said it was an intense week and left court crying, but is confident in her decision.

“I was happy for Karen Read and her family of course. I think justice was served,” Prado said. “But seeing John O’Keefe’s family leaving the courthouse, was melt my heart. I’m a mother and I saw her pain through all those days.”

On Wednesday, the jury acquitted Read of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of bodily injury in the death of her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, in Canton, Massachusetts. Read was found guilty of operating under the influence of alcohol (OUI).

“Investigators didn’t do their jobs”

“I just want to tell them it’s not our fault that Karen Read was not convicted,” Prado said. “Even if there is any chance that she is guilty of something, or hurt him somehow, the Commonwealth or the investigators didn’t do their jobs to prove that to us.”

Prado is a lawyer from Brazil. She says part of the reason why the jury reached their verdict was because of the police investigation, saying there were too many inconsistencies and not enough evidence that a crash occurred.

“At first for me, I thought Karen Read was actually maybe guilty of manslaughter in the beginning. But as the weeks passed by, I just realized there was too many holes that we couldn’t fill and there is nothing that put her on the scene, in our opinion, besides just dropping John O’Keefe off,” Prado said.

“And the taillight, the injuries on his arm didn’t make much sense that come from a taillight for us,” she said.

She said the last witness from ARCCA made it clear for her. “We couldn’t prove there was a collision, and she was responsible for John’s death,” Prado said.

“Something happened inside the house”

Prado said she is “100% convinced” that Read wasn’t responsible for O’Keefe’s death, but she thinks it’s possible that Read could have “touched him somehow” with her SUV when backing up.

“Either he got out of her way or something, and maybe he lost his shoes in the process,” Prado said. “But in my opinion he definitely went inside and something happened inside the house.”

The defense had alleged that O’Keefe could have been involved in a fight inside the house at 34 Fairview Road and was then dragged outside. Prado said it was “strange” that the jury didn’t get to hear any testimony from Brian Albert, the former homeowner, or Brian Higgins, who was also in the home that night.

“The owner for the house and the person who had sent text messages with Karen Read a few days before John O’Keefe’s death … I think it was weird not to hear from them,” Prado said.

Juror hopes O’Keefe’s case can be reopened

She now hopes that the amount of pressure and attention given to Read’s case will be put into getting justice for Boston police officer John O’Keefe.

“I really, really hope there is a way for the case to be reopened and they can investigate again and find who actually did that to John,” Prado said.