Jurors begin deliberations in Karen Read's second murder trial after Friday's closing arguments and judicial instructions from Judge Beverly Cannone.

It took eight weeks and dozens of witnesses, but on Friday, Karen Read's retrial shifted to its most critical phase: jury deliberations.

Judge Beverly Cannone also denied the defense team’s motion for a mistrial based on what Read’s lawyers called “intentional misconduct” from prosecutor Hank Brennan.

Karen Read, accused of killing Boston police officer John O’Keefe, will not testify in her retrial, which could go to the jury by Friday. Experts have disputed the collision theory and cause of death,

Both sides in Karen Read’s murder retrial appeared in court Thursday for a hearing before they deliver closing arguments to jurors on Friday. The hearing is known as a charge conference, where the parties hash out instructions the jury will receive before they start deliberating. Jurors weren’t present for Thursday’s proceedings.

DEDHAM, Mass. — Attorneys in Karen Read’s murder retrial met with Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone on Thursday to discuss instructions for the jury ahead of closing arguments.

After nearly eight weeks of testimony, Massachusetts prosecutors and defense attorneys for Karen Read are presenting their closing arguments in her retrial for the death of John O’Keefe, offering jurors dueling narratives about how the off-duty Boston cop died in January 2022.