BOSTON — Karen Read’s attorneys are continuing to push for the murder charge to be dropped, as a juror reportedly confirmed to her lawyer that the jury had reached a unanimous not-guilty verdict for that count.

The defense filings on Monday were the latest in a string of appeals from the murder defendant’s attorneys, arguing that Read should not face the second-degree murder charge — and the leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death charge — in a new trial.

Read, 44, of Mansfield, is accused of striking Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, her boyfriend of two years, with her car and leaving him to freeze and die on a Canton front lawn on Jan. 29, 2022. Read’s first trial ended in mistrial last month, and a second trial is scheduled for next year.

The Norfolk DA’s Office has charged Read with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.

But Read’s defense attorneys continue to call for the new trial to only include the manslaughter charge because the jury has reportedly indicated that they would not convict on the other two. That push from the defense resumed on Monday with a new filing.

“During my phone conversation with Juror B, he/she confirmed for me that the jury reached unanimous Not-Guilty verdicts on indictments (1) and (3),” defense attorney David Yannetti wrote in an affidavit to dismiss the two charges.

“He/she told me that the only charge on which the jury was deadlocked was indictment (2),” Yannetti added.

Meanwhile, a hearing on whether the charges should be dismissed has been scheduled for this Friday.

Yannetti in the new filing wrote that he received an unsolicited phone call from the juror a few days ago.

“Juror B believes that every member of the jury, if asked, will confirm that the jury reached Not-Guilty verdicts on indictments (1) and (3),” the lawyer wrote. “Juror B believes that even jurors who were leaning toward a conviction on some part of indictment (2) will confirm that the other two indictments were acquittals.

“He/she believes that other jurors have been reluctant to come forward because there is so much public and media attention focused on this case,” Yannetti added.

Read’s defense team is adding this conversation to the list of reasons why they say two of the charges should be tossed.

“… the defense respectfully renews its contention that the jury acquitted Ms. Read on Counts 1 and 3, or, alternatively, there was no manifest necessity for a mistrial as to those counts, and therefore the Double Jeopardy protections of the federal and state Constitutions require that those counts not be retried,” Read’s lawyers wrote.

Last week, the Norfolk DA prosecutors fired back at the defense, saying, “The defendant’s unsubstantiated but sensational post-trial claim that the ‘jury reached a unanimous decision to acquit’ lacks any merit or legal foundation.”

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