A photo of Karen Read’s lawyer with his arms around his smiling client’s waist and chest could potentially hurt a retrial, a former homicide detective said.
Alan Jackson, a high-powered defense lawyer who successfully fended off a murder charge against Read, was seen in a picture obtained by Fox News Digital, among other outlets, in a cozy embrace.
The photo was taken outside a restaurant in Boston on Thursday, June 27, after the case had been given to the jury to deliberate.
“Perception is everything, and if that photo is authenticated of the lawyer cuddling with his client, I can certainly tell you that’s something that’s not a good look,” former Washington, D.C., homicide detective Ted Williams told Fox News.
Jackson has not responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment about the photo.
His body was found on the front lawn of an influential family with deep ties to law enforcement and prosecutors. Read claimed that the family framed her for O’Keefe’s death in an elaborate cover-up.
The deadlocked jury was as torn as the otherwise quiet Boston suburb of Canton.
Protesters voiced their opinions, #FreeKaren billboards cropped up, and family and friends of both sides of the case were lambasted and heckled.
One of O’Keefe’s friends told Fox News Digital that Read supporters shouted profanities and heckled them as they entered the courtroom for the first day of the trial.
Aidan “Turtleboy” Kearney, a controversial blogger who was frequently seen with a bullhorn backing Read and writing about the case, was assaulted outside a Canton bar.
Jillian Daniels and James Farris, two Canton residents, were charged with assault, police confirmed to NBC 10 Boston.