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A special prosecutor has been appointed to lead the states team in the upcoming retrial of Karen Read in the death of her boyfriend, Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey said Wednesday. The first murder trial for Read, 44, ended in a hung jury. The Mansfield woman is accused of hitting John O’Keefe with her SUV outside a Canton home on Jan. 29, 2022, and leaving him to die in a snowstorm following a night of drinking.(Special Assistant District Attorney Hank Brennan) is a highly respected and skilled former prosecutor and long-time defense attorney with over 25 years of experience in state and federal courts and has expertise handling complex law enforcement matters, Morrissey said in a statement. Reads defense contends OKeefe, a Boston police officer, was dragged outside after he was beaten up in the basement and bitten by a dog at fellow Boston officer Brian Alberts home in Canton.Read’s trial came to an end on July 1 when the jury of six women and six men said repeatedly that they were hopelessly deadlocked, and Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial.Read’s defense has asked that two of the three charges second-degree murder and leaving the scene be dismissed after hearing from jurors who said the jury had voted to acquit her on the charges. The judge denied the motion, and Read has appealed to the Supreme Judicial Court. I have two core obligations. The first is to make certain that Karen Read receives a fair trial. Ms. Read will receive the dignity and fairness that every defendant deserves in our criminal justice system. The second is to ensure that the facts surrounding John OKeefes death are fully and fairly aired in the courtroom without outside influence, Brennan said in a statement. I guarantee that I will work tirelessly with the trial team to prepare this case for trial in January of 2025.Read, a former adjunct professor at Bentley University, pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, along with manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol and leaving a scene of personal injury and death. The manslaughter charge carries a penalty of five to 20 years in prison, and the other charge has a maximum penalty of 10 years.Prosecutors suffered several notable setbacks during their presentation of the case, including surveillance video from a police garage that appeared to be inverted and embarrassing revelations about the “very regrettable” messages sent by a Massachusetts State Police trooper assigned to the case. That trooper was later suspended, and others have faced internal affairs investigations.If the case stays on schedule, a second trial is set to begin on Jan. 27.Morrissey said Brennans team will also include assistant district attorneys Adam Lally, Laura McLaughlin and Caleb Schillinger.Brennan was a member of James “Whitey” Bulger’s defense team in 2013.