Photo of Karen Read getting close to her lawyer is not a good idea and could harm retrial, says former homicide detective

A photo of Karen Read's lawyer with his arms around his smiling client's waist and chest could potentially harm a retrial, a former homicide detective has said.

Alan Jackson, a high-profile defense attorney who successfully fought off a murder charge against Read, was seen in a photo obtained by Fox News Digital, among other outlets, in a warm embrace.

The photo was taken outside a Boston restaurant on Thursday, June 27, after the case was sent to the jury for deliberation.

“Perception is everything, and if this photo of the lawyer hugging his client is authenticated, I can certainly tell you it's not a good image,” former Washington, D.C. homicide detective Ted Williams told Fox News.

Jackson did not respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment on the photo.

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Karen Read and her attorney, Alan Jackson, center, arrive at a restaurant in Boston on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)

Jackson and David Yannetti were Read's most influential attorneys, who argued that the accusations that Read killed her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, were part of an elaborate conspiracy and frame-up.

They managed to sow enough seeds of doubt that the jury deadlocked after nearly 26 hours of deliberation, and the weeks-long trial ended in a mistrial.

Read, a 44-year-old financial analyst, left the Dedham, Massachusettsa free woman in court after two years of conspiracies and venomous rhetoric against Read and O'Keefe's family and friends.

However, the saga is not over.

“The Commonwealth intends to retry the case,” prosecutors said before a smiling Read and his attorneys finished speaking to supporters and the media after Monday's mistrial.

Karen Read smiles as defense attorney David Yannetti speaks to reporters outside Norfolk Superior Court, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. A judge declared a mistrial Monday after jurors deadlocked in the case of Read, who is accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend by hitting him with her SUV and leaving him in a snowstorm. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Karen Read and her attorney, Alan Jackson, arrive at a restaurant in Boston on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)

Karen Read and her attorney, Alan Jackson, arrive at a restaurant in Boston on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)

The narrative before, during and after the trial focused on Read.

The affair transformed the Boston suburb of Canton into a civil war atmosphere, and O'Keefe's death was more of a footnote than the center of the story.

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“It's become the Karen Read show,” O'Keefe's brother, Paul O'Keefe, told CBS Boston. “She walks around in a crowd cheering for her. She goes out in public, takes pictures and signs autographs.

“She lives her life as if nothing happened.”

Flags, flowers and mementos surround the headstone of Boston police officer John O'Keefe at Blue Hill Cemetery, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Braintree, Mass. A judge declared a mistrial Monday, July 1, 2024, after jurors deadlocked in the case of Karen Read, who is accused of killing her police officer boyfriend, O'Keefe, by hitting him with her SUV and abandoning him in a snowstorm. Prosecutors said in a statement that they intend to retry the case. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

This undated photo released by the Boston Police Department shows Officer John O'Keefe. (Boston Police Department via AP)

The Massachusetts jury deliberated for nearly 26 hours and remained deadlocked for several days.

The jurors were “deeply divided” because of “deeply held beliefs” and “consensus is impossible to achieve,” according to the first of two memos sent to the presiding judge on Monday.

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The judge asked the jury to reconsider its decision one last time in a last-ditch effort to reach a unanimous verdict.

The result was the same and the trial was over.

“Despite our commitment to the duty entrusted to us, we find ourselves deeply divided by fundamental differences in our opinions and our state of mind,” the jury wrote in its final note to the judge.

Karen Read, right, looks up as defense attorney Alan Jackson, center, speaks to reporters as defense attorney David Yannetti, left, looks on in Norfolk Superior Court, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. A judge declared a mistrial Monday after jurors deadlocked in the case of Read, who was accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend by hitting him with her SUV and leaving him in a snowstorm. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Karen Read gets a long hug from her father, William, before the jury rises for lunch at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)

The jury sat for weeks in a trial that included 74 witnesses and nearly 700 pieces of evidence.

Prosecutors argued that an argument turned deadly during an alcohol-related fight in January 2022, when Read allegedly backed into O'Keefe with his SUV and left him to die during a nor'easter.

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His body was found on the lawn in front of the home of an influential family with close ties to law enforcement and prosecutors. Read claimed the family blamed her for O'Keefe's death as part of an elaborate cover-up.

The deadlocked jury was as torn as the otherwise quiet Boston suburb of Canton.

Critics of Karen Read rally outside the courthouse in Dedham, Massachusetts, on Friday, June 28, 2024. (Photos Patriot/Backgrid for Fox News Digital)

Supporters of Karen Read celebrate their victory outside Norfolk Superior Court, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. A judge declared a mistrial Monday after jurors deadlocked in the case of Read, who is accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend by hitting him with her SUV and abandoning him in a snowstorm. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Protesters voiced their opinions, #FreeKaren billboards were put up, and families and friends from both sides were heckled and booed.

One of O'Keefe's friends told Fox News Digital that Read's supporters shouted profanities and booed them as they entered the courtroom for the first day of trial. the trial.

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Aidan “Turtleboy” Kearney, a controversial blogger who was often seen with a megaphone supporting Read and writing about the case, was assaulted outside a Canton bar.

Canton residents Jillian Daniels and James Farris have been charged with assault, police confirmed to NBC 10 Boston.