DEDHAM – Jury selection is complete in the Karen Read murder trial, paving the way for the prosecution and defense to make their opening arguments next week.
Read, 45, is accused of killing her boyfriend, Braintree native and Boston police officer John O’Keefe, by backing into him with her SUV outside a Canton home in January 2022 and leaving him to die in a snowstorm following a night of drinking.
After her first trial ended with a hung jury last year, the state vowed to put Read on trial again. Jury selection in her retrial began on April 1.
Jury selection took 10 days, with hundreds of potential jurors summonsed to Norfolk Superior Court. Nine women and nine men have been seated. Opening arguments are set for Tuesday, April 22.
Twelve of the jurors will ultimately deliberate and decide the case, while six will serve as alternates.
The intrigue and scandal surrounding the case grabbed the attention of people across the country, and true crime YouTubers, TikTokers and internet sleuths begin following the Read case. It has been the subject of several true crime documentaries, including a recent Investigation Discovery docuseries “A Body in the Snow” about the case.
What happened in Read’s first trial
Read was charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence and leaving the scene of personal injury and death.
Prosecutors called more than 65 witnesses in testimony of the first trial that started April 29, 2024. The defense’s list of witnesses was much shorter. Read did not testify in her own defense.
Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial in the case in July after jurors returned multiple times stating they could not reach a verdict.
The Karen Read trial could take six to eight weeks
With the full jury impaneled, Cannone said the trial could take six to eight weeks.
She said the schedule includes full days, starting at 9 a.m. and finishing at 4:30 p.m. with a lunch break from 1 to 2 p.m. daily. She said there will be some days off and half days throughout the schedule as well.
There are new faces for both the prosecution and defense in the Karen Read case
Both the prosecution and defense teams have added to their lineups since the first trial.
Hank Brennan, a private defense attorney who represented mobster Whitey Bulger, was hired as a special prosecutor by the Norfolk County District Attorney’s office to try the case. He will serve as lead prosecutor, assisted by former lead prosecutor Adam Lally and Laura McLaughlin.
The defense has also added two attorneys: Robert Alessi and Victoria George, who is a former alternate juror from Read’s first trial. David Yannetti, Alan Jackson and Elizabeth Little also remain on Read’s team.
