Jury selection in the murder trial of Karen Read resumed Monday in Norfolk Superior Court. Twelve jurors had been chosen when jury selection concluded Thursday. Sixteen jurors will ultimately be selected, with four designated as alternates.
Ninety-one prospective jurors were brought into the courthouse Monday to fill out juror questionnaires and answer questions at sidebar. About 11 potential jurors raised their hands when Judge Beverly J. Cannone asked if any of them or their close friends or relatives know, or have had dealings with, any of the named witnesses.
Virtually everyone raised their hands when Cannone asked if anyone had heard or seen reports about or discussed the case, and roughly 20 people answered affirmatively when asked if they had formed an opinion about the case. Six people raised their hands when asked if they had a bias.
Read, 44, is accused of backing her SUV into her boyfriend and leaving him for dead during a blizzard in Canton in 2022. She has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of personal injury or death.
On Monday, she greeted prospective jurors when introduced in court.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” she said.
Selection began April 16, when the court sat four jurors out of a pool of around 90. On Wednesday, the attorneys in the case and Cannone conducted more than four hours of jury selection, seating seven more jurors. Two additional jurors were seated Thursday, while one who had been chosen previously was excused due to a hardship, Read’s lawyer Alan Jackson said.
Prosecutors allege Read dropped off Boston police officer John O’Keefe outside a residence on Fairview Road in Canton early on Jan. 29, 2022 after a night of bar-hopping and backed into him, returning hours later with two other women and discovering O’Keefe’s snow-covered body on the front lawn.
Lawyers for Read maintain she’s being framed as part of a police coverup and that O’Keefe was beaten by people at the party and left for dead. His body was discovered the following morning on the front lawn of the home, which was owned at the time by a fellow Boston police officer.
Acting US Attorney Joshua S. Levy’s office has convened a federal grand jury to look into the state law enforcement handling of the probe. Levy hasn’t commented publicly on the probe.
This breaking news story will be updated when more information is released.
