In Read trial, more jurors selected
Preliminary start slated for Monday
DEDHAM — Opening statements in the murder trial of Karen Read were scheduled for next week after seven more jurors were selected Monday, exceeding the number needed for a full panel.
By day’s end at Norfolk Superior Court, 19 jurors had been chosen to hear the high-profile case, three more than needed. But Read’s lawyer, Alan Jackson, said some jurors may have availability issues, so the selection process will continue Wednesday to ensure a full complement of 12 jurors and four alternates.
Opening statements are tentatively scheduled for April 29, officials said. The trial is expected to last several weeks.
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.
Ninety-one prospective jurors were brought into the courthouse Monday to fill out juror questionnaires and answer questions at sidebar. As she has during each morning of jury selection, Judge Beverly J. Cannone read off a list of dozens of possible witnesses and asked potential jurors if any of them or their close friends or relatives know, or have had dealings with, any of the named witnesses. About 11 potential jurors raised their hands.
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.
On Monday, Read greeted prospective jurors when introduced in court.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” she said.
During jury selection, attorneys for Read and prosecutors conducted lengthy interviews with many would-be jurors by Cannone’s bench. Several times, lawyers for Read returned to the defense table to confer with their client, who could be seen nodding and pointing to her own notes.
As the day passed and prospective jurors were excused, a group of about eight people wearing pink entered the courtroom and sat in a rear bench. Karen Read supporters have taken to wearing pink during court sessions since they are not allowed to wear clothing or buttons that refer to the case.
After selection ended for the day, a small cluster of supporters waited with the media as Read and her attorneys descended the courthouse steps. They said little during a brief walk to a waiting Cadillac SUV parked nearby, but Jackson appeared confident when asked whether they were ready for opening arguments Monday.
“Oh yeah, of course,” Jackson said. “We’ve been ready.”
After jury selection on Wednesday, the sides are expected to return to court Thursday to discuss a number of motions filed in the case that have not been settled.
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.
On Monday, Norfolk prosecutors filed a motion asking Cannone to order Read’s lawyers to show “a satisfactory offer of proof ” that it’s necessary to call District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey as a witness at trial, should Read’s lawyers choose to do so.
On April 18, Read’s lawyers at sidebar “made an insufficient showing” as to why it would be necessary to call Morrissey, prosecutors wrote.
“Defense counsel indicated they would call District Attorney Morrissey to testify about the ‘conflict’ the Canton police department had with the investigation, and the assignment” of state troopers assigned to his office to take the case.
Prosecutors, citing state law, said that it’s “not in dispute” that Morrissey’s office and investigators have “exclusive jurisdiction” over all death investigations in Norfolk County.
Also on Monday, prosecutors filed a response to a defense motion to reconfigure the jury box so that all seated jurors have a clear view of witnesses’ faces when they testify.
“The defendant challenges only the jury’s opportunity to observe the witnesses’ demeanor,” prosecutors wrote in their response. “Demeanor is defined as ‘behavior toward others: outward manner’ and includes more than facial expressions.”