DEDHAM, Mass. (WPRI) — Jury selection for Karen Read’s second murder trial began on Tuesday.
Read is accused of ramming into her then-boyfriend, John O’Keefe, with her SUV and leaving him for dead in a snowstorm back in January 2022. She has been charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene of a crime.
Her first murder trial ended in a mistrial last July after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
Her defense team claims she was framed and members of law enforcement have faced disciplinary action over how the investigation was handled.
This trial will have a lot of similarities to the first one, including the same courthouse, judge, and county of potential jurors.
Judge Beverly Cannone expects jury selection to take some time since it is such a high-profile case.
She started the day off by reading the names of 150 witnesses who may be called to the stand throughout the course of the trial, and asked the potential jurors questions as a group.
“Has anyone seen, heard or talked about this case? Raise your hand,” she said.
Many hands were raised for that question. Jurors also answered a questionnaire that asked for their opinions about law enforcement and their media habits.
There will be a few changes as well including a new prosecutor, Hank Brennan, who is a private defense attorney best known for representing Whitey Bulger.
There are also two new defense attorneys, one of whom is an alternate juror from the first trial.
The media is prohibited from providing specific or identifying information about jurors or potential jurors to the public after one juror from the last trial feared for the safety of their family.
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