Opening statements in Read’s second murder trial are within reach after a total of 16 jurors have been seated.
Judge Beverly Cannone wants a jury of 18 people, including six alternates. As of right now, the jury consists of eight men and eight women, including a group of 12 deliberators and four alternates.
Follow Ted Daniel for live updates from the courtroom
On Thursday, 41 candidates were brought in with almost all knowing about the case. 36 had seen, heard, or talked about the case, 25 had an opinion and 12 had formed a bias.
Outside court, Read said opening statements were expected to start tomorrow. That was never finalized and it’s unclear if that will happen even if all jurors are seated today.
Boston 25 legal expert Peter Elikann says there is a likelihood the trial will start this week.
“It’s thought that it will be a quicker trial,” Elikann said. “The prosecution has said that they are going to be very succinct and not only have maybe half the witnesses that they had last time. And so, it is anticipated that it is going to be a quicker trial than the nine week trial we had last time and yet there’s no guarantees you never know where the trial is gonna go until it really is underway.”
Last week Karen Read compared her ongoing murder case to the OJ Simpson trial in a new interview with Vanity Fair. Read said her trial for the death of John O’Keefe reminds her of the former NFL star’s murder case for the death of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in 1996.
Read told the magazine the investigation into Simpson was dubious and knowing what she knows now, she would have cheered at his acquittal.
On Wednesday, the United States Supreme Court denied Read’s emergency filing to delay her retrial.
The SCOTUS, however, said they would decide on April 25 if they want to review her request to drop two of the three charges against her.
Read, 45, of Mansfield, is accused of hitting John O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV in Canton on Jan. 29, 2022, and leaving him to die in the cold after a night of drinking. The defense has sought to portray Read as the victim, saying O’Keefe was actually killed inside the Albert family home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton and then dragged outside and left for dead.
She has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death.
There was no court on Friday.
Day 9 of jury selection gets underway at 9 a.m.
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