16 jurors seated in Karen Read retrial, but empanelment process will continue Monday

DEDHAM, Mass. — Jury selection in the retrial of Karen Read, the woman accused in the death of her police officer boyfriend, continued Thursday, with the court reaching a panel of 16 jurors.

Judge Beverly Cannone said the empanelment process would resume on Monday because she 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.

The case will not be in court on Friday.

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Opening statements in Read’s second murder trial are within reach after three new jurors were seated Wednesday in Dedham’s Norfolk Superior Court. The defense and prosecution now need to settle on at least one more juror, or maybe two, depending on if Judge Beverly Cannone seeks more alternates.

A total of eight men and seven women have been selected to hear the case through the first seven days of the empanelment process.

Of the 58 prospective jurors questioned Wednesday, 49 had either seen, heard, or talked about the case. Twenty-seven had formed an opinion about the case, and 12 indicated that they had a bias toward one side or another.

Read spoke with reporters outside of court, sharing her feelings about the 15 jurors picked so far.

“I feel good about all of them. I feel good about all of them. I feel some I didn’t, and they’re not our jurors, so that’s all I can ask for is that I feel good. It just takes one bad feeling and think, ‘God is my life in this person’s hands,’ and I don’t feel that way today.”

'I feel good,' Karen Read says when asked about jurors picked for her retrial

Boston 25 legal expert Peter Elikann said the jurors will need to be both impartial and flexible, considering Cannone expects the trial to last between six and eight weeks.

“How many people can take two months off of the business that they run or taking care of their children or whatever other responsibilities they have? So, it’s almost like a family decision sometimes whether you have the time,” Elikann said of the jury selection process.

Also 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.

The defense team claims that Read’s constitutional rights are being violated under the double jeopardy clause after multiple jurors allegedly came forward claiming she had been acquitted on two of the three charges.

On her way out of court Tuesday, Read told reporters that opening statements in her retrial could begin as soon as Tuesday, April 15.

Boston-based attorney David Yannetti gave the opening statements in the first trial, but it will be Los Angeles-based counsel Alan Jackson who will set the table for the jury in her second murder trial, Read also revealed.

With a gag order silencing all attorneys in this case, Read is the only one from her team allowed to speak to reporters. She says she’s not surprised at the speed of the jury selection process.

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.

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