Karen Read's second trial heads into weekend without full jury seated
Karen Read's second murder trial is headed into its first weekend without a fully seated jury after the court spent days vetting dozens of candidates, many of whom were already aware of the high-profile case after her first trial in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe ended in a mistrial.
Judge Beverly Cannone cut the parties loose around 4:30 p.m. Friday after four days of jury selection, which began on Tuesday with dozens of potential jurors telling the court they had already heard about the case and formulated opinions.
Ten jurors have been selected out of an expected total of 16, 12 to deliberate and another four alternates. The process resumes Monday morning.
Jury selection is expected to be a crucial aspect of the trial after the first highly publicized event ended with jurors deadlocked and no verdict.
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Read faces murder, hit-and-run and manslaughter charges in connection with O'Keefe's death.
She was among the people who found him dead on fellow Boston Police Officer Brian Albert's front lawn on the morning of Jan. 29, 2022. The region had seen a blizzard overnight and an autopsy found head trauma as well as evidence of hypothermia.
Prosecutors allege Read backed into O'Keefe after a drunken fight and drove home, leaving him to die in the cold.
She denies the charges, has pleaded not guilty, and her defense has pushed the idea that someone else killed him, dragged him outside and left him there – using Read as a scapegoat to cover it up.
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The explosive claim and massive publicity surrounding her first trial – as well as the numerous media interviews she gave in the aftermath – made it so many people in the community and around the country are familiar with the facts of the case.
"Jury selection is critical to the outcome of this case, as in almost every case. In this case, the high level of publicity makes it even more challenging," said Sam Bassett, a defense lawyer in Austin, Texas, who has been following the proceedings. "Each side has its idea of the personality types that will favor their side so it’s a real battle to get the jurors you like."
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As a result, he expects both sides to take their time with the process.
"The jury selection process in a case like this takes a very long time because you have to carefully exclude jurors who might have a subtle bias or opinion that causes that juror to be undesirable," he told Fox News Digital.
"I do not think a break for the weekend matters very much. It’s much more important to ensure that the jury selection is thorough."