Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
DEDHAM, Mass (WBZ NewsRadio) — Nine months after her first trial ended in a mistrial, jury selection kicked off for the retrial in the Karen Read Murder Case Tuesday.
Hundreds of the more than a thousand prospective jurors were in court on Tuesday, but selecting an impartial jury is expected to take weeks. At the end of the day, two jurors had been seated. For the first trial, the court interviewed over 400 prospective jurors.
Each potential juror must fill out a special questionnaire about their exposure to pretrial publicity in the case. The questionnaire asks jurors over 30 questions including if they believe if law enforcement is generally fair and accurate in their investigations and if they believe that Karen Read should have to prove her innocence. It also asks where they've gotten news about the case.
Before selection began, Judge Beverly Cannone urged potential jurors to ignore the huge amount of attention surrounding the case.
"People outside of this building have rights and we know that they have voices," Judge Cannone said. "But this criminal trial will be decided by an independent jury."
While the trial is in the same courtroom with the same judge, there are some differences in the case. Special Prosecutor Hank Brennan is leading the case for the Norfolk County District Attorney's office, while Read added two new lawyers to her defense team. The court also added a 200-foot buffer zone around the courthouse and barred demonstrators from wearing "Free Karen Read" apparel.
Read More: Former Alternate Juror Becomes Newest Karen Read Defense Attorney
Read is accused of hitting her Boston Police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe with her and leaving him to die in the snow back in January of 2022. She's been charged with second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter, and leaving the scene of a crash. Her defense team maintains she is being framed.