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DEDHAM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — A jury was seated in the second Karen Read trial Tuesday after ten days of selection.
The jury consists of 18 people—nine men and nine women. The jury was initially meant to have 16 people, but Judge Beverly Cannone added two more seats because of the high profile nature of the case and how long the trial is expected to last.
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Motion hearings will be held Wednesday in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham. No court is scheduled for Thursday, Friday, and Monday (Patriots Day).
Opening statements are scheduled for Tuesday, April 22.
The prosecution accuses Read of hitting her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow after a night out in Canton in Jan. 2022. Read's legal team claims law enforcement is framing her for O'Keefe's death.
Read is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death.
Her first trial ended in a mistrial last year because of a hung jury.
The defense has appealed Read's case to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking them to dismiss two charges against her on the grounds of double jeopardy. Read's team argues that jurors in her first trial had unanimously voted to acquit Read on the charges of murder and leaving the scene, and were only deadlocked on the charge of manslaughter.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide whether to take Read's case on Friday, April 25.
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