Crime

Jury selection continues in Karen Read’s murder trial, but opening statements are on the horizon

Several motions are pending, including requests regarding the courtroom setup and Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey's inclusion on the defense team's witness list.

By Abby Patkin

April 23, 2024

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Opening statements in the Karen Read murder trial are tentatively slated for early next week following several marathon days of jury selection, according to The Boston Globe.

The number of seated jurors was reportedly up to 19 by the end of Monday’s session in Norfolk Superior Court — three more than the 12 jurors and four alternates sought for the high-profile trial. However, defense attorney Alan Jackson told the Globe some of the jurors may have availability issues, so the selection process will spill over into Wednesday. 

Opening statements are tentatively scheduled for Monday, April 29, the newspaper reported. Judge Beverly Cannone told prospective jurors last week that Read’s trial may ultimately last six to eight weeks once a jury is seated.

In a sensational case that has gripped Norfolk County and generated national headlines, the 44-year-old Read is accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe, in January 2022. Prosecutors say the Mansfield woman struck O’Keefe with her SUV and left him to die outside a home in Canton following a night out with friends. 

However, Read’s lawyers have alleged a widespread cover-up among witnesses and law enforcement, suggesting O’Keefe was actually beaten inside the home. Last week, Cannone said the defense team will be allowed to present “relevant, competent, admissible” evidence that others were to blame for O’Keefe’s death, though she barred Read’s lawyers from using the third-party culprit defense during opening statements. 

In an interview prior to jury selection, Northeastern University criminal law professor Daniel Medwed walked Boston.com through some methods of filtering out prospective jurors who show signs of possible bias. 

According to Medwed, it will be difficult to find jurors who haven’t read about Read’s case or come across it in news reports or on social media.

“There will be some of those people,” he acknowledged. “But the next question [for prospective jurors familiar with Read’s case] will be, ‘OK, you’ve heard about this case. Can you keep an open mind?’” 

There are still several motions on the table as Read’s trial inches closer. Her lawyers have raised concerns about the courtroom configuration, noting that the position of the jury box means some jurors won’t be able to see witnesses’ faces as they testify. 

In response, prosecutors pointed out that criminal trials have been held at Norfolk Superior Court with “substantially the same [courtroom] set-up” for more than 100 years. They also suggested moving the trial to a different, smaller courtroom as an alternative. 

In another motion, prosecutors pushed back on the defense team’s inclusion of Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey on their list of witnesses, requesting that Read’s lawyers show proof that Morrissey’s testimony is necessary. 

According to prosecutors, Read’s lawyers said in a sidebar last week they plan to call Morrissey to testify about a “conflict” the Canton Police Department had with the investigation into O’Keefe’s death, as well as the use of the Massachusetts State Police detective unit assigned to the DA’s office.

“It is not in dispute, that pursuant to statute, the District Attorney and its law enforcement officers have exclusive jurisdiction over all death investigations in Norfolk County,” prosecutors wrote. “Further, other witnesses are expected to testify that the Canton Police Department disassociated themselves from the investigation due to a familial relationship between the homeowner and a Canton police detective.”

Morrissey previously faced scrutiny after Cannone ruled last month that some of his comments on Read’s case “crossed the line” and “undoubtedly reflected poor judgment.” The DA released a video statement last August condemning the harassment of several witnesses involved in the case.