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Opening statements in Karen Read’s trial begin Monday morning, but with a change of courtroom
Prosecutors and lawyers for Read will each have 45 minutes to give jurors a glimpse into their respective cases.
When lawyers on either side of the Karen Read murder trial deliver their opening statements Monday, they’ll do so from a smaller courtroom than initially planned.
Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone shifted the trial to the “much smaller” courtroom 25 Thursday after Read’s lawyers raised concerns about the configuration of the main courtroom. Specifically, they noted the position of the jury box meant some jurors wouldn’t be able to see witnesses’ faces as they testified.
More on Karen Read:
Come 10 a.m. Monday, Cannone said she’ll give the prosecution and defense 45 minutes each for their opening statements. The judge also heard and ruled on several motions in preparation for the start of Read’s trial.
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The 44-year-old is accused of striking her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, with her SUV outside a home in Canton on Jan. 29, 2022. Prosecutors allege Read left O’Keefe to die in a blizzard following a night of drinking, but lawyers for the Mansfield woman say she was framed in a widespread cover-up among law enforcement and witnesses.
Read’s case gained notoriety after Turtleboy blogger Aidan Kearney adopted the defense team’s cover-up allegations and defended Read throughout hundreds of blog posts. Kearney later faced criminal charges after he was accused of intimidating witnesses in Read’s case, and prosecutors alleged Read leaked non-public information to the controversial blogger over the course of several months.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys have both agreed not to mention Kearney or his pending charges during Read’s trial, though Cannone said the subject will become fair game if Kearney is mentioned “spontaneously” in witnesses’ testimony.
Cannone previously ruled that Read’s lawyers can use “relevant, competent, admissible evidence” to argue that others are to blame for O’Keefe’s death, though she barred them from using the third-party culprit defense during opening statements.
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The judge allowed a motion from prosecutors that will bar attorneys from mentioning a federal investigation into law enforcement’s handling of the case. Defense attorney David Yannetti also said he will not mention in his opening statement that Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, a lead investigator on Read’s case, is now the subject of a pending internal affairs review.
Speaking to reporters outside Norfolk Superior Court Thursday, Read’s father said the lengthy, high-profile court process has been “hell” for his family. However, he also said he believes his daughter will get a fair trial.
“If you’ve been living on this planet for the last 27, 28 months, it’s difficult to not be aware of what has happened here,” William Read said, per WJAR video. “My daughter is factually innocent; she’s being framed.”
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