There was speculation that opening statements in Karen Read’s retrial would begin Tuesday, but the day now holds more jury selection in store after Monday began and ended with the number of seated jurors at 16.
We recap the latest day of jury selection — more than 500 people have now been screened — and ask legal expert Michael Coyne some of the questions you’ve been emailing us. Plus, what might the impact be of prosecutors using more of Read’s words against her in the second trial?
Norfolk Superior Court is no closer to seating the jury that will weigh charges in Karen Read's second murder trial after a full day of jury selection on Monday.
The ninth day of selection began with 16 jurors seated. After a man dropped out, another was selected from 56 people in the jury pool. Judge Beverly Cannone had been aiming for 18 in total — all will hear the trial and 12 will be chosen to deliberate.
WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE
 |
Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are. |
Read — who denies killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Office John O'Keefe, with her SUV in Canton in January 2022 — has said she expects opening statements to begin Tuesday, but it wasn't immediately clear that remained the case.
Jury selection is set to continue on Tuesday.
Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox. Sign up for our News Headlines newsletter.
"I'm okay with it," she said outside of court Monday. "We can use more time."
More than 500 potential jurors have now been screened for the high-profile case since the process started on April 1, all of them filing out a three-page page survey with questions about the defendant, law enforcement and media coverage.
Read has been involved in the selection process. She's sitting near the sidebar, within earshot and view of the private conversations between the jurors, judge and attorneys, instead of at the defense table like last time.
"The more times they can look at look at someone and perhaps start to relate to them to them. The much harder it is to then say guilty at the end of at the end of this process," NBC10 Boston legal analyst Michael Coyne said.
He's previously said he found the target of 18 jurors prudent: "I would be more cautious when impaneling this jury because of the problems I think we’re going to find, because of the extensive media. I would be more comfortable with 18, maybe 19, even as many as 20."
