After seven days and 12 witnesses, it is clear Karen Read's second trial is very different from the first. 

"I think it's vastly different really," said WBZ Legal Analyst Katherine Loftus. 

Loftus watches every minute of testimony and helps break down the big legal takeaways, like how the public perception is different than what a jury hears. 

In the first seven days of Read's first trial, jurors had already heard from 22 witnesses including two family members, nine EMTs, five Canton police officers and six civilians. 

New prosecutor's strategy

The first trial was led by prosecutor Adam Lally. "The way Adam Lally presented the case, it's almost like he really went in chronological order," Loftus said. 

There's been a big change in the order of testimony, with prosecutor Hank Brennan at the helm. 

"It's almost like little crumbs," Loftus said. "He's using a piece of information from different types of witnesses." 

Loftus says this could impact how the jury remembers evidence. 

"But this way, if you have an EMT on the front end and then, you do six, seven witnesses later another EMT, what that does to the jury is jogs their memory of 'oh right this is why that's important.' And so, it seems to be a more efficient way to get them to hang onto the information he wants them to," Loftus said.  

Key witnesses appear earlier

Another change, some key witnesses have been called early, like Kerry Roberts and Jen McCabe. 

"I think what it does is it takes the winds out of the defense's sails a little bit," said Loftus. 

Impacting how intensely the defense can cross examine. 

"Overwhelmingly, having them earlier, allows the Commonwealth to really control the narrative," Loftus said. "If you know you have information that's coming at you if you know you have testimony, a line of questioning that's not going to be helpful, or you think in some ways could be problematic, better to get out ahead of it." 

Karen Read's own words

Remember, only prosecutors are presenting their case against Karen Read so far, but another major change in the tone of the trial comes from Read herself.

The prosecution is playing clips of Karen Read's news interviews, something the first jury never saw. 

"It's almost difficult for me to watch," Loftus said. "The defense almost created the new strengths of the Commonwealth's case in allowing her to speak."

What is Karen Read accused of?

Read is facing trial for a second time and has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. Her first trial ended in a mistrial last year. 

Prosecutors say she hit and killed John O'Keefe, a Boston police officer who she was dating, with her SUV and left him to die outside a Canton home during a blizzard in 2022. Read's defense has argued law enforcement, and several other people are working to frame her.