Karen Read trial now has 7 jurors seated after second day
Jury selection continued on Wednesday in Karen Read's high-profile Massachusetts trial, with seven jurors seated so far after two days.
After two days of jury selection, four men and three women have been seated. The goal is to reach a jury of 16 people.
Cameras are allowed at the beginning of jury selection instructions each day, but are later required to be shut off.
Read is facing charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. She has pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution argues that Read hit and killed her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, with her SUV and left him to die in the snow outside of a Canton home in 2022. Read says several people, including law enforcement, are attempting to frame her.
Read's first trial in 2024 ended with a mistrial due to a hung jury.
Karen Read jury selection
There were 87 jurors in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts on Wednesday, plus around 35 who were sent home Tuesday and have returned.
The first two days of jury selection showed the challenges the court will face in seating a jury.
In group questioning on the first day, of the 91 people asked, 78 had seen, heard of, or talked about Read's case. Additionally, 40 people said they had already formed an opinion and 16 said they had already developed a bias.
Day two yielded similar results. Of 87 new potential jurors on Wednesday, 77 have heard of or discussed case, 38 have formed an opinion and 14 feel bias.
How does jury selection work?
After being questioned as a group, the prospective jurors fill out their paperwork, then are questioned individually by Judge Beverly Cannone and lawyers. They are either added to the jury or sent home.
WBZ-TV legal analyst Katherine Loftus said that with so many people aware of the case, the key will be finding people who can still make a fair decision.
"The likelihood of finding a large swath of people in Norfolk County that have not heard of the Karen Read case is just unrealistic," Loftus said. "So really, they have to go to the next inquiry, which is, despite having heard of it, can you still sit on this jury?"
How to watch Karen Read trial
The Karen Read trial will be streaming live on CBS News Boston from opening statements right through the verdict.
For a full timeline of the Karen Read case, click here.
