Jury selection in Karen Read trial not complete after 3rd day as proceedings wrap for week

DEDHAM, Mass — The jury selection process in the Karen Read murder trial remains incomplete after three days and the case won’t return to court on Friday.

Two additional jurors were seated on Thursday, but one who was seated on Wednesday was excused for hardship, leaving the current juror count at 12. Four alternates still need to be seated before testimony can commence.

Of the 57 potential jurors in Thursday’s pool, 41 of them told the judge they had heard or spoken about the case, 20 said they had formed opinions, and eight admitted to have formed a bias. Ultimately, just two of them were selected for the trial.

Also on Thursday, DNA analysis from Bode Labs in Virginia was entered by the prosecution, Boston 25′s Ted Daniel reported.

“A piece of hair found on the back of Read’s Lexus SUV was sent to the lab to see if it matched John O’Keefe’s DNA. The defense has been trying to get the results excluded citing a delay in testing. We haven’t seen the lab report yet,” Daniel wrote in a post on X.

Read is charged with running down O’Keefe, her Boston police officer boyfriend, and leaving him to die in a blizzard in the town of Canton on Jan. 29, 2022.

0 of 53

Read’s defense has argued that she is being framed and that O’Keefe was beaten and attacked by a dog inside the home of another Boston police officer.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, 11 jurors were chosen from about 180 people.

Jurors have been filling out a form of 29 questions – wanting to know if they’ve ever been involved in a march or demonstration showing support for law enforcement or demonstrations against law enforcement.

The prosecution plans to call as many as 87 witnesses when testimony begins, including 23 members of law enforcement.

The defense has submitted 77 potential witnesses including John O’Keefe’s father and Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey.

One potential juror, Tony Pardo, was excused Wednesday afternoon.

He said he hadn’t previously heard about the case but was glad not to serve on this trial.

“Well, it’s a big case, you know, and figure I’d be here for a while. It’s probably gonna be a long trial,” said Pardo. He continued, “I kind of got the sense that most people didn’t. Probably about half the people raised their hand when they were talking about having a hot ship or things of that nature.”

The trial will resume on Monday morning.

Boston 25′s Ted Daniel provided the following updates from court on Thursday:

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW

©2024 Cox Media Group