The long-awaited trial of the Karen Read murder case opens Monday with opening statements.
This comes after what was about a five-day jury selection process. 12 jurors and four alternates will be officially identified Monday, and they will help decide the fate of Read, who’s facing several charges for allegedly killing her boyfriend, Boston police Officer John O’Keefe, in 2022 after a night out at two separate bars in Canton, Massachusetts.
Prosecutors and the defense will each have 45 minutes Monday morning to perform their opening statements.
The defense plans to argue that Read is being framed and that someone else is responsible for O’Keefe’s death. However, the judge said the defense can’t — in these opening statements Monday — make that third party culprit argument.
Instead, they have to “develop their argument, through relevant, competent, and admissible evidence over the course of the trial.”
The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks, with full days on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and half days on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
