Crime

Jurors will get a glimpse into the arguments for and against Read’s innocence when lawyers on both sides make their opening statements Monday.

Opening statements are expected Monday in Karen Read’s high-profile murder trial, laying bare the arguments for and against the Mansfield woman’s innocence.

The 44-year-old is accused of backing her SUV into her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, while dropping him off at a home in Canton following a night of drinking in January 2022. Yet while prosecutors say Read left O’Keefe to die in the snow, her lawyers argue she was framed in an elaborate cover-up involving witnesses and law enforcement. 

Read has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter while driving under the influence, and leaving the scene of a collision causing injury and death.

Former prosecutor and veteran defense attorney David Yannetti will deliver an opening statement on her behalf Monday morning. A powerful orator, Yannetti was previously recognized for a closing statement he gave as a prosecutor in Middlesex County, when he secured convictions against the two men who killed 10-year-old Cambridge boy Jeffrey Curley in 1997.

Meanwhile, the prosecution — helmed by Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally — has pointed to a litany of evidence they say will prove Read killed her boyfriend of two years that snowy night in 2022.

Watch the opening statements below:

Livestream video will appear here. The opening statements are scheduled to start at 10 a.m. ET.