Special Prosecutor Hank Brennan said the commonwealth will lean into facts, science and data to prove its case.

In his opening statement, Brennan told the jury in Karen Read’s second murder trial today that he would walk them through this set of facts.

“You will learn through this case — through facts, science and data — you will learn that on January 29, 2022,” Read put her car in reverse and hit John O’Keefe after an argument, Brennan said.

The prosecutor claimed O’Keefe was “killed by the actions and conduct” of Read.

Special prosecutor Hank Brennan began his opening statement by depicting for jurors the perspective of Timothy Nuttall — a Canton, Massachusetts, firefighter and paramedic who responded to the discovery of John O’Keefe’s body early one morning in January 2022.

Brennan described Nuttall’s arrival at the scene, where he approached O’Keefe’s body and found no signs of life. As he and others worked to save O’Keefe, Brennan said, Nuttall turned to Karen Read, who was at the scene, and asked:

“What happened?”

“And you’ll hear her words,” Brennan said. “She said, ‘I hit him, I hit him, I hit him.’”

Prosecutors have pointed to the alleged statement by Read as evidence that she was aware she had struck O’Keefe with her vehicle the night prior.

“We are here today,” Brennan said, “because John O’Keefe was killed by the actions and conduct of that defendant, Karen Read.”

In opening remarks to the jurors, Judge Beverly Cannone addressed the outsized public interested in Karen Read’s case, which has sharply divided the surrounding community.

“The jury selected for this trial will hear and judge the evidence,” she told them. “You will decide what the facts are.”

“People outside of this building have rights and we know they have voices,” she added. “But this trial will be decided by you, an independent jury free from outside interference based only upon the evidence presented in this courtroom and the law.”

The retrial of Karen Read is officially underway, with prosecutors presenting their opening statement to her jury.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, led by special prosecutor Hank Brennan, is presenting its statement first. Read’s defense will give its opening statement later.

The jury which will hear Karen Read’s second murder trial has been sworn in.

Judge Beverly Cannone is giving jurors descriptions of the charges Read faces and information about the burden of proof, before both sides are expected to deliver opening statements shortly.

Judge Beverly Cannone ruled not to allow an “independent reader” who would read text messages included as part of the evidence without any inflection.

The defense had opposed the request.

It’s believed that many of the texts will be Karen Read’s and were found on her cellphone. Texts from John O’Keefe would have also been read by that independent reader.

Court got underway shortly after 9 a.m. ET, but opening statements have not yet begun.

Judge Beverly Cannone is first expected to hear arguments from the attorneys on outstanding motions.

The high-profile retrial of Karen Read gets underway in earnest today, with prosecutors and defense attorneys expected to present their opening statements, outlining their cases for the nine men and women selected to serve on her jury.

Read, 45, stands accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe, one night in January 2022. She has again pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death.

Prosecutors allege a drunken Read struck O’Keefe with her vehicle and then fled, leaving him to die in the snow outside a home in Canton, Massachusetts. But Read’s defense attorneys have accused off-duty law enforcement officers inside the home of killing O’Keefe and framing Read.

The jury in Read’s first trial deadlocked, telling Judge Beverly Cannone they could not reach a unanimous verdict. After several days of deliberating, Cannone declared a mistrial.

The case has sharply divided the surrounding community. During the first trial, pink-wearing advocates for Read gathered outside the courthouse in Dedham to show their support, outnumbering those who wore blue to show support for O’Keefe and his family.

The fervor has not dissipated: Police have again erected a buffer zone to keep the crowds from getting too close to the courthouse. Still, in pretrial hearings, those crowds have booed O’Keefe’s family and other prosecution witnesses, leading to requests from state prosecutors for an expanded buffer zone.

Karen Read has just arrived at the courthouse in Dedham, Massachusetts, for her retrial in the killing of her boyfriend, John O’Keefe.

Footage from outside the court showed Read walking into court with her legal team.

Karen Read is expected back in a Massachusetts court today to face a second murder trial in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend in a case that has rallied pink-wearing supporters to her cause in their belief of a vast criminal conspiracy.

Read, 45, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death.

The case stems from the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, whose body was found bruised and battered in the snow in January 2022 outside the home of a fellow officer in the suburb of Canton, Massachusetts.

Her murder trial last year ended in a mistrial after the jury deadlocked on the charges and reported it could not come to a unanimous verdict.

Read’s retrial began April 1 with jury selection. Opening statements are set to begin today, and the trial is expected to last about six to eight weeks.

Keep reading here for look at a timeline of the entire case, from the key six-hour period surrounding O’Keefe’s death and the ensuing legal battle over who is responsible.

The retrial of Karen Read carries with it all the gravity to be expected of a murder trial, with the defendant insisting on her innocence and the family of the victim, John O’Keefe, seeking accountability for his tragic death.

But for the legal teams, the showdown that will unfold in the coming weeks at the Dedham, Massachusetts, courthouse, is a rematch – a chance to prove their case after Read’s last trial ended with a hung jury.

And both teams have new members. Here’s who’s who:

The prosecution:

• Special Prosecutor Hank Brennan: The commonwealth’s case will be spearheaded by Brennan, who was appointed to retry the Read case by Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey. Brennan is best known for defending mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger during his federal racketeering trial.
• Assistant District Attorneys Adam Lally and Laura McLaughlin: Both are longtime members of the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office. Lally was responsible for leading the prosecution during Read’s first trial.

Among others, the defense includes:

• David Yannetti: A Boston-based criminal defense attorney, Yannetti was the first lawyer Read hired following O’Keefe’s death.
• Alan Jackson and Elizabeth Little: Read later hired Jackson and Little, who along with Yannetti represented Read at her first trial. Jackson and Little represented Kevin Spacey after the actor was accused of groping a young man at a Nantucket bar. The charges were ultimately dropped.
• Victoria George: In an unusual development, Read’s team announced in March it was bringing on George, an alternate juror in the first trial, according to CNN affiliate WCVB. As an alternate, George did not participate in deliberations.
• Robert Alessi: Read’s team also includes Alessi, a partner at a New York-based firm.