Nearly 100 potential jurors arrived at Norfolk Superior Court this morning for the first date of the murder trial of Mansfield’s Karen Read.

Ahead of the arrival of the potential jurors, Judge Beverly Cannone issued her ruling on the most contentious pretrial issue: whether the defense could use the third-party killer theory they have argued for roughly a year now. It was a mixed ruling: Cannone said that the defense can develop their theory over the questioning of witnesses but may not outright state their theory in their opening arguments.

Read, 44, was indicted in June of 2022 for second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter, and leaving the scene of a collision causing death in the Jan. 29, 2022, death of John O’Keefe, 46, a 16-year member of the Boston Police Department and Read’s boyfriend of two years. Prosecutors say she struck him with her Lexus SUV outside a Canton home after a night of heavy drinking and left him to die in the cold.

The jurors were packed into the Superior courtroom averaging 10 per bench, four benches deep on one side and five benches deep on the other, shortly before 10 a.m.

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Cannone gave them a brief overview of the allegations against Read and definitions of the charges against her. Cannone indicated that the charge of murder would require intention and malice, whereas manslaughter is causing someone’s death without intention.

During basic questioning of the potential jurors, the vast majority indicated that they had heard of or talked about this case. It’s an early indication of possible struggles to seat a jury in a case that has been a media and community touchstone for a very long time now.

The trial is expected to last five to six weeks, according to the prosecution’s pre-trial memorandum issued today. In that memo, they also named 87 potential witnesses, including 23 police officers — most from the Massachusetts State Police, several from the Canton Police Department and one each from the Dighton and Needham police departments. The defense named 77 of their own witnesses, with much overlap with the prosecution’s list, and reserved the right to call anyone from the prosecution’s list.

The hearing continues now and this story will be updated with new details.