The Karen Read murder case has officially begun in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham.

Judge Beverly Cannone began her preliminary remarks to the 17 seated jurors at 10:16 a.m., almost exactly an hour after Read and her legal team arrived in the courthouse. Cannone explained the concept of reasonable doubt and that the prosecution has the exclusive responsibility to prove their case beyond such a doubt.

“If you have a reasonable doubt remaining, then the defendant must be presumed innocent,” Cannone said. “The evidence must convince you of the defendant’s guilt to a reasonable and moral certainty.”

Prosecutor Adam Lally began his opening statement of the Commonwealth’s case against Read at 10:33 a.m. Defense attorney David Yannetti will follow with the defense’s argument, though Cannone has barred him from directly leveling claims of a third-party killer, which has been the linchpin of Read’s defense for roughly a year, during his opening.

Background

Read, 44, of Mansfield, was indicted June 9, 2022, on charges of second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter and leaving the scene of a collision causing death. This pushed her case to the Norfolk Superior Court, where she pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Read the Herald’s full overview article of the case: Karen Read case: The theories of a Canton murder

This indictment upped the charges she was originally arrested on. She pleaded not guilty in Stoughton District Court on Feb. 2, 2022, to original charges of manslaughter, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle collision causing death and motor vehicle homicide.

Prosecutors say that Read struck O’Keefe with her SUV outside the Canton home of Brian Albert, a detective sergeant with the Boston Police Department, after a night out drinking together with friends. Prosecutors say Read was drunk and that the couple had significant relationship problems.

The defense countered with their own theory that Albert or others inside his then-home, 34 Fairview Road, killed O’Keefe and put his body on the lawn to frame Read. They bolster their theory with arguments of a cover-up of the truth orchestrated by police and prosecutors. They filed two motions to dismiss their case based on these accusations, both of which Judge Beverly Cannone denied.

This is a developing story.