Lindsay Clancy murder trial ends in mistrial after jurors fail to reach verdict

PLYMOUTH, Mass. (TCN) -- The high-profile murder trial of a 36-year-old woman charged in connection with the 2023 strangulation deaths of her three children has ended in a mistrial.

Lindsay Clancy has admitted to strangling her children, ages 5, 3, and 8 months, with exercise bands in her family’s home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in January 2023 before attempting suicide. 

She and her defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, maintain she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time and heard a voice commanding her to kill her children, and therefore is not criminally responsible. 

Prosecutors say Clancy was not psychotic at the time and sent her husband out to run errands so she could kill the children. They also allege her suicide attempt was not serious.

According to The Associated Press, jurors deliberated for seven days. They first announced they were deadlocked on Sept. 2. They sent Judge William Sullivan notes that they were unable to reach a verdict. 

On Sept. 4, they sent their third and final note, and Sullivan said, “I’m going to declare a mistrial at this point.” Reddington then asked Sullivan for a one-hour stay of the declaration to appeal to the state’s supreme court. 

Under Massachusetts law, a judge can declare a mistrial after the third announcement of a deadlock, according to NBC News.

On Sept. 3, the jury’s foreperson provided a note to the judge that one of the jurors was not following his instructions regarding reasonable doubt. Reddington had asked Sullivan to dismiss that juror; Sullivan declined. After Sullivan indicated on Sept. 4 that he was set to declare a mistrial, Reddington said, “What I’m asking for is time to file a single-justice appeal for this travesty,” per the AP.

NPR reports that of the alleged holdout juror, Reddington said, “I believe that this is a situation where there is a clear and present danger that this individual, for some reason, what it is we don’t know, but is taking a position that’s intractable, regardless of proof beyond a reasonable doubt."

According to the New York Times, Reddington indicated that the jury was split 11-1 in the defense’s favor.

NBC News reports that if Reddington’s appeal was granted, the jury would be brought in again on Sept. 5 —a Saturday — to continue deliberations. 

The New York Times reports that on the afternoon of Sept. 4, an associate justice with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held an emergency online hearing to decide whether to block Sullivan from declaring a mistrial. The judge denied the request for an emergency stay and Sullivan officially declared a mistrial.

Following the declaration of a mistrial, the BBC reports prosecutors can refile for a new trial with a new jury, negotiate a plea, or drop the charges. In the meantime, while next steps are decided, Clancy will be returned to the inpatient facility where she has been housed for the last three years.

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