Lindsay Clancy faces potential mistrial as jury fails to reach unanimous verdict
Lindsay Clancy faces a potential mistrial, as jurors fail to return a unanimous verdict once again.
The defence never disputed that the 36-year-old killed her children Cora, five, Dawson, three, and Callan, eight months, in January 2023, with the trial focused on finding whether or not she is criminally responsible.
After the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict for the second time today (4 September), Judge William Sullivan said he wanted to declare a mistrial, as majority decisions are not allowed in the state of Massachusetts.
Her legal team have argued throughout that she cannot be held criminally responsible due to her post-pregnancy mental health.
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It means the former labour and delivery nurse will remain held at a psychiatric hospital awaiting a resolution of the criminal case, the same status as before the trial.
Clancy's attorney Kevin Reddington has since appealed to the judge to hold off on formally declaring a mistrial, stating that he wants to appeal the holdout juror to the Supreme Court.
Yesterday, it was revealed that a single juror will not follow the court’s instructions about reasonable doubt, with a note delivered to the judge suggesting this was what was holding the 12 jurors, consisting of nine women and three men, from reaching a verdict. Judge Sullivan then questioned each juror privately before reminding them of his instructions on reasonable doubt and sending them back to deliberate once again.
Meanwhile, Reddington called for the juror to be removed, accusing them of 'refusing to listen to the law'.
Reddington's argument now hinges on the claim that the juror has taken an 'intractable' position.
"I believe that this is a situation where there is a clear and present danger that this individual, for some reason... is taking a position that's intractable regardless of proof beyond a reasonable doubt," he said.
If granted, Reddington would be able to file a petition and argue his case with the Supreme Court. He will have an hour to file the appeal.
Should the mistrial stand, there are now three different options prosecutors can take:
Option 1
The first and perhaps most obvious option for prosecutors would be to retry Clancy before an entirely new jury.
That would require another jury-selection process and a new trial date.
Option 2
A second possibility would be negotiating a plea agreement.
Boston defence attorney and former prosecutor Brad Bailey, who is not involved in the case, said to Associated Press News that the prospect of facing another murder trial could prompt Clancy’s lawyers to explore whether prosecutors are interested in reaching a resolution.
Option 3
The third option would be for prosecutors to decide against pursuing another trial and to drop the charges.
“Sometimes they decide not to, because of the sense that there may be the same result each time they try it, and because of the expenditures involved in trying the case to begin with, particularly when you have expert witnesses,” Bailey explained to the outlet.
“Those are going to be expensive cases.”
“In Massachusetts, the burden is on the prosecution to prove criminal responsibility beyond a reasonable doubt,” legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani added to PEOPLE.
“In Massachusetts, the prosecution has to prove that Lindsay Clancy is not insane. So, if there is any reasonable doubt that Lindsey Clancy is insane, the jurors have to acquit.”
Timeline of Lindsay Clancy case
May 2022
Lindsay gives birth to her third child, Callan.
She’s open about her postpartum struggles with her other two kids on social media. Six weeks after Callan’s birth, she posts that she’s feeling ‘dialed in’ while focusing on exercise, nutrition, and mindset, and ‘it has made all the difference’.
September 2022
As the end of her maternity leave nears, Lindsay, who works as a labour and delivery nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital, starts to experience anxiety about returning to work.
She visits two different psychiatrists and receives a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder.
Lindsay is prescribed several different psychiatric medications.
October 2022
According to court docs, she writes in a note on her phone: “I think I sort of resent my other children because they prevent me from treating Cal like my first baby. And I know that’s not fair to them. I know that. I was feeling so depressed last evening when Cora and Dawson came home from school, I know it runs off on them, so we had a pretty rough evening, I want to feel love and connection with all my kids.”
December 2022
Lindsay undergoes an evaluation at the Women and Infants Hospital Center for Women’s Behavioral Health. She is not diagnosed with postpartum depression, prosecutors say.
Lindsay’s husband Patrick tells police she is having suicidal thoughts and thoughts of harming their children, according to his testimony in court.
1-5 January, 2023
Lindsay admits herself to McLean Hospital for psychiatric treatment. She is discharged after five days as clinicians do not believe she poses an imminent danger to herself or others, prosecutors say.
22 January, 2023
Lindsay, Patrick, Cora and Dawson have dinner at family friend Kyle Carney’s home. Kyle later tells police that Lindsay ‘seemed fairly normal’.
23 January, 2023
According to prosecutors, Lindsay pens a note on her phone which says she has ‘a touch of postpartum anxiety’ about going back to work.
24 January, 2023
Prosecutors allege the following took place this day:
Morning: Lindsay takes Cora to a scheduled pediatrician appointment. After returning home, they play in the snow with Dawson. She sends photos of the kids to Patrick and her mom.
4:02pm: Lindsay searches for ‘kids Miralax’ (a laxative) on her phone, and 11 minutes later looks up ‘take out 3v’, referring to restaurant ThreeV in Plymouth. She uses Apple Maps to calculate how long it would take to drive from the family’s home to ThreeV.
4:47pm: Lindsay rings a CVS in Kingston to ask if they have any Miralax in stock. A manager tells her they don’t, but they do have similar medications.
The manager later tells authorities that she did not slur her words or sound impaired during the call.
4:35pm: Lindsay texts Patrick, who is working from home: “Any chance you want to do takeout from 3V … I didn’t cook anything … It’s been a long day.”
Patrick says yes, and Lindsay asks him to ‘check the menu when you can’.
5:10pm: Lindsay calls ThreeV to place the order.
5:15pm: Lindsay allegedly texts Patrick: “Pedialax liquid stool softener.” He then leaves to pick up the medication.
5:33pm: When Patrick arrives at CVS, he rings Lindsay, but she doesn’t pick up. She rings back one minute later and confirms the medication.
5:54pm: Patrick gets to ThreeV, pays for the food and leaves.
6:09pm: Patrick returns home. “The first thing he noticed was the silence,” prosecutors say. “He did not see or hear the defendant or the children.”
Patrick calls for his wife but gets no response. He discovers their second-floor bedroom is locked. Patrick eventually manages to get in the room but sees blood on the floor. He runs outside and finds Lindsay lying on the ground, according to prosecutors.
6:11pm: Prosecutors say that Patrick rings 911 and Lindsay is saying: “I tried to kill myself.”
He is then said to ask Lindsay: “Where are the kids?” She responds: “In the basement.”
While on the call, Patrick goes down to the basement and is heard ‘screaming in agony’,
Cora and Callan are discovered on the floor of the den. Dawson is found in his dad’s home office.
When officers arrive at the scene, Patrick alleges: “She killed the kids.”
Lindsay is taken to hospital, where she is treated for injuries that leave her paralysed below the waist. The three children are also rushed to hospital.
7:28pm: Cora and Dawson are pronounced dead. Callan is medically flown to another children’s hospital.
25 January, 2023
Police issue Lindsay an arrest warrant, charging her with two counts of murder, three counts of strangulation or suffocation, and three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
27 January, 2023
Callan is pronounced dead at 11.18am.
According to Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague, Lindsay later wakes up and uses a whiteboard to ask: “Do I need an attorney?”
6 February, 2023
While in the presence of a psychologist hired by her lawyer, Lindsay calls Patrick and tells him she had a ‘moment of psychosis’ and heard ‘a man’s voice telling her to kill the kids and kill herself’ after he left on January 24.
7 February, 2023
On the day of her arraignment, Lindsay’s attorney says that she’s still suicidal. She pleads not guilty to three counts of murder.
October 2024
Patrick asks the public to forgive Lindsay, telling The New Yorker: “I wasn’t married to a monster - I was married to someone who got sick.”
January 2026
Lindsay and Patrick file a civil lawsuit, accusing medical providers of not properly diagnosing, treating and monitoring her for a ‘severe postpartum psychiatric condition’.
9 July, 2026
The Plymouth County District Attorney's Office says the three counts of strangulation would be subsumed into the murder charges.
27 July, 2026
Lindsay’s murder trial begins.
4 September, 2026
A mistrial has been declared.
Topics: Crime, Lindsay Clancy, US News
Anish Vij