Jury in Lindsay Clancy Trial Reportedly Deadlocked Over 1 Juror

PLYMOUTH, MA — Jurors deliberating in the Lindsay Clancy trial were sent home Thursday after the foreperson told the judge that one juror was unwilling to follow the court’s instructions on reasonable doubt, raising the possibility of a mistrial.

The jury has twice told Judge William Sullivan over the past two days that it could not reach a verdict on whether Clancy was criminally responsible for killing her three children in 2023.

After receiving the latest note, Sullivan questioned the jurors individually and privately before rereading his instructions on reasonable doubt. He then directed them to continue deliberations.

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington objected and asked that the juror be removed. Sullivan declined to do so.

The development marked the first indication of significant disagreement or tension among jurors during deliberations.

Clancy, 36, a former labor and delivery nurse, does not dispute that she strangled her children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, with exercise bands in the basement of the family’s home before jumping from a second-floor window in an apparent suicide attempt. She survived but is paralyzed from the waist down.

The defense argues Clancy was experiencing postpartum psychosis and heard a voice telling her to kill the children so she could end her own life. Prosecutors contend she knew what she was doing and deliberately sent her then-husband on errands before the killings. They have also questioned the seriousness of her suicide attempt.

Throughout the trial, jurors heard testimony from relatives and medical experts about Clancy’s deteriorating mental health, medications and brief psychiatric hospitalization. Experts hired by the defense and prosecution reached sharply different conclusions about her mental state at the time of the killings.

Sullivan told jurors Wednesday not to abandon their convictions simply to reach a verdict, while encouraging them to consider opposing views and reassess their positions when appropriate. He told them there was no guarantee another jury would be more capable of deciding the case.

If jurors cannot reach a unanimous verdict, Sullivan could declare a mistrial. Prosecutors would then have to decide whether to retry Clancy, dismiss the charges or pursue a plea agreement.

If convicted, Clancy could be found guilty of murder or manslaughter. If she is acquitted, a judge could still order her confined to a mental health facility if an evaluation finds she poses a danger to the public.