A Massachusetts judge declared a mistrial in Lindsay Clancy’s murder case after the jury deadlocked following more than 36 hours of deliberation.
Clancy, 36, a former nurse, admitted to strangling her three young children — Cora, Dawson, and Callan — inside their home in early 2023. Her defense team argued she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis and pushed for a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.
The exhausted panel sent a note stating “with a heavy heart” that they could not reach consensus after seven days of deliberation. Reports revealed the jury was split 11 to 1 in favor of acquittal.
Before the ruling, defense attorney Kevin Reddington launched a desperate appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court in an attempt to remove a single holdout juror. The state’s highest court denied the last-minute request.
“At this point, I’m going to declare that the jury is deadlocked, and I’m going to declare a mistrial,” Judge William Sullivan announced in the silent courtroom.
Following the decision, the judge heaped praise on the nine women and three men for their dedication to the harrowing case.
“Each one of you knew how long the case was going to go,” the judge told them.
“You knew how difficult the case was going to be to listen to facts-wise, but still, you braced for that duty.”
“I understood that you all gave everything you could, and probably more than you thought you could, and so, on behalf myself, I just want to thank you so much,” he continued.
The mistrial declaration does not mean Clancy is walking free or that the murder charges against her have disappeared. She will remain at Tewksbury Hospital, a state-run facility where she is receiving ongoing mental health treatment and specialized physical care. She suffered paralysis from the waist down after jumping from a second-story window during a suicide attempt immediately following the killings.
Legally, the case now reverts back to its original pretrial conditions, putting the decision in District Attorney Timothy Cruz’s court. Prosecutors must decide whether to retry Clancy with an entirely new jury, offer her a plea deal, or drop the charges entirely.
Legal experts believe a second trial is the most likely outcome, pointing directly to the district attorney’s tough record on local crime. Boston University law professor David Rossman noted that Cruz is unlikely to back down from pursuing a conviction in such a high-profile case.
“This is a prosecutor who for Massachusetts is relatively conservative,” he explained.
“And it, to the public, would seem to be an admission of having erred originally if the prosecutor did not try to charge her again.”
If prosecutors choose to proceed with another criminal trial, a completely new jury will be selected to hear the evidence all over again. Judge Sullivan has scheduled a follow-up hearing for September 29, where both legal teams will argue the next steps.