Mistrial declared in case of Massachusetts mother who killed her 3 children
Jurors fail to agree whether Lindsay Clancy was criminally responsible; defense argued she suffered from postpartum psychosis
A Massachusetts judge declared a mistrial Friday in the case of Lindsay Clancy, who was charged with murdering her three young children, after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict.
The jury remained deadlocked after seven days of deliberations following a nearly six-week trial. The central question was not whether Clancy killed the children, which she did not dispute, but whether she was criminally responsible at the time.
Clancy, a 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse, strangled five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson and eight-month-old Callan with exercise bands in the basement of the family’s home in Duxbury in January 2023.
She then injured herself with a knife and jumped from a second-story window in an attempt to take her own life, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down.
Her lawyers sought a verdict of not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, arguing that Clancy was experiencing postpartum psychosis and heard a voice telling her to kill the children. Relatives testified that her mental health had deteriorated after the birth of her third child and that she had repeatedly sought medical treatment.
Prosecutors acknowledged that Clancy had experienced mental health problems but argued that she understood her actions were wrong. They said she deliberately sent her then-husband out to collect food and medication, having checked how long the errands would take, before killing the children.
The jury foreperson told the court Thursday that one juror acknowledged having doubts but refused to apply instructions on reasonable doubt. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington sought the juror’s removal and disclosed Friday that the holdout was a man, drawing an angry rebuke from Judge William Sullivan, who refused to intervene.
Prosecutors must now decide whether to retry Clancy before a new jury, negotiate a plea agreement or drop the case. She remains charged with murder and is being held at a psychiatric hospital.