A Massachusetts judge declared a mistrial Friday in the high-profile murder case against Lindsay Clancy, who admitted killing her three children in January 2023 but argued she was legally insane due to postpartum psychosis. The decision now puts the question of a retrial in the hands of prosecutors.
Judge William Sullivan declared the mistrial at Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth, Massachusetts, after jurors reported they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict. According to Fox News, the jury spent a week deliberating as supporters and onlookers gathered outside the courthouse for days.
The alleged breakdown was 11 to 1. Lindsay Clancy's defense argued that the lone holdout juror had acknowledged doubt but was not properly applying the court's instructions on the standard of reasonable doubt. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington repeatedly referred to the unnamed juror as a male, both inside and outside the courtroom. The alleged holdout is believed to be one of three male jurors on the panel.
Clancy's attorneys made an emergency appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court seeking to stay the mistrial and force further inquiry into the juror's conduct. Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt denied the request Friday afternoon. Shortly after, Sullivan declared the mistrial.
Patrick Clancy, the defendant's ex-husband and the father of the three children, broke his silence after the ruling through his attorney, David Meier.
"Patrick Clancy is grateful to the Court and to the jurors for their hard work, their commitment, and their perseverance. The loss of Patrick's children is something from which he will never recover and from which there will never be closure," Meier wrote in a statement issued on Patrick's behalf.
"The prospect of reliving this tragedy through another trial is extraordinarily painful — for Patrick, for his family, and for all us," the statement concluded.
The three children killed were 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan. They died on January 24, 2023. Patrick Clancy testified during the trial that he was running errands that day, including picking up children's stool softener at a CVS store and takeout for dinner, and that he spoke with Lindsay Clancy by phone while he was out.
Patrick Clancy has previously asked the public to forgive his ex-wife. Lindsay Clancy's attorneys argued throughout the trial that she was legally insane at the time of the killings due to postpartum psychosis.
Sullivan said he wants the case retried sooner rather than later, and suggested a new trial could potentially take place later this fall. Lindsay Clancy is due back in court on September 29 for a status hearing, trial assignment, and a defense motion under Rule 25.
