Jury deadlocked in Lindsay Clancy trial after six days of deliberation

The jury in the trial of Lindsay Clancy became deadlocked after six days and more than 28 hours of deliberation, with jurors sending notes to the judge on multiple occasions stating they were unable to reach a unanimous decision. Clancy, a 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her children: 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan. All three were killed in the basement of their Duxbury home on January 24, 2023.

The jury of nine women and three men received the case in Plymouth Superior Court on Thursday of the prior week and began deliberating. On Tuesday morning, jurors sent a note stating they were unable to come to a unanimous decision. Judge William Sullivan sent them back to continue deliberating. On Wednesday around 2:15 p.m., they sent a similar note. Sullivan then read what are called the "Tuey-Rodriguez" instructions to the jury. In Massachusetts, this is a last resort instruction aimed at getting jurors to reach a verdict, also known as a "dynamite charge." The instruction directs jurors not to abandon their own convictions just to reach a verdict, but urges them to seriously consider opposing views and reassess their positions if appropriate.

On Thursday, the jury again signaled impasse. The judge brought in each juror individually and questioned them in private, then reread his instructions on reasonable doubt before sending them back to continue deliberating. The defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, sought the removal of one juror, stating in a note from the jury foreperson that a single juror would not follow the court's instructions about reasonable doubt and was holding up a verdict. Judge Sullivan declined the request. This was the first time the jury indicated possible tension or acrimony in the deliberation room. Sullivan then sent jurors home for the night, with instructions to return Friday.

Clancy does not deny the core facts: she strangled the three children with exercise bands, then jumped from a second-floor window. She remains paralyzed from the waist down. The central contested question is whether she was criminally responsible. Her attorneys argue that postpartum psychosis, combined with overmedication, rendered her legally insane. They say she heard a voice telling her to kill the children so she could end her own life. Prosecutors counter that Clancy planned the killings and knew right from wrong when she committed them. They argue she deliberately sent her then-husband on errands to get him out of the house, and they have questioned the seriousness of her suicide attempt.

Jurors have heard testimony from relatives and doctors about how Clancy's mental health declined in the months before the killings and how her treatment included several medications and a short stay in a psychiatric hospital. Medical experts hired by the prosecution and the defense reached sharply different conclusions about her psychiatric state when she killed the children. Clancy's father, Patrick Clancy, has said in interviews that he forgives his ex-wife, whom he views as ill rather than evil.

Jurors can unanimously vote for one of five options: not guilty by reason of insanity, not guilty, first-degree murder, second-degree murder, or manslaughter. If the jury convicts Clancy of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, or manslaughter, she will go to prison. If jurors find her not guilty by reason of insanity, she will be required to continue her stay at Tewksbury State Hospital, where her case will be reviewed periodically. If acquitted on all charges, a judge could still order her confined to a mental health facility if an evaluation determines she poses a danger to the public.

If the jury ultimately cannot agree on a verdict, the judge could declare a mistrial. Prosecutors would then have to decide whether to retry Clancy, drop the charges, or negotiate a plea deal. The "dynamite charge" instruction was also used during the Massachusetts trial of Emanuel Lopes in 2023, charged with the 2018 murder of Weymouth Police Sergeant Michael Chesna. Lopes's first trial ended in mistrial due to a hung jury. During the retrial in 2024, after the instruction was applied, the jury eventually reached a unanimous guilty verdict after six days and 32 hours of deliberations. The instruction was also used in Karen Read's first trial in 2024.

Outside the courtroom, a woman was arrested Tuesday afternoon. Dawn Light, 56, of Sutton, Massachusetts, is accused of filming jurors as they left court. The retired nurse was arraigned Wednesday in Plymouth Superior Court on a charge of intimidation of jurors. Light's attorney said Light was trying to photograph Lindsay Clancy and did not intend to record video of any jurors. She was released on a promise to return to court on October 15. Throughout the trial, Clancy has received letters of support from around the world, according to her defense attorney.