A Massachusetts judge declared a mistrial Friday in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy after jurors said they could not reach a unanimous verdict following seven days of deliberations.
Judge William Sullivan said he had no choice but to declare a mistrial after the jury remained deadlocked in the high-profile case.
Clancy, 36, was on trial in connection with the January 2023 deaths of her three children — 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan — at the family’s home in Duxbury, Massachusetts.
Jury Remained Deadlocked
Jurors had been deliberating for about a week and repeatedly told the court they were struggling to reach a unanimous decision.
Earlier in the week, Sullivan gave the jury a special instruction urging them to continue deliberating. By Thursday, defense attorney Kevin Reddington argued that one juror was refusing to properly follow the court’s instructions on reasonable doubt and asked that the juror be replaced.
Sullivan declined that request, saying it would not be appropriate for him to take sides in the jury’s deliberations. Read CBS Boston’s coverage
The jury resumed deliberations Friday before the deadlock ultimately led to the mistrial.
Mental Health Was Central to the Case
Clancy’s defense argued that she was not criminally responsible for the deaths because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis.
The prosecution disputed that defense and argued that Clancy should be held criminally responsible.
The issue of criminal responsibility became the central question jurors were asked to decide. Read WCVB’s trial coverage
What Happens Next?
A mistrial is not an acquittal.
Because the jury did not reach a verdict, prosecutors can decide whether to try Clancy again. A decision on a retrial was not immediately announced.
The mistrial brings an end to this trial, but not necessarily to the criminal case.
