After seven days of deliberations, a jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict Friday in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, causing Judge William Sullivan to declare a mistrial.
The dramatic conclusion came after Clancy’s defense made a last-minute effort to keep the jury deliberating by asking the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to intervene.
Shortly before noon Friday, Sullivan said he was prepared to declare a mistrial after jurors returned with a third note indicating they remained unable to reach a consensus.
Defense attorney Kevin Reddington then asked the judge for additional time to seek intervention from the state’s highest court.
Sullivan granted the request, giving Reddington an hour to pursue the appeal.
A hearing before an SJC justice was held at about 1:30 p.m. Friday. But when court reconvened around 2:20 p.m., Sullivan said the effort had been unsuccessful.
The judge then formally declared a mistrial.
Reddington: ‘It’s not a time for gloating’
Reddington spoke after the mistrial was declared and emphasized the tragedy surrounding the case.
“Well, obviously, this is not a time for gloating, bragging, expressing victory. It’s a very sad case,” Reddington said.
Reddington sharply criticized Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz, saying the prosecution had failed to prove its case.
“He doesn’t have a case,” Reddington said. “He doesn’t have to stand here and say that he’s advocating on behalf of the victims and then look down to see what their names are.”
Reddington also praised Lindsay Clancy, describing her as a “fantastic, wonderful individual” and saying she had shown extraordinary strength throughout the seven-week trial.
“This woman is so brave, so awesome,” he said. “Every day she came in this courthouse, stood tall — no pun intended, the poor thing is in a wheelchair, as we all know, for the rest of her life.”
Clancy has been paralyzed from the waist down since she was found in the snow outside her Duxbury home following a failed suicide attempt in January 2023.
Reddington said Clancy continues to grieve the deaths of her three children — Cora, Dawson and Callan.
“It’s not right what she had to go through, because she grieves the loss of those three children, Cora, Dawson, and Callan, because I know their names,” Reddington said.
“And every time somebody had something to say about those young kids, Lindsay would smile and say, ‘I’m glad.’ She wants them to be remembered.”
Jury deliberations end in deadlock
Clancy was charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her three children.
Cora, Dawson and Callan were all under the age of 5 when they were found strangled to death in the basement of the family’s Duxbury home in January 2023.
Clancy’s defense argued that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings and had been overmedicated.
Prosecutors argued that Clancy planned the killings and should be held criminally responsible, pointing to her decision to send her husband out to get takeout and medication shortly before the children were killed.
The jury began deliberating after seven weeks of testimony and arguments.
On Thursday, the case took a dramatic turn when the jury foreperson told Sullivan that a single juror was refusing to follow the judge’s instructions regarding reasonable doubt.
The jury returned to deliberations, but ultimately remained deadlocked.
Reddington said Friday that he was particularly grateful to the jurors who he believed followed the court’s instructions.
“Where do I begin to thank these jurors? Minus one,” Reddington said.
He said the jury had effectively been split 11-1 in favor of acquittal.
“It was 11-1 for an acquittal, and one individual who recognized that there was reasonable doubt and refused to apply the law,” Reddington said.
“They know that they were robbed by one man for whatever his agenda was, who stole seven weeks of the life of these other jurors that were so attentive, so beautiful, so wonderful, and listened to this evidence,” he said.
“And you can see how defeated they were sitting there. And I got a funny feeling that they would have gone on for another week if they had to. So I hope that guy can sleep well at night.”
Case could be tried again
Reddington said he is prepared to defend Clancy again if prosecutors decide to retry the case.
The next hearing is scheduled for September 29.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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