The jury in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy told Judge William Sullivan for a second time that they are deadlocked, raising the possibility that the case could end in a mistrial as deliberations stretch into a sixth day.
Clancy is charged with three counts each of murder and strangulation in the January 24, 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. She has admitted to strangling the children with exercise bands. Jurors can convict her of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, or manslaughter, or acquit her, including by reason of lack of criminal responsibility. A first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life without parole.
After the jury first reported a deadlock, Judge Sullivan read them the Tuey-Rodriguez charge, a specific instruction given only after a judge determines jurors have deliberated in good faith but remain unable to reach a verdict.
Retired Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Thomas Drechsler said the instruction “encourages the jurors to rethink their own feelings in light of what other jurors feel,” while reminding them that no one is better positioned to decide the case than the people who sat through all the evidence.
Drechsler said that when jurors report they are still deadlocked after receiving the charge, “there’s a higher likelihood” the case ends in a mistrial — though he noted he has seen juries reach verdicts even after the instruction is given.
Defense Attorney Warns of Second Trial’s Toll
Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, told reporters outside the courthouse in Plymouth that his client’s demeanor throughout the trial has been “flat.”
“She had a flat affect — she’s sad,” Reddington said, describing Clancy’s demeanor during the trial.
Asked whether Clancy could emotionally handle a second trial if this one ends without a verdict, Reddington answered simply, “No,” according to the New York Post.
Clancy, who is now wheelchair-bound after a suicide attempt in which she jumped from a second-story window, has largely sat quietly at the defense table during the trial, at times crying when graphic details about her children’s deaths were presented to jurors.
A crowd of supporters has gathered daily outside the Plymouth County courthouse to show support for Clancy, and Reddington has been seen interacting with them outside proceedings.
Whether the case ultimately results in a verdict or a mistrial now rests with a jury that has twice told the court it cannot agree.
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