Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial ended in a mistrial on Friday, leaving her future unknown as prosecutors consider whether to retry the case.
Clancy, 36, has admitted to strangling her three young children in January 2023, but her defense argued that she could not be held criminally responsible because she was suffering from a rare case of postpartum psychosis that made her unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions.
The jury deliberated for nearly 40 hours, during which they told the judge that they were deadlocked three separate times before he finally declared a mistrial. The defense attempted to have that decision put on hold by filing an emergency petition with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, but the effort only succeeded in delaying the dismissal of the trial by a few hours.
With the trial now officially over without a true resolution, all eyes have turned to what’s next for Clancy. Some of the most important questions remain unanswered, but here’s what we do know.
Lindsay Clancy will remain in custody
A mistrial in the Clancy murder case means the status of the defendant reverts to what it was pretrial. That means she will remain in custody at Tewksbury State Hospital, a psychiatric facility where she’s been held since 2023, while she awaits the next steps in the case.
Defense attorney Kevin Reddington said Clancy and her parents are “not good” after Friday’s mistrial.
The DA has to decide if Clancy will be retried
The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office must decide whether the case will be retried. District Attorney Timothy Cruz told reporters on Friday that he wouldn’t make a decision that day.
“This was and has always been about getting justice for those three little babies. We’re here at this courthouse today because those children are not. … Children were murdered, and it’s our job to seek justice,” Cruz said.
“I understand that postpartum depression has impacted the lives of countless women and families, and I sympathize with their struggles. The investigation in these heinous killings, however, did not establish that they were caused by such depression,” Cruz added.
Cruz said he’s not going to be swayed by public opinion regarding a possible second trial. “I have never been swayed to act a certain way or make certain decisions based upon public sentiment,” Cruz said.
Prosecutors could put Clancy on trial for a second time, try her again on lesser charges, negotiate a plea deal or drop the charges altogether.
Reddington says judge indicated a retrial may happen in the fall
Despite the hung jury and mistrial, Reddington claimed victory on Friday, telling reporters that the prosecution “was crushed. He doesn’t have a case.”
If a retrial were to proceed, Reddington said the judge indicated it would happen “sometime in the fall.”
When asked if Clancy would be able to endure another trial, Reddington replied, “She’ll be ready.”
Her ex-husband, Patrick Clancy, released a statement through an attorney saying, “The prospect of reliving this tragedy through another trial is extraordinarily painful.”
As for a new jury, Reddington said he wasn’t concerned that a jury could come to a unanimous decision, but finding jurors who didn’t already know about the case would be challenging.
“I don’t know if we will ever be able to get jurors that aren’t aware of this case anywhere. New York, Washington, Georgia, Japan, India. I don’t know,” he said.
However, he added that a potential juror’s awareness of a case does not necessarily mean that they cannot be impartial.
“They still are able to be good jurors if they feel that they don’t have an opinion that would deprive the person of a fair trial,” he said.
Reddington was also asked about whether he’d request that a new jury be sequestered. “I’ll request it. We’ll see what the judge does. It’s very unusual,” he replied. If sequestered, jurors would not go home at the end of the day and would instead stay together at a location, such as a hotel, isolated from the outside world.
Clancy’s defense attorney was also asked whether he would request a bench trial, in which a judge hears the case, decides the facts and issues a verdict without a jury.
Reddington responded, “You’d have to ask Mr. Cruz, because I can’t do a bench trial in a first-degree murder. If it’s a second-degree murder, I could consider a bench trial.”
A status hearing is scheduled for late September
Reddington on Friday was quick to push for a return to the courtroom as soon as possible to argue next steps in the murder case. After discussion among the judge, prosecution and defense, a status hearing was scheduled for Sept. 29 at 9 a.m. ET, where details about a second possible trial may be revealed.
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