A Massachusetts jury deadlocked on murder charges for Lindsay Clancy, a mother who strangled her three children in 2023. Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial on September 4, 2026, after the state’s highest court denied a last-minute defense appeal over a lone holdout juror.
The criminal case against Lindsay Clancy returned to its pre-trial status on September 4, 2026, when a Plymouth County Superior Court judge officially discharged a deadlocked 12-person jury after seven days of deliberations. The panel, consisting of nine women and three men, deliberated for approximately 38 hours before informing the court they could not reach a unanimous decision.
Clancy, a 36-year-old former nurse, does not deny strangling her 5-year-old daughter Cora, 3-year-old son Dawson, and 8-month-old son Callan in the family’s Duxbury, Massachusetts, home on January 24, 2023. Following the killings, she jumped from a second-story window, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. Her defense team argued throughout the trial that she was not criminally responsible due to postpartum psychosis, whereas prosecutors maintained she acted deliberately and understood her actions.
A Dramatic Legal Battle Over a Holdout Juror
The final day of deliberations brought sharp procedural friction as defense attorneys fought to keep the trial from collapsing into a mistrial. Tensions boiled over when the jury’s foreperson submitted notes indicating the panel was split 11 to 1, specifically pointing to a single holdout juror.
The defense argued that the holdout was refusing to apply the law regarding reasonable doubt. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington filed an emergency appeal, joined by attorney Dana Goldblatt, asking the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to intervene and remove or question the juror.
“I believe this is a situation where there is a clear and present danger that this individual, for some reason — what it is, we don’t know — but is taking a position that’s intractable regardless of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. So I want an opportunity to take an appeal to the single justice, if the court would grant us that opportunity.”
Kevin Reddington, defense attorney
Judge William Sullivan declined to remove the juror, ruling that there was insufficient evidence of a refusal to follow the law. Judge Sullivan told the courtroom just before 2:30 p.m. that he had no legal path forward once the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court denied the emergency defense petition.
Where the Case Stands and What Prosecutors Face Next
With the mistrial declared, Clancy remains charged with murder and continues to be held at Tewksbury State Hospital, a psychiatric facility. Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz emphasized that this was, and always has been about getting justice for those three little babies.
“This was, and always has been about getting justice for those three little babies.”
Timothy Cruz, Plymouth District Attorney
Prosecutors must now evaluate whether to retry the case before a new jury. Alternatively, the district attorney’s office could explore a negotiated plea deal or decide against a retrial due to the high costs and emotional toll of expert-heavy litigation.
Upcoming Court Dates and Remaining Uncertainty
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As the legal teams prepare for the late-September conference, the case leaves open profound questions about how the justice system handles severe maternal mental health crises. For now, the proceedings return to square one, leaving the victims’ families, the legal teams, and the public awaiting the next move from prosecutors.
