Lindsay Clancy, an American mother charged with murdering her three young children in Massachusetts, appeared in court Monday to seek dismissal of first-degree murder charges following a mistrial declared in September when jurors could not reach a verdict.
Clancy's defence team argued that Judge William Sullivan failed to adequately investigate juror misconduct after the jury foreperson sent two notes flagging that one juror was not following rules. Defence lawyer Martin G Weinberg said further questioning could have identified grounds to remove juror Michael Desronvil and allow deliberations to continue. Sullivan had reminded all jurors of their duties and asked if they could apply the law, and all answered yes. But Weinberg contended this was insufficient, arguing that a juror claiming he could follow the law could have been lying.
Defence lawyer Kevin Reddington also accused the holdout juror of using a mobile phone to research case-related terms and questioned his truthfulness during jury selection.
Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague defended Sullivan's handling of the jury impasse. She said there was no evidence the juror's disagreement stemmed from bias or inability to deliberate rather than differing assessment of evidence. "It is clear from the record this juror did not refuse to deliberate," Sprague said. "He refused to agree."
Clancy has not disputed that she strangled her three children with exercise bands in 2023 at her home in Duxbury, a suburb of Boston. She then attempted suicide by cutting herself and jumping from a second-floor window, resulting in paralysis. Clancy's defence has argued she suffered postpartum psychosis and could not control her behaviour. Prosecutors acknowledge her mental health problems but argue she acted deliberately and understood her actions were wrong.
Sullivan did not rule immediately on the dismissal motion. He scheduled another hearing for November 16 and indicated a retrial could begin in March. The court also plans to address Massachusetts's request for a gag order limiting lawyers from making media statements that could prejudice the case.