Twist in murder trial of Massachusetts mother Lindsay Clancy accused of strangling her three young children

A Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three children saw her murder trial end in a mistrial, according to court reports.

Lindsay Clancy has been held at Tewksbury Hospital since 2023, records show.

A state judge declared the mistrial after jurors deadlocked on all counts, according to NBC News and other outlets.

On Friday, jurors said they still could not unanimously agree on Clancy’s criminal responsibility for the 2023 murders of her daughter and two sons, The Associated Press reported.

The panel remained divided 11-1 following a trial that lasted nearly six weeks, according to the news service.

Jurors deliberated the case for six and a half days without reaching a verdict, prosecutors said.

“I’m going to declare a mistrial at this point,” Judge William Sullivan said in court, leading to Clancy’s defense appealing the matter, per The Associated Press. The Massachusetts Supreme Court turned down the defense team’s appeal.

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz addressed reporters following the mistrial declaration on Friday, September 4, according to NBC News and other news outlets.

“I appreciate the hard work of the jury in this case,” Cruz said. “The jury obviously worked incredibly hard, stayed with that case for six and a half days.”

The deadlocked panel could not agree on whether the defendant was criminally liable for the killings, The Associated Press reported.

Clancy has admitted to strangling her children to death inside her basement, according to reporting on the case.

The defendant jumped out a second-story window of her home in an apparent suicide attempt following the strangling, reports stated.

She pleaded not guilty to the killings by reason of insanity. Clancy’s defense argued that she had been suffering from severe postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder at the time.

If jurors agreed Clancy was criminally responsible in her children’s deaths, she would face a lifetime prison sentence without the possibility of parole, Us previously reported.

If they had decided she had no criminal liability, she would’ve been sentenced to remain in a state mental health facility for the rest of her life, according to the report.

“In the end, I bring it all back to the child victims in this case, Cora, Dawson, and Callan. This was, and it has always been, about getting justice for those three little babies. We’re here at this courthouse today because those children are not,” Cruz said following the mistrial.

“Children were murdered and it’s our job to seek justice,” he added.

Cruz addressed the public attention surrounding the proceedings following the mistrial ruling. “I appreciate there are strong feelings and opinions tied to this case however our job is to set aside our opinions and focus on the facts. and the facts are that Lindsay Clancy killed her children,” Cruz also said.

“We did our part and I’m proud of the part of the work we did…This case is not about the health care system or how women are treated in it … those are all important issues, they stir up emotion and sometimes they stir up anger,” Cruz continued.

“This case, however, was about Lindsay Clancy and what she did January 24, 2023, and the cruel and calculated killing of three innocents,” Cruz said.

Clancy’s defense attorney Kevin Reddington addressed reporters after the mistrial declaration, according to CNN.

Reddington said she “grieves the loss of those three children, Cora, Dawson, and Callan,” per CNN.

“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,” he also said, according to CNN.

Clancy will now return to Tewksbury Hospital, where she has been held since 2023.

It is not currently clear whether Clancy will be retried for the killings of her three children, and prosecutors said there hasn’t been a decision on a retrial.