The jury deliberating the case of Lindsay Clancy was dismissed for the day on Tuesday, marking the end of four days and approximately 23 hours of discussions without reaching a unanimous verdict. The panel of nine women and three men is tasked with determining if Clancy is guilty of murder, manslaughter, or not criminally responsible for the deaths of her three young children.
On Tuesday, the jury informed Judge William Sullivan that they were unable to come to a unanimous decision. Despite acknowledging the length of the trial, which included testimony from over 80 witnesses and hundreds of exhibits, Sullivan instructed them to continue deliberations. "You've come this far; do not read anything, don't listen to anything, don't talk about this case," he told the jurors before they were excused until Wednesday morning.
Clancy, 36, is accused of killing her children Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan, at their home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in 2023. She has admitted to the killings but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, attributing her actions to postpartum psychosis, which she claims was a result of overmedication.
During the five-week trial, prosecutors argued that the killings were premeditated and intentional, rather than the actions of someone experiencing a psychotic break. The jury must unanimously agree on Clancy's culpability, whether it be murder, manslaughter, or a finding of not criminally responsible.
If the jury remains deadlocked, the judge may eventually be compelled to declare a mistrial. The jurors have not been sequestered during their deliberations.
Lindsay Clancy's defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, expressed encouragement over the jury's request to be dismissed for the day, interpreting it as a sign that they are actively working on the case. "The fact that they have not said that they're done is very, very heartening; obviously, they're working very hard," Reddington told reporters outside the courthouse. "It's obviously very encouraging. I think that they're showing that they're more than willing to keep working at it."
A former colleague of Clancy's, labor and delivery nurse Margaret Hamp, testified in her defense during the trial. Hamp, who worked with Clancy for seven years at Massachusetts General Hospital, described Clancy as "compassionate" and "really good at being a nurse." She also recounted a conversation with Clancy about the case of Andrea Yates, a mother who was found not guilty by reason of insanity for drowning her five children in 2001. At that time, Clancy reportedly asked, "How could a mother hurt her children?"