The jury in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy was sent home for the weekend after failing to reach a unanimous verdict after two days of deliberations. The jury of nine women and three men will resume weighing the charges on Monday.
Clancy, 36, a former labor and delivery nurse, faces charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and manslaughter in the deaths of her three children, Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan. She does not deny using exercise bands to strangle the children at their Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in January 2023, but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
During the trial, the defense argued that Clancy was suffering from postpartum psychosis and was overmedicated by doctors. Her defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, stated that Clancy was "nervous, sad, scared" as the jury deliberated.
The prosecution contended that the killings were intentional and premeditated. Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague argued in her closing statements that Clancy knew her actions were wrong and that she was capable of conforming her behavior to the law. Sprague suggested that Clancy did not expect consequences because she intended to die with her children, viewing them as "broken toys."
Evidence presented during the trial included surveillance footage showing Clancy's then-husband, Patrick Clancy, running errands. He testified that his wife asked him to go to CVS for medication for one of the children. He left the home at approximately 5:12 p.m. on January 24, 2023, and returned around 6:09 p.m. to find Clancy lying in the snow in the backyard. Inside the home, he discovered the three children strangled in the basement. Autopsy reports indicated the children were strangled with exercise bands.
Medical professionals testified that Clancy's wounds were superficial. She sustained injuries that left her paralyzed from the waist down after falling from a second-story window, an act she reportedly told her husband was a suicide attempt. Both Lindsay and Patrick Clancy have filed separate lawsuits against several of her medical providers, alleging that overmedication for postpartum mental health issues exacerbated her condition and led to the children's deaths. The defendants in these civil suits have denied the claims.
If convicted of murder, Clancy faces life in prison without parole. If found not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, she would be committed to a state mental health facility.