Judge denies Lindsay Clancy's request to dismiss murder charges, question ‘holdout juror’

A Massachusetts judge on Monday dismissed Lindsay Clancy's defense team's bids to dismiss the three murder indictments against their client and to question the lone holdout juror in her last trial.

"Because the Court concludes that there was a manifest necessity for a mistrial based on the jury's deadlock, a retrial on the murder indictments does not violate Clancy's right not to be placed in double jeopardy," Judge William Sullivan wrote. 

Clancy, who was tried in September in a trial that resulted in a hung jury, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the January 2023 deaths of her three children, ages 5, 3 and 8 months, inside the family’s home in Duxbury, Massachusetts.

While Clancy has admitted to carrying out the killings, her defense argued that she had been experiencing postpartum psychosis and heard a voice commanding her to kill the children and herself. 

Sullivan also declined to allow the defense to question the lone juror, ruling that doing so would "undoubtedly have a coercive effect."

"The Court understands the frustration of the defendant and the jurors that despite the utmost diligence, the jury ultimately was unable to reach a verdict in this emotionally grueling and complicated case," he wrote. "While a party may desire a procedure that increases the odds of receiving a favorable outcome to the case, the Court's primary concern must be protecting the fairness of the proceedings and avoiding the possibility of a coerced verdict."

He additionally pushed back on claims that the juror failed to follow the rule of law and said that information about the juror that has since come to light in the media does not impact the verdict, according to ABC News. 

"Given that the jury unquestionably had reached an impasse, the Court did not and does not view the foreperson's notes as reliable evidence of Juror Doe's inability or refusal to deliberate or follow the law," he wrote. "The Court declared a mistrial after giving counsel a full opportunity to be heard and after carefully considering the alternatives proposed by defense counsel. The Court made its decision based on what was known at the time."

The judge delivered a blow to the prosecution as well, ruling Monday that a gag order in the case is not necessary ahead of the retrial for the time being, stating prosecutors failed to prove that out-of-court statements pose "a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing the outcome of the trial or prejudicing the jury venire." 

Prosecutors have indicated that they will seek a retrial in the case, but a court date for the retrial has not been set. Clancy is due back in court next week, when Sullivan said he plans to schedule the trial date for the Massachusetts mother. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.