Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial in Plymouth Superior Court hung in the balance on Friday, September 4, 2026, after a 12-person jury reported a third impasse regarding her criminal responsibility for strangling her three young children in 2023. Presiding Judge William Sullivan prepared to declare a mistrial on the seventh day of deliberations before granting defense attorney Kevin Reddington an emergency one-hour window to file a stay with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Trial Reaches Impasse Over Unanimous Verdict
The jury—composed of nine women and three men—notified Judge Sullivan on Friday morning that they could not reach a unanimous decision on three counts of first-degree murder. “It is with a heavy heart that we will not be able to come to unanimous decision,” Judge Sullivan stated while reading the panel’s third note.
Without a verdict after a nearly five-week trial featuring testimony from roughly 85 witnesses, Judge Sullivan stated he lacked any choice but to declare a mistrial. However, defense counsel Kevin Reddington intervened, asking the court to hold off so he could file an emergency appeal. Judge Sullivan granted a one-hour window for the defense to petition the state’s highest court.
Defense Alleges Juror Misconduct and Refusal to Follow Law
Tensions in the Plymouth courtroom escalated Thursday when the jury foreperson sent a note to the bench indicating that a single male juror was refusing to follow the court’s instructions regarding reasonable doubt. Kevin Reddington argued Friday morning that the holdout panelist was lying and urged the judge to question the individual juror directly and remove him from the panel.
Judge Sullivan rejected the request to dismiss the juror, noting that he had already instructed the panel with a Tuey-Rodriguez charge. Massachusetts defense attorney Joseph Perullo noted to the Associated Press that trial judges rarely permit emergency defense petitions of this nature, characterizing the legal bar for a successful pause as exceptionally high.
Duelling Accounts of Postpartum Psychosis
The courtroom proceedings centered on the mental state of Clancy, a 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse, on January 24, 2023. Clancy does not deny strangling her children—Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and 8-month-old Callan—in the basement of their home before attempting to take her own life.
The defense argued that Clancy was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings. Prosecutor Jennifer Sprague maintained during the trial that Clancy understood what she was doing. Medical experts note that postpartum psychosis affects an estimated 1 to 2 per 1,000 women after delivery, representing a psychiatric emergency that alters a person’s grasp of reality.
Next Legal Steps and Potential Retrial Options
If the mistrial proceeds, Clancy will not receive automatic freedom. Instead, she will remain in custody at Tewksbury Hospital while the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office determines its next course of action. Prosecutors retain the option to try Clancy a second time before a new jury, negotiate a plea deal, or drop the charges.
Legal analysts suggest that a retrial could prompt fresh negotiations. Brad Bailey, a Boston defense attorney and former prosecutor not involved in the case, told the Associated Press that the renewed threat of a first-degree murder trial typically leads defense teams to explore potential plea resolutions. Meanwhile, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts clerk’s office confirmed it is reviewing the emergency defense documents.
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