A jury in Massachusetts informed a judge on Tuesday that they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy. The panel of nine women and three men sent a note to Plymouth Superior Court Judge William Sullivan shortly after 10 a.m., marking the first indication of an impasse after four days of deliberations. Judge Sullivan acknowledged the length of the trial and instructed the jurors to return to their private deliberations.
The case follows the January 24, 2023, deaths of Clancy’s three children, 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan, in their Duxbury home. Clancy, a 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. The defense argues she is not criminally responsible due to postpartum psychosis and overmedication, while prosecutors contend she planned the killings and understood the nature of her actions.
The jury has deliberated for more than 17 hours since receiving the case last Thursday. Throughout the trial, they heard testimony from 85 witnesses and were presented with over 300 exhibits. On Friday, jurors requested to examine a knife Clancy used to injure herself and bags containing empty prescription pill bottles recovered from her residence.
The outcome of this trial will determine the legal and medical future of Lindsay Clancy. If convicted of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, or manslaughter, Clancy faces a sentence in state prison, which could include life without the possibility of parole. If the jury finds her not guilty by reason of insanity, she will be required to continue her stay at Tewksbury State Hospital for psychiatric care.
The jury must reach a unanimous decision on both her mental capacity at the time of the events and the specific degree of the charges before a final judgment can be entered. The judge's instruction to continue deliberations means the trial remains active. There is no set deadline for when the jury must provide its next update or a final verdict; they will continue to meet in private at the Plymouth Superior Court.