PLYMOUTH, Mass. — A Massachusetts jury deadlocked last week in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, who admitted strangling her three children — Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months — at the family’s Duxbury home on Jan. 24, 2023.
Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial after about 38 hours of deliberations. Prosecutors have not said whether they will retry the case. A status hearing is set for Sept. 29. Clancy, 36, a former labor-and-delivery nurse, pleaded not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility.
Defense experts testified she was in a postpartum psychotic state and heard a command to kill the children so she could then kill herself. She jumped from a second-story window after the killings and survived with severe injuries.
Prosecution witnesses argued she showed planning and knew right from wrong that day: she built a snowman with the children, sent photos, and took Cora to a doctor’s appointment hours earlier.
The legal question was not whether Clancy was ill. Multiple psychiatrists agreed she had a serious mental disorder. Jurors were asked whether, at the moment of the killings, she could distinguish right from wrong and conform her conduct to the law.
One juror reportedly blocked an acquittal. Clancy remains at Tewksbury State Hospital. The children died of asphyxia by strangulation. Their father, Patrick Clancy, testified they were a “girly girl,” a “Paw Patrol” fan, and a happy baby.
