The holdout juror whose deadlock led to a mistrial in the Lindsay Clancy case is pushing back against allegations that he used his cellphone during deliberations. The response comes after Clancy’s defense attorney sought access to the juror’s phone records.
Other jurors reportedly accused Michael P. Desronvil of using his phone while the panel considered whether to convict Clancy in the deaths of her three children: 8-month-old Callan, 3-year-old Dawson and 5-year-old Cora. The allegations prompted attorney Kevin Reddington to request Desronvil’s phone records.
Desronvil, however, said several other jurors also used their phones during the seven days of deliberations and that some allegedly posted on social media, according to his spokesperson, Ray Marcel, who spoke with NewsNation correspondent Brian Entin.
“He said everybody had their phone on them. It wasn’t like they took their phones away and locked them away,” Marcel recalled after speaking with Desronvil.
“There were juror member[s] — which I’m not going to say names — that were posting on social media, allegedly, you know, while deliberations [were] going on,” Marcel said.
Marcel, who hosts a true-crime YouTube channel, told Entin he was unsure whether jurors had been permitted to keep their phones during deliberations. Still, he said Desronvil told him jurors were never instructed to hand over their devices or place them in a locker.
“From what Michael told me was, ‘Hey, people were sitting back there on their phones, you know, that’s how it was,’” Marcel added.
On his YouTube program, “Fugitive TV,” Marcel previously said Desronvil searched for the term “psychosis” to “make sure he has it right.” He also reportedly looked up “altruistic filicide,” a phrase Marcel said the juror had never encountered before.
Marcel said he had reviewed the written jury instructions before deliberations and believed they left a “gray area.” He said the instructions did not explicitly state that jurors could not look up an unfamiliar word after going home, adding that he was “pretty sure Michael’s not the only one who had to look something up.”
The claims from Desronvil’s spokesperson follow a motion by Reddington asking the judge who presided over Clancy’s triple-murder trial to investigate the holdout juror. The attorney argued that Desronvil may have provided inaccurate information on jury questionnaires or during jury selection, according to a motion obtained by the New Haven Register.
Reddington also alleged that Desronvil used his cellphone during deliberations. He asked Judge William Sullivan to order the juror’s wireless carrier to produce call and text-detail records for each day of deliberations and to have Desronvil’s phone examined by a “neutral examiner,” MassLive reported.
In the filing, Reddington cited comments from fellow juror Nick Dargie, who told ABC News that Desronvil did not participate in discussions and instead scrolled through his phone during deliberations.
Under Massachusetts’ trial court rules, jurors may keep their phones with them but are prohibited from using the devices during trial proceedings or deliberations.
Judges may require jurors to surrender their phones before deliberations begin. There is no indication that Sullivan imposed such a requirement in Clancy’s trial.
Marcel reiterated his allegations about cellphone use by other jurors in a post on X on Wednesday.
“You will see that the judge had already told the jurors to stop using electronic devices AFTER — and I repeat, AFTER — jurors had allegedly been using their phones during deliberations to look up definitions,” Marcel wrote. He added, “Meaning the Judge already told them to stop. So the court already knows.”
Marcel also claimed jurors had allegedly posted on social media and discussed the case with friends while deliberations were underway. He referenced an allegation that an unidentified juror posted in a Karen Read Facebook group, arguing that Desronvil was being singled out.
Marcel called for an investigation into the phones of all the jurors, rather than an examination limited to Desronvil’s device.
“And as for Mr. Kevin Reddington, I’m not worried about that. Because if we’re going to start looking at Michael’s phone records, then let’s be consistent: Let’s look at EVERYONE’S phone records,” Marcel said.
“Don’t single out one juror. If Michael’s communications are relevant, then the same standard should apply across the board,” Marcel wrote.
Desronvil was the single holdout juror who refused to declare Clancy not guilty of murdering her three kids by reason of insanity due to severe postpartum psychosis. The hung jury sparked a mistrial.
The Post reached out to Reddington and Desronvil’s attorney, Edward Paltzik, for comment.
