A judge has rejected Lindsay Clancy’s bid to have the murder charges against her dismissed and has denied her lawyer’s request to investigate the juror who opposed acquittal, according to a newly issued order.
In a memorandum filed in Massachusetts on Monday, Judge William Sullivan turned down Clancy’s motion arguing that a retrial would violate her constitutional protection against double jeopardy.
The defense claimed the judge should not have declared a mistrial in September after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict. Instead, they argued, Sullivan should have removed the lone juror who favored conviction and allowed the remaining jurors to continue deliberating.
Sullivan rejected that argument, ruling that the jury’s inability to agree constituted sufficient grounds for a mistrial.
‘Because the court concludes that there was 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,’ Sullivan wrote.
Prosecutors have not yet indicated whether they will pursue the same murder charges or seek a lesser charge that could be more acceptable to a future jury.
No date has been scheduled for a retrial. Clancy’s next hearing is set for November 16.
A judge has refused to dismiss the murder charges against Lindsay Clancy, pictured in court on September 29
Clancy strangled her three children – Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan – to death in 2023 at her home in Duxbury, Massachusetts. She is pictured with her two oldest children and former husband, Patrick
Clancy, 36, stood trial over the summer in connection with the January 2023 deaths of her three children: five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson and eight-month-old Callan.
She has never denied killing the children, but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
Her defense team maintained that she was experiencing postpartum psychosis and could not control her actions at the time.
Prosecutors have acknowledged Clancy’s mental health struggles but rejected the insanity defense, arguing that she acted intentionally and understood that what she was doing was wrong.
Following the killings at the family’s home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, Clancy cut her neck and wrists before jumping from a second-floor window in what appeared to be an attempted suicide.
She suffered paralysis from the waist down and now uses a wheelchair.
Sullivan also rejected a prosecution request for a gag order that would have limited the defense’s public comments about the case, the jurors and their deliberations.
Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, gave media interviews during the trial, while prosecutors largely declined to comment publicly.
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The defense argued that imposing such restrictions would represent an unconstitutional limit on free speech.
Judge William Sullivan, in a memorandum of decision filed in Massachusetts Monday, ruled that the deadlocked jury in her trial did justify a mistrial
The judge also denied the defense’s request to investigate Michael Desronvil, the lone juror who wanted to convict Clancy
Sullivan said prosecutors could renew their request for a gag order “if circumstances change and it can demonstrate that a prior restraint is necessary.”
Since the mistrial, Reddington has made the conduct of Michael Desronvil, the only juror seeking a conviction, a central focus of the defense’s arguments.
During a hearing last week, he asked Sullivan to investigate Desronvil, alleging that the juror had provided false information on his questionnaire and improperly used a cellphone during deliberations.
Sullivan has issued a standing order temporarily keeping jurors’ names confidential to shield them from harassment, although several jurors, including Desronvil, have spoken to the media.
Another member of Clancy’s legal team argued last week that the mistrial might have been avoided if Sullivan had questioned the jurors more extensively about the collapse of their deliberations. The foreperson had sent two notes suggesting that the holdout was not following the court’s instructions on reasonable doubt.
After receiving the notes, Sullivan interviewed the jurors individually, reminded them of their responsibilities and explained the legal meaning of reasonable doubt. He asked whether they could apply the law to the facts of the case, and each juror said they could.
In a recent interview, Desronvil said he was convinced Clancy was guilty but claimed the other jurors refused to consider his position.
Desronvil’s attorney, Heather O’Connor, said he had merely fulfilled his responsibilities as a juror.
Clancy has not disputed killing her three children – Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan
She also challenged the claim that he misused his cellphone, noting that jurors were permitted to keep their phones and that there was no evidence he used the device to conduct improper research.
In Monday’s order, Sullivan appeared to agree with O’Connor and the prosecution, rejecting the defense request to examine Desronvil, obtain confidential records or access his cellphone data.
‘Because Clancy has failed to demonstrate that the requested evidence is relevant and material to her defense at any retrial of the murder indictment, the Court declines to exercise its discretion to order production,’ Sullivan wrote.
‘Nor can the Court perceive any valid justification for examining Juror Doe under oath at this point in the proceedings.’
