Jurors in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial allegedly violated court rules by using their phones to research the case during deliberations, according to the juror who stood alone in opposing an acquittal.
A spokesperson for juror Michael P. Desronvil has accused several other members of the jury of violating court orders by using their cellphones, according to NewsNation reporter Brian Entin.
Jurors are required to decide a defendant’s guilt or innocence solely on the evidence and testimony presented in court.
Outside research is strictly forbidden because information not admitted into evidence could improperly influence the jury’s view of the case.
The allegation follows a motion filed by Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, seeking an examination of juror Michael P. Desronvil’s phone metadata. Desronvil was the only juror to reject an acquittal earlier this month.
Eleven of the 12 jurors were prepared to find Clancy not criminally responsible last Friday. Their inability to reach a unanimous decision led the judge to declare a mistrial, leaving the case unresolved.
Both sides agreed that Clancy strangled her children—five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson and eight-month-old Callan Clancy—at the family’s Massachusetts home on January 24, 2023, before attempting to take her own life.
Reddington maintained that Clancy was a devoted mother suffering from the rare mental-health disorder postpartum psychosis. Prosecutors, however, argued that she understood the consequences of her actions.
Jurors in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial allegedly used their phones to research the case during deliberations, despite a strict court ban on outside information
A spokesperson for holdout juror Michael P. Desronvil, 48, pictured, said several members of the panel may have breached court rules by using their phones to research the case
Desronvil, 48, was the lone juror to side with prosecutors. He said he had no doubts about Clancy’s guilt, setting him apart from the 11 jurors who supported a verdict clearing her of criminal responsibility.
Reddington has now asked Judge William Sullivan to review Desronvil’s mobile-phone metadata from the period when the jury was deliberating, according to a motion reviewed by the New York Times.
The filing also asks the judge to question Desronvil about whether he was truthful during jury selection and whether he used his phone or consulted outside information during deliberations.
Reddington wants the questioning conducted on the record with attorneys for both sides present.
“The inquiry will not touch the substance of deliberations,” the motion states.
It remains uncertain whether the jury’s decision—or the mistrial—could be affected by any investigation.
Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse, did not dispute that she killed her three children. Instead, she argued that she should be found not guilty by reason of insanity because she was experiencing postpartum psychosis at the time.
Although 11 jurors accepted that explanation, Desronvil rejected it.
After the mistrial was declared, several jurors publicly accused Desronvil of refusing to seriously engage with their arguments. Some described him as “arrogant.”
Paula Devlin, 65, told Our News Outlet that Desronvil’s explanations for his vote “made no sense” when challenged. She also said he remained “quiet” through much of the weeklong deliberation.
According to Devlin, Desronvil appeared more concerned with policing the tone of the group’s discussions than explaining why he remained convinced that Clancy was guilty.
Clancy did not deny that she killed her three children, but argued she should be found not guilty by reason of insanity as she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time
Juror Paula Devlin, 65, told Our News Outlet that the holdout made ‘no sense’ when pressed on his reasons for his vote and was ‘quiet’ for most of the week-long deliberations
‘The main thing he focused on is sometimes we would all want to talk at once, and that was very upsetting to him.
‘He would get upset and say, ”Listen to what she’s saying, listen to what he’s saying, be respectful’.”
‘We were trying to say to him, that sometimes somebody says something and they get lost in their thought or they can’t find the right word, and somebody else puts that word in there for them or finishes their thought, that’s how normal conversation works.
‘But when that would happen, he would get upset and just take all this time lecturing us about not being respectful.’
Devlin also claimed the holdout rarely fraternized with the group during the trial, instead preferring to speak to his wife or watch videos on his phone.
She said the 11 jurors who decided Clancy was not guilty of murder or manslaughter in the deaths of her kids felt ‘defeat’ and ‘anger’ when the mistrial was declared.
Meanwhile, the father of the three slain children, Patrick Clancy, revealed on Sunday that he suffered a panic attack and ended up needing medical treatment while giving grueling testimony at his ex-wife’s trial.
The grieving father sat down with 60 Minutes to share his heartbreak over the deaths of his three children Cora, five, Dawson, three and Callan, eight months old, as well as the toll that their mother’s trial took on him.
