Reporter’s note: Jurors who wish to share their experience may contact me at Adam.Sabes@fox.com.
A juror in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial said the panel’s lone holdout tried to recreate the strangulation of her children during deliberations, using an exercise band and an empty water bottle as props.
Clancy, 36, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her three young children — Cora, Dawson and Callan — all of whom were under 6 years old when they were found strangled inside the family’s Massachusetts home in January 2023. Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial Friday after the jury failed to reach a unanimous decision, with the panel reportedly deadlocked 11-1.
Lindsay Clancy looks toward jurors as Judge William Sullivan directs them to begin a sixth day of deliberations during her murder trial on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in Plymouth, Mass. (Pool Photo by Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger)
Nick Dargie, 25, told ABC News that the holdout juror at one point appeared to act out how Clancy strangled her three children, using an exercise band and a water bottle inside the jury room.
“He took the exercise band out of the bag, grabbed an empty water bottle and tied the band around the water bottle and pulled it,” Dargie said. “I was just so shocked that he did that.”
Dargie said the demonstration stunned him because deliberations, in his view, were not the place for jurors to conduct their own reenactments. “It didn’t make any sense to me,” he said. “We’re not in here to play detective, or it’s not a game of Clue. This is serious. I asked him why.”
Lindsay Clancy was indicted on three murder counts in the 2023 deaths of her 5-year-old daughter, Cora; her 3-year-old son, Dawson; and her 7-month-old son, Callan. She pleaded not guilty to the charges. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via Pool)
Dargie said the holdout juror refused to explain how witness testimony helped prove his stance.
“There was several times I would ask him to show us evidence or, you know, describe a witness testimony that helped to prove what he was saying, and … he couldn’t,” Dargie said. “There wasn’t a single piece of evidence or witness testimony that he used to prove why he was thinking the way he was, which is why we ultimately sent in that note.”
Callan, left, Dawson and Cora Clancy. The three children were killed at their Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in January 2023. (Lindsay Marie Clancy/Facebook)
He was referring to the note sent by the jury foreperson, who reported that one juror was refusing to follow the court’s instructions on reasonable doubt.
After several jurors came forward about what went on in the deliberation room, Clancy’s defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, told “CBS Mornings” Wednesday that he would be filing a new motion to dismiss based on double jeopardy.
Kevin J. Reddington addresses the media as he arrives at Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth, Mass., on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. Reddington is representing Lindsay Clancy on murder charges for the deaths of her three children. (David McGlynn for News Outlet)
“I would defend that person’s right to be a holdout for a month,” Reddington said. “That’s what the system is based on, but when the forelady indicated clearly and unequivocally in the jury question that this person had doubt, reasonable doubt as we know now, and just refused to listen to the judge’s instruction on the law, that’s when I was upset.”
While Cruz hasn’t indicated what he will do with Lindsay Clancy’s case after the mistrial, Sullivan set a status hearing for Sept. 29.
