Jurors in Lindsay Clancy’s triple-murder trial have told the judge they cannot reach a unanimous decision — but the case is not over.

The panel sent Judge William Sullivan a note Tuesday morning saying that, after many hours of deliberation, it remained unable to agree. Sullivan brought the jurors back into the Plymouth Superior Court courtroom, acknowledged the length and complexity of the trial, and ordered them to continue their work.

That distinction matters. The jury has reported an impasse; the judge has not declared a mistrial, and the jurors have not been discharged.

The Associated Press reported that the note arrived near the beginning of the fourth day of deliberations and marked the first time the jury had indicated that it might be stuck. Sullivan reminded the panel that it had heard from more than 80 witnesses and received more than 300 exhibits before asking jurors to return to the deliberation room.

The jury’s message was direct: “After many hours of deliberation, we are unable to come to a unanimous decision.” Sullivan did not ask how the panel was divided or which outcomes jurors were considering. He told them to keep his earlier instructions in mind, review the evidence, and resume deliberations.

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Jurors began deliberating Thursday afternoon after weeks of testimony. On Friday, they asked to inspect a knife Clancy used during her suicide attempt and bags containing prescription pill bottles recovered from the home.

They returned Monday for a third day without reaching a verdict, then resumed Tuesday morning.

Clancy, 36, does not dispute that she killed her three children — 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan — inside the family’s Duxbury home in January 2023. The trial has centered on whether she was criminally responsible at the time.

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Prosecutors argue that Clancy understood what she was doing and knew right from wrong. Her attorneys contend that she had lost her grip on reality because of postpartum psychosis and therefore lacked criminal responsibility.

WCVB reported that the panel of nine women and three men may consider first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter, not guilty, or a finding that Clancy was not criminally responsible. The prosecution carries the burden of overcoming the lack-of-criminal-responsibility defense.

The local station’s courtroom account said the trial began July 20 and featured dozens of witnesses, hundreds of exhibits and sharply conflicting expert testimony about Clancy’s mental state. Defense witnesses said she was psychotic when the children were killed, while prosecution witnesses concluded she remained able to understand the wrongfulness of her actions.

WCVB also noted that jurors had already returned to specific physical evidence before reporting the impasse. Their Friday request covered the prescription containers and the knife, two pieces of evidence tied to Clancy’s treatment history and her suicide attempt after the children were killed.

For now, deliberations continue. A jury’s first statement that it cannot agree does not automatically end a case.

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The judge can direct jurors to keep working, particularly after a long trial with a large evidentiary record.

If the panel later says further deliberation would be futile and Sullivan concludes it is genuinely deadlocked, he could declare a mistrial. That has not happened.

The facts of the children’s deaths are not disputed. The jury must decide whether Massachusetts law holds Clancy criminally responsible.

This story involves suicide and maternal mental health. Anyone in the United States experiencing a mental-health or suicide crisis can call or text 988.

The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline is available at 1-833-TLC-MAMA.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

 

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