A judge has rejected a request to dismiss the murder charges against Lindsay Clancy and barred her attorneys from investigating the juror who stood alone in favor of a conviction, according to a newly issued order.
In a memorandum filed Monday in Massachusetts, Judge William Sullivan denied Clancy’s motion to dismiss the charges on double-jeopardy grounds.
Clancy’s defense had argued that the judge should not have declared a mistrial in September after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict. Instead, they said, Sullivan should have removed the lone juror who supported conviction and allowed deliberations to continue.
Sullivan rejected that argument, ruling that the jury’s deadlock provided 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 said whether they will pursue the same charges against Clancy or seek a lesser charge that could be more acceptable to a future jury.
No date has been scheduled for a retrial. The next hearing is set for November 16.
A judge has declined 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 at her Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in 2023. 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 did not deny killing the children, but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
Her attorney argued that Clancy was experiencing postpartum psychosis and could not control her actions.
Prosecutors have acknowledged Clancy’s mental-health struggles but rejected the insanity claim, arguing that she acted deliberately and understood that what she was doing was wrong.
After the killings at the family’s home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, Clancy cut her neck and wrists before jumping from a second-story window in what appeared to be a suicide attempt.
The fall left her paralyzed from the waist down and dependent on a wheelchair.
In Monday’s ruling, 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 interviews during the trial, while prosecutors generally declined to speak with reporters.
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The defense had argued that restricting its public statements would violate constitutional free-speech protections.
Judge William Sullivan ruled Monday that the deadlocked jury in Clancy’s trial provided grounds for a mistrial
Sullivan also rejected the defense’s request to investigate Michael Desronvil, the lone juror who favored convicting 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 lone holdout juror, Michael Desronvil, a central focus of the defense’s arguments.
In court 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 sealing the jurors’ names to protect them from harassment. Several jurors, including Desronvil, have nevertheless 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 thoroughly about the breakdown in deliberations. The argument followed two notes from the foreperson indicating that the lone holdout was not following the court’s instructions on reasonable doubt.
After receiving the notes, Sullivan spoke individually with each juror, reminded them of their responsibilities and explained the meaning of reasonable doubt. He asked whether they could apply the law to the evidence, and each juror said they could.
In a recent interview, Desronvil said he was certain Clancy was guilty but that the other jurors would not listen to his position.
His attorney, Heather O’Connor, argued that Desronvil had merely carried out his responsibilities as a juror.
Clancy has not disputed killing her three children—Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan
O’Connor also rejected claims that Desronvil misused his cellphone, saying all jurors were permitted to keep their phones and that there was no evidence he used the device to conduct improper research.
Sullivan appeared to agree with O’Connor and prosecutors. In Monday’s order, he denied the defense request to investigate Desronvil, including demands for confidential records and 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.”