Lindsay Clancy sought to dismiss murder charges in court on Monday, nearly two months after her trial ended in a mistrial. The Massachusetts mother, 36, is accused of killing her three young children in 023. The original proceeding concluded in September with a deadlocked jury after jurors could not reach a verdict.
Clancy has not disputed killing the children but has argued she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time and was unable to control her behavior. Prosecutors acknowledged she had mental health struggles but contended she acted deliberately and understood her actions were wrong.
The hearing before Judge William Sullivan focused on a defense motion to dismiss the charges on double jeopardy grounds. Defense attorney Martin G Weinberg argued that Sullivan should have investigated further after the jury foreperson sent two notes indicating that a juror was not following the rules. Weinberg contended that additional questioning could have revealed grounds to remove the lone holdout juror, Michael Desronvil, and continue deliberations – potentially avoiding the mistrial.
After receiving the notes, Sullivan spoke with each juror, reminded them of their duties and explained what constitutes reasonable doubt. He asked whether they could apply the law to the case, and all said yes. But Weinberg argued that Sullivan had not gone far enough, suggesting a juror who said he could follow the law could have been lying.
Prosecutor Jennifer Sprague defended the judge's handling, arguing that pressing the foreperson further would have required delving into the substance of the jury’s deliberations and inserting the court’s interpretation of what is correct. Sprague told Sullivan he was in the best position to judge the jurors' credibility and credited their answers.
Since the trial ended, Desronvil has said he was certain of Clancy's guilt but that no one would listen to him. Prosecutors argue that double jeopardy does not bar the Commonwealth from seeking justice on behalf of the three victims.
Sullivan did not immediately rule on the motion. He scheduled a hearing for November 16 to revisit the case and potentially set a retrial date.
