Judge Declares Mistrial in Massachusetts Mother's Murder Case After Jury Deadlocks

A judge in the United States has declared a mistrial in the high-profile case against Lindsay Clancy, after the jury failed to reach a verdict following days of deliberation. Clancy, 36, a former nurse, stood trial for the murder of her three children, whom she allegedly strangled in 2023 in the basement of her home in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Her husband was at a pharmacy picking up medication for their children at the time.

After the killings, she cut herself with a knife and jumped from a second-floor window, surviving the fall but becoming paralyzed from the waist down. The trial centered on Clancy's criminal responsibility. Her lawyers argued she was not criminally responsible because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis, a rare condition affecting about 1 in 1,000 women who have given birth, and was heavily medicated with antidepressants and drugs for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

They claimed doctors overprescribed medication for her mental health issues. Prosecutors argued premeditated murder, saying Clancy had planned to get her husband out of the house by sending him to the pharmacy and had calculated on her phone how long his trip would take. The 12-member jury could not reach a unanimous decision this week because one juror held out.

Over seven days, the jury told the judge three times they were deadlocked. The case can be retried with a new jury. Clancy's lawyer said after the mistrial that finding new jurors who are unaware of the case will be a challenge, as he had not expected the case to draw so much attention.

In the US, jurors are not allowed to know anything about a case beforehand to prevent bias. The six-week trial, which was televised, deeply divided Americans. For many, Clancy's case symbolizes shortcomings in US postnatal care, and there is criticism of how the legal system treats mothers who kill their children.

Many women wore pink to court to show support for Clancy, while opponents expressed surprise at the sympathy she received, arguing she deserves no mercy for killing her children. Prosecutors can decide whether to retry Clancy.