Prosecutor raises prospect of Lindsay Clancy retrial as judge weighs dismissal

A Massachusetts prosecutor has told a judge that Lindsay Clancy could face a new trial over the deaths of her three children, but the district attorney says he has not yet made a final decision.

Asked at a hearing on 2 November how the state would proceed, assistant district attorney Jennifer Sprague said: “This would be a retrial.” She added that its form would depend on the judge’s rulings. Prosecutors have not said whether they would pursue the same charges.

District Attorney Timothy Cruz told local television station WHDH that he was waiting for more information, including judicial decisions, before deciding what to do.

Clancy was tried on three counts of first-degree murder over the deaths of Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan at their home in Duxbury in 2023. She pleaded not guilty. At trial, her lawyers did not dispute that she killed the children, but argued that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and was not criminally responsible. Prosecutors argued that she acted deliberately and understood her actions were wrong.

Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial on 4 September after the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. Jurors reported an 11-to-one split in favour of finding Clancy not guilty by reason of insanity.

Her lawyers now argue that the mistrial was unnecessary and that a second trial would violate her protection against being tried twice for the same offence, known as double jeopardy. They say the judge should have questioned the lone dissenting juror more closely after the jury foreperson raised concerns that the juror was not following instructions on reasonable doubt.

Sprague argued that Sullivan had properly handled the deadlock and that further questioning risked interfering with the jury’s deliberations. The judge also heard a defence request to preserve records and question the juror, and a prosecution request to restrict lawyers’ public comments about the case.

Sullivan scheduled another hearing for 16 November and said he would do his best to rule on the dismissal request by then. He suggested that, if a retrial goes ahead, March 2027 could be a realistic date.