A Massachusetts judge has rejected Lindsay Clancy’s bid to have the murder charges against her dismissed, bringing her closer to a possible retrial over the deaths of her three children.
The ruling found that holding a second trial would not breach Clancy’s constitutional protection against double jeopardy. Her first trial ended in September when jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
The judge determined there was sufficient necessity for the trial to be declared a mistrial, clearing the way for prosecutors to pursue the case again. No date has been set for a new trial.
Clancy’s defence team had also sought an investigation into the juror who was alleged to have been the holdout. The allegations included claims that the juror lied on a questionnaire and improperly used a mobile phone in the jury room.
However, the judge refused a request for the juror’s phone records, confidential questionnaire and other documents, ruling that the information was not material to either the application to dismiss the charges or any retrial.
In a separate decision, the judge rejected prosecutors’ request to restrict Clancy’s lawyers from speaking publicly about the case, finding there was not enough justification for such an order.
Clancy is accused of killing her children — five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson and eight-month-old Callan — at their home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in January 2023.
Her lawyers argue that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and was not criminally responsible for the deaths. The allegations have not been determined at trial.
