Lindsay Clancy is scheduled to return to Plymouth Superior Court on Tuesday for the first time since a judge declared a mistrial in her murder case.
Lindsay Clancy is scheduled to return to Plymouth Superior Court on Tuesday for the first time since a judge declared a mistrial in her murder case.
Clancy is charged in the 2023 deaths of her three children in Duxbury. Her trial ended Sept. 4 after jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict.
Prosecutors have not publicly said whether they will retry her.
Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, has filed several motions ahead of the hearing. One renews a request for a required finding of not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility.
Defense attorney Kevin Reddington and defendant Lindsay Clancy listen to Judge William Sullivan speak with the jury after declaring a mistrial at court in Plymouth, Mass., on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)The defense argues that the evidence could not support a guilty verdict.
NBC 10 legal analyst Austin Dana said the motion faces a high legal bar.
“That basically is requiring the judge to say there’s no jury that could find her guilty based on this evidence,” Dana said. “Therefore, I’m going to take this away from the jury, and I’m going to find, as a matter of law, this is a not guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity. Very low chance that one is successful.”
The defense has also moved to dismiss the case on double jeopardy grounds. It argues that there was no “manifest necessity” to declare a mistrial and that the judge should have questioned the lone holdout juror further or replaced him.
Reddington has requested additional information about the juror, including cellphone records and the confidential questionnaire he completed during jury selection.
The defense has raised questions about whether the juror used his phone during deliberations and whether his questionnaire answers were truthful.
Dana said he does not expect the judge to summon the juror for questioning without stronger evidence that any phone use affected deliberations.
“I don’t see us pulling this juror back into court and questioning him about his answers, because the effect that that will have is chilling the general public from wanting to serve on a jury in the future, especially if they think their views may not mesh with the views of other jurors,” Dana said.
The juror has not spoken publicly since his identity was posted on social media. His attorney defended him during a recent Fox News appearance, saying, “You will never break Michael, because Michael is indestructible.”
Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz said after the mistrial that no decision on a retrial would be made that day.
The hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday.
