Massachusetts Judge William Sullivan officially declared a mistrial in the case of Lindsay Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse accused of viciously murdering her three young children in their Duxbury home in 2023. After six weeks of trial, 80 witnesses, and nearly 40 hours of jury deliberations, jurors returned deadlocked for a third time, leaving no other option.

Jury Deadlocked 11-1

Juror deliberations began Thursday, August 27, 2026, after hearing weeks of witness and expert testimony from both sides. The jury was reportedly deadlocked 11-1 for most of the time and returned to the judge three times, explaining they could not reach a unanimous decision. They were given several chances and intense instruction, but were unsuccessful. 

Clancy’s defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, sought an emergency 1-hour hearing on the 1 juror holding out. “We have a juror who has, according to the foreperson, is the only person who is basically holding out, so to speak, and unfortunately, they’re not holding out based on a good faith issue with the facts or with the law,” he said. 

“But they’re holding out as a result that, even though they have agreed and expressed doubt, they are refusing to apply the laws you’ve given,” Reddington argued.

Judge Declares a Mistrial

Judge Sullivan ultimately denied Reddington’s request, citing a ruling from earlier that he does not believe he can question the juror member any further. With that, he declared a mistrial. 

“At this point, I’m going to declare that the jury is deadlocked and I’m going to declare a mistrial,” Judge Sullivan said, leaving Clancy’s future uncertain and no justice for her children. Prosecutors may choose to bring the case back and retry her, but a professional weighed in that it is unlikely.

With that decision, Reddington claimed victory to the media. “I won the case,” he said, adding that the prosecution “was crushed.” He thanked the jurors for their service “minus one,” and said the 11 jurors who agreed were “robbed” by the one holdout.

Possible Plea Deal

Former Florida prosecutor Dave Aronberg spoke with CNN after the judge’s declaration, saying a plea deal will likely be the outcome rather than a retrial of Clancy’s case. “I think, if it’s 11 to 1, that the DA and the defense lawyer will meet and reach some sort of agreement so that she does not walk out,” Aronberg said.

“It’ll be a mental hospital … (or) some sort of agreement. Because who wants to go through this whole thing again, especially when you are this close to getting an acquittal? Why would you, as a prosecutor, want to do it all over and take another beating?” he said.

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said that the prosecutor’s office will decide if they intend to retry Clancy’s case “shortly” at a future hearing date. “There will be no decisions made today regarding that,” Cruz said.

“Now that you’ve seen 11 to 1, it’s an ethical duty of a prosecutor only to pursue charges when you have a good faith belief you can get a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt, and if you don’t think you can get a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt … then you should not move forward with the case,” Aronberg continued.

“In the end, you got to look reality in the face, and if you can’t get anything more than 11 to 1 against you, I think it’s time for a plea agreement.” 

Sequestering For New Trial

Reddington told reporters outside the courtroom that if the prosecution intends to retry Lindsay Clancy, he would request the jurors be sequestered. “I’ll request it. We’ll see what the judge does. It’s very unusual,” he said.

Because Clancy’s case is nationally recognized and became a high-profile trial, it is unlikely the court could find an unbiased jury for a retrial, but Reddington believes they could find one that can reach a unanimous decision. If the judge were to grant the sequestering request, jury members would be isolated from the public in a secure location.

When asked whether sequestering the jury would have made a difference in the case, Reddington responded that he had “strong faith” in the jurors. “They were just incredible. No, I don’t even think it makes a difference that they were home with their families. I don’t believe these people violated any of the judge’s orders. They were honest. They were hardworking, and no, I don’t think it makes a difference.”

Sullivan set a status hearing for September 29, where Clancy’s defense team can request that the court declare her not guilty.