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Monday, November 9, 2026
A Massachusetts judge on Monday denied Lindsay Clancy's motion to dismiss the murder charges against her in the deaths of her three young children, clearing the way for prosecutors to seek a second trial.
Plymouth Superior Court Judge William Sullivan ruled that the jury's deadlock in Clancy's first trial created "manifest necessity" for the mistrial he declared on September 4, so a retrial would not violate her constitutional protection against being tried twice for the same crime. "Because the court concludes that there was manifest necessity for a mistrial based on the jury's deadlock, a retrial on the murder indictments does not violate Clancy's right not to be placed in double jeopardy," Sullivan wrote in a 17-page memorandum.
Clancy, 36, a former labor and delivery nurse, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her children Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, at the family's home in Duxbury on January 24, 2023. Her lawyers argued she was not criminally responsible because of postpartum psychosis.
Jurors in the first trial reported they were deadlocked 11 to 1, with 11 favoring acquittal on the grounds that Clancy was not criminally responsible. The defense argued Sullivan acted prematurely in declaring a mistrial and should have pursued an alternative, including replacing the holdout juror. Sullivan rejected that argument, ruling that the deadlocked jury did justify a mistrial.
Sullivan also denied the defense's request to investigate the holdout juror and the prosecution's request for a gag order.
Sullivan has scheduled a hearing for November 16 to discuss when to hold a second trial, which he has suggested could take place in March. Prosecutors have said they intend to retry Clancy, but have not said whether they will pursue the same first-degree murder charges or seek a lesser charge. A first-degree murder conviction in Massachusetts carries a mandatory life sentence without parole.