Lindsay Clancy Jury Enters Fifth Day Deadlocked as Woman Faces Charge for Filming Jurors

The jury in Lindsay Clancy's triple-murder trial went back to work Wednesday, September 2 for a fifth day of deliberations after telling Plymouth Superior Court Judge William Sullivan a day earlier they could not agree on a verdict, according to CBS News.

Clancy, 36, a former labor and delivery nurse, faces three counts of first-degree murder in the strangulation deaths of her children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, at the family's Duxbury home on January 24, 2023. She has pleaded not guilty.

Her attorney, Kevin Reddington, does not dispute that she killed them. He argues she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and was overmedicated at the time and could not tell right from wrong, meaning she should not be held criminally responsible, per CBS News. Prosecutors counter that Clancy made a calculated, intentional decision and knew what she was doing, according to the BBC.

The nine-women, three-men jury has now logged more than 23 hours of deliberation since receiving the case last Thursday, after five weeks of testimony from 85 witnesses and review of more than 200 pieces of evidence, CBS News reported. On Tuesday morning the panel sent Judge Sullivan a note: "After many hours of deliberation, we are unable to come to a unanimous decision." He sent them back to keep trying.

What happens if they stay deadlocked

Heather Cucolo, a New York Law School professor specializing in mental health law, told the BBC that deadlocks are common in "complex and emotionally charged trials." If the jury reports an impasse a second time, Massachusetts judges have the option of issuing what's known as a Tuey-Rodriguez charge, sometimes called a "dynamite instruction," urging jurors to reconsider each other's views without abandoning their own convictions. Cucolo called that a "last-ditch effort." A third deadlock report would put a mistrial on the table.

Reddington told reporters he'd represent Clancy again if the case ends in a mistrial and goes to retrial, according to the Times of India. He also used Tuesday's proceedings to criticize Plymouth District Attorney Tim Cruz for charging first-degree murder rather than second-degree, which mandates a jury trial and forecloses any plea deal. "Cruz wants his triple homicide convictions, consecutive life sentences with Lindsay," Reddington said, per CBS News. Cruz was present in the courtroom but did not respond to that characterization in the available reporting.

The arrest outside the courthouse

Around 3:40 p.m. Tuesday, Massachusetts State Police arrested Dawn Light, 56, of Sutton, outside the Plymouth courthouse. She's charged with intimidation of a witness, juror, or person furnishing information in connection with criminal proceedings, according to State Police confirmations given to the BBC, the Independent, and the Boston Herald.

Prosecutor Nicole Pearson told the court at Light's Wednesday arraignment that Light was inside her car filming jurors as they left the building, and that police recovered video from the deleted folder on her phone showing Clancy jurors exiting, according to Fox News. "She is filming jurors that are coming out of the building," Pearson said.

Light's attorney disputed that characterization, calling it "a complete misunderstanding" and saying Light was trying to photograph Clancy, not the jury, Fox News reported. Light pleaded not guilty. She is a retired registered nurse with more than 25 years in the field and no criminal record, according to Fox News, which reported she was released without cash bail. The Independent reported prosecutors had requested $50,000 cash bail at the arraignment, meaning the judge appears to have denied that request. Fox News reporter Bill Melugin noted the charge carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine given that the underlying case involves a potential life sentence, a detail the Daily Wire also flagged.

Judge Sullivan opened Wednesday's session with a warning, without directly naming the arrest. "I just want to remind everybody here and elsewhere that there's been an order that's been issued in regards to the conducting of this case, as well as statutes in this Commonwealth which relate to jurors, witnesses, attorneys and others," he said, adding the rules are "being enforced and will be enforced," according to Fox News.

A case that's drawn a crowd

The trial has attracted sustained public attention. The Daily Wire reported that hundreds of women calling themselves "Lindsay's Army" have gathered outside the courthouse in pink, with signs reading "She Needed Help" and "Peace for Lindsay," while others online have pushed unsupported theories that Clancy's ex-husband, Patrick, was responsible. No source in this reporting substantiates that claim. Clancy was left paralyzed after jumping from a second-floor window following the killings, according to the BBC.

The jury remains behind closed doors as of Wednesday afternoon. Whether they reach a unanimous verdict, receive a dynamite instruction, or trigger a mistrial declaration is still unknown, and Light's case now proceeds separately through the same courthouse.