Lindsay Clancy mistrial explained: Could she be tried again?

Sep. 5—The highly publicized Lindsay Clancy trial ended in a mistrial Friday, after a 12-member jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on whether the Connecticut native was criminally responsible for killing her three children.

Clancy, 36, still faces murder charges in the 2023 deaths of her children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan — who were found strangled with exercise bands in the basement of the family's home in Duxbury, Mass.

Here's what happens next:

Can Lindsay Clancy challenge mistrial?

Clancy's lead attorney, Kevin Reddington , said he plans to renew a motion he previously filed for a required finding of not guilty. The motion asks the judge to overturn the case if the evidence does not support a guilty verdict.

A judge can overturn a jury's verdict if it is "absolutely wrong and has zero basis at all," said Peter Elikann , a Boston -based criminal defense attorney and Stamford native.

But such motions are rarely granted.

"Almost every judge will go through their entire career never doing that," Elikann said.

In his 45 years as a Massachusetts attorney, Elikann said, he could recall only one case in which a judge overturned a jury's verdict: The 1997 trial of Louise Woodward , an 18-year-old British au pair convicted in the death of an 8-month-old boy.

Reddington also suggested Friday, after the mistrial was declared, that he could raise a double-jeopardy claim, arguing that Clancy should not face a second trial.

That argument follows a last-minute filing to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court , in which Reddington argued that Judge William Sullivan erred by refusing to question or remove a juror accused of disregarding the judge's instructions. The jury foreperson said in a note Thursday that the juror had acknowledged having doubts but was refusing to follow the law.

" Kevin Reddington is leaving absolutely no stone unturned," Elikann said.

Under Massachusetts law, Reddington has five days to renew his motion for a required finding of not guilty. A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 29 at the Plymouth courthouse.

What happens if the motion is denied?

Prosecutors must decide whether they want to retry Clancy on the unresolved charges, negotiate a plea agreement or abandon the case.

Outside the courthouse on Friday, Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz said he had not decided whether to seek a retrial.

"You will not get an answer on that question today," Cruz said.

Prosecutors could retry Clancy on the same charges or pursue a lesser offense, such as manslaughter, if they believed a new jury was unlikely to reach a unanimous verdict on first-degree murder.

The parties could also negotiate a plea agreement to avoid another lengthy trial. Elikann said prosecutors might approach the defense with an offer such as, "How about we drop the first-degree murder charge and have her plead to a lesser offense so we don't have to go through this again?"

Experts say a retrial is the most likely scenario, though it could take up to a year to begin.

Reddington has said he also expects the case to go to trial again, citing Cruz's reputation as an aggressive prosecutor. He said he would call the same witnesses and would not change his strategy.

"Why would I? I won the case," Reddington said.

Where will Lindsay Clancy stay?

Clancy will remain at Tewksbury Hospital , a state psychiatric facility about an hour from the Plymouth courthouse. She was transferred there after the killings.

Even if she is eventually acquitted, Clancy could face years of confinement in a psychiatric facility.

What happens to the Lindsay Clancy jury?

The 18 total jurors — 12 deciding and six alternates — were discharged after the mistrial and have no further involvement in the case. The judge impounded the release of their names for 14 days.

Sullivan ordered that their names remain impounded for 14 days, citing the "significant and divisive attention" the case has received in Massachusetts and around the world. The order also referenced the woman arrested this week "surreptitiously video recording" jurors as they left the courthouse.

Massachusetts' highest court "has recognized that the safety of jurors is crucial to the fair functioning of the judicial system," the order states.

After they were dismissed Friday, most of the 18 jurors left the courthouse in a procession escorted by a state police vehicle. Some waved off reporters, while others shielded their faces with their hands or sun visors.

One juror left separately a few minutes later and also declined to speak with reporters.

© 2026 The Register Citizen, Torrington, Conn.. Visit www.registercitizen.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.