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A judge has declared a mistrial in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial because jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
Clancy was charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her three children: Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan Clancy.
Upon hearing the verdict, defence attorney Kevin Reddington requested an immediate appeal to the state Supreme Court in Massachusetts for a stay of declaration. The judge gave him one hour to do so.
An emergency stay would temporarily halt the mistrial declaration while the defence asks a higher court to intervene.
The nine women and three men jury have deliberated for a week following five weeks of testimony. The jury told the judge by note on Friday that “it is with heavy heart we are still unable to come to a decision and will not be able to.”
The jury was deadlocked twice prior to Friday’s mistrial declaration, but the judge sent them back to continue deliberating a case that has brought postpartum psychosis front and centre, while drawing attention in the United States and internationally.
Prosecutors have the option of retrying in front of a different jury in a new trial.
Clancy strangled the kids with exercise bands, then tried to take her own life by jumping from a second-storey window. Her defence says the attempt left her paralyzed from the waist down. Her attorney says she was in postpartum psychosis and should not be criminally responsible for the deaths.
Under Massachusetts law, a defendant is not guilty if they lacked criminal responsibility when they committed the offence.
Prosecutors contend that the killings were planned and intentional.
More than 80 witnesses testified during the trial, many addressing Clancy’s mental state and treatment.
ganderson@postmedia.com