Former Massachusetts nurse Lindsay Clancy was charged with murdering her three children, but the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict, bringing the case to a mistrial on Sept. 4, 2026, at the Plymouth Superior Court.

After seven days of deliberations in which the jury announced they were deadlocked three times, Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial due to an 11-1 difference of opinion, which prevented a unanimous decision. The defense appealed to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to prevent this, but the high court denied the request. 

Judge Sullivan said the jury's note read, as WBUR reported, "It is with a heavy heart that we report we are unable to come to a unanimous decision, and we will not be able to."

Clancy will now return to the Tewksbury state psychiatric hospital where she was being held. The prosecution has the option to retry the case, or both sides could potentially negotiate a plea deal. 

On Jan. 24, 2023, Patrick Clancy, Lindsay’s husband at the time, returned home after running errands to find his three children strangled with exercise bands in the basement. Clancy had attempted suicide. She was then hospitalized and put under police watch while the investigation went on. 

Clancy pleaded not guilty to murdering her three young children, Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months in February 2023 while the prosecution argued she had deliberately murdered her children with awareness. Kevin Reddington, her defense attorney, argued that she had been experiencing severe postpartum depression and anxiety. 

"After the second child she had postpartum (depression)… You will hear evidence that was one of the issues that was important because it can lead to (being) bipolar. One of the things you don't do if someone is bipolar, you don't put them on an antidepressant, on Zoloft. It messes with your brain and it was done in this case," Reddington said in his opening statements.

The grand jury indicted Clancy with three counts of murder, strangulation, as well as assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in October 2023. 

Clancy’s official trial began on July 20, 2026. The defense did not deny that she murdered her children, but argued she wasn’t criminally responsible due to postpartum psychosis, bipolar disorder, and the effects of multiple medications. The prosecution maintained that she premeditated the murders of her children and meticulously carried them out after sending Patrick out to run errands. 

“Yes, your honor,” Clancy replied to Judge Sullivan when asked to agree to the stipulation of facts concerning her physical actions and parts of the forensic evidence on Aug. 4. Because of this, the need for many technical witnesses was eliminated. 

This case gained countless attention across social media platforms as numerous people became invested in watching the livestreamed trial. As witnesses and experts testified for the prosecution and defense, many began making videos and comments speculating on the facts of the case. 

Hundreds of Lindsay Clancy supporters started posting online and gathering outside the courtroom wearing pink. They wore pink to demonstrate solidarity with her and raise awareness of postpartum depression. Many Clancy supporters believe she was failed by those around her and deserves help. 

“Anyone of us who have dealt with mental health, anxiety, depression, postpartum — I think we just know that any one of us could be sitting in her chair,” said Renee Kimball, one of the lead protesters and an author on parenting to WBUR.

On the other hand, a substantial number of people believe Clancy is criminally guilty of the murders and want her sent to jail. 

"She retained an awareness of the illegality of killing others, including her children,” said Kirk Heilbrun, a forensic psychologist who testified as a rebuttal witness for the prosecution. “Her moral awareness of this killing was influenced by her strong desire to die and, if she was dead, not to leave her children behind."  

Closing arguments took place on Aug. 27. Afterward, Judge Sullivan told the jury each of the verdict options for this case: guilty of first-degree murder, guilty of second-degree murder, guilty of manslaughter, not guilty by lack of criminal responsibility, and not guilty.