Lindsay Clancy trial: Judge declares mistrial after emergency request denied

The defense blamed one juror for the deadlock.

Last Updated: September 4, 2026, 4:42 PM EDT

The murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mom who killed her three young children while in the family's home on Jan. 24, 2023, ended Friday in a mistrial after seven days of juror deadlock.

Clancy's defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, claimed throughout that trial that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis when she strangled her children and attempted to take her own life. The prosecutors, Jennifer Sprague and Shanan Buckingham, argued that Clancy -- who pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder -- is criminally responsible for her children's deaths.

Judge William Sullivan, who oversaw the trial, set a court date of Sept. 29, 2026, to reconvene and determine next steps.

See below how the final days of the trial unfolded.

Watch a special edition of "20/20," "The Trial of Lindsay Clancy," airing Friday, Sept. 4, at 9/8c on ABC, streaming the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News and Hulu.

Sep 01, 2026, 3:44 PM EDT

Jury goes home after 4th day of deliberations with no verdict

The jury is going home for the day after about 22 hours of total deliberations.

The jury sent no notes after the one they sent earlier Tuesday -- in which they stated they could not reach a verdict -- indicating an impasse.

The judge instructed the jury to continue deliberations on Wednesday.

Sep 01, 2026, 12:09 PM EDT

'I know this was a long trial,' judge tells jurors before sending them back to deliberate

Judge William Sullivan implored jurors to continue deliberating after they reported earlier that they were unable to come to a unanimous decision on Tuesday.

"I brought you back out because I know that this was a long trial, all right?" Sullivan said. "I know that there were over 80 witnesses, there were over 300 exhibits, but because of that, I'm going to ask you to go back out, keeping in mind all of the instructions that I gave you, to go out and to continue your deliberations at this time."

He continued, "Like I said, keep in mind the instructions that I gave you, reviewing the evidence, and I'd ask you to resume your deliberations at this time."

Jurors then left the courtroom to continue deliberations for a fourth day.

Sep 01, 2026, 10:27 AM EDT

Judge asks jury to continue deliberating after they are unable to reach verdict

Jurors in the Lindsay Clancy trial reported to the judge on Tuesday that they were unable to reach a verdict, prompting Judge William Sullivan to ask them to continue deliberating.

The jury has been deliberating so far for about 18 hours total across four days.

Sep 01, 2026, 9:39 AM EDT

Jurors begin 4th day of deliberations

Jurors returned Tuesday for a fourth day of deliberations in the trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts woman charged with murdering her three children.

Jurors have been weighing the evidence for about 17 hours so far with no verdict. They sent no notes on Monday.

Judge William Sullivan greeted jurors on Tuesday and asked them whether they had read, seen or heard anything that would impact their ability to be fair and impartial. They indicated nothing.

Clancy, wearing a green shirt, chatted with defense attorney Kevin Reddington before the judge took the bench. Her parents and sister were seated behind her.

Clancy appeared to watch jurors enter. None appeared to look at her.

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