Lindsay Clancy's murder trial over the deaths of her three children

The prosecution built its case on her own records. Jurors visited the Clancy home and heard the 911 call her then-husband, Patrick Clancy, made after finding the children. Court records showed she had been discharged from a hospital 19 days before the killings.^[10] Prosecutors presented her diary from the months before, which described anxiety and feeling overwhelmed by motherhood,^[11] and an analysis of her phone showing searches about hallucinations, psychosis and the side effects of drugs she had been prescribed.^[12]

The defense said she had heard a voice telling her to kill her children. It called her relatives, including her former mother-in-law, who testified that Clancy had been begging for help.^[13] A forensic psychologist testified that he had diagnosed her with bipolar disorder after the killings,^[14] and a psychologist testifying for the defense said her mental health issues had kept her from appreciating the wrongfulness of the killings.^[1] A forensic psychologist called by the prosecution testified that she was not experiencing acute psychosis. The judge, William Sullivan, rejected a defense request for a mistrial over testimony about Catholicism but reprimanded the prosecution.^[15]

Deliberations began in late August, and the jury twice told the judge it could not agree.^[16] The foreperson reported that one juror would not follow the court's instructions on reasonable doubt, and on September 4 Sullivan declared a mistrial.^[3] Reports then emerged that the lone holdout juror had a history of domestic abuse allegations.^[17]

Whether she would be tried again remained open. Clancy's lawyer, Kevin Reddington, asked the judge to spare her a second trial, arguing that prosecutors lacked enough evidence.^[4] Patrick Clancy gave his first television interview, to "60 Minutes," in which he said he had forgiven her.^[18] At a hearing at the end of September, Reddington again argued that the case should be thrown out.^[19] In October, the holdout juror said in an interview that he had been struck by how "methodical" she was,^[20] and a hospital denied the allegations in a civil lawsuit in which Clancy accused its doctors of failing to diagnose and treat her postpartum psychosis.^[21]

Prosecutors asked the judge in late October to reject the motion to dismiss.^[5] Clancy returned to court on November 2, and the hearing grew into a heated debate about the lone juror.^[6][7] The judge later denied the motion to dismiss.^[8] Separately, a Florida true crime influencer was charged with posting a secretly recorded call with Clancy's former father-in-law.^[22]