Patrick Clancy Faces ‘Extraordinarily Painful’ Prospect of Another Trial Over Children’s Deaths, Attorney Says

NEED TO KNOW

• Patrick Clancy's attorney said the prospect of another trial over the deaths of his three children would be "extraordinarily painful" for him

• A mistrial was declared after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial

• Patrick's attorney said he is grateful to the court and jurors, but that the loss of his children is something "from which there will never be closure"

Patrick Clancy faces the "extraordinarily painful" prospect of another trial over the deaths of his three children after a jury was unable to reach a verdict in the murder trial of his ex-wife, Lindsay Clancy , his attorney said.

"Patrick Clancy is grateful to the Court and to the jurors for their hard work, their commitment, and their perseverance," attorney David Meier said in a statement following the mistrial. "The loss of Patrick's children is something from which he will never recover and from which there will never be closure."

"The prospect of reliving this tragedy through another trial is extraordinarily painful — for Patrick, for his family, and for all of us," the statement continued.

Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial Friday, Sept. 4, after jurors said they could not reach a unanimous verdict following more than a week of deliberations.

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said following the mistrial that prosecutors had made "no decisions" about whether to retry Lindsay, adding that the matter would be addressed at a future court hearing. Sullivan scheduled the parties to return to court on Sept. 29 and said that, if there is a second trial, he would like it to take place in the fall.

Legal expert Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, told PEOPLE he believes prosecutors will pursue another trial .

"She will be prosecuted," Rahmani said Friday. Before the mistrial, he had said he believed it was "almost 100% certain" prosecutors would retry the case if jurors were unable to reach a verdict, citing the public pressure surrounding the case.

Lindsay's attorney, Kevin Reddington, had previously said he expects the case to be retried, although he has suggested prosecutors could pursue lesser charges rather than first-degree murder.

Lindsay, 36, a former labor and delivery nurse, did not deny killing Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan at their Duxbury, Mass., home on Jan. 24, 2023, but she pleaded not guilty and pursued a defense centered on lack of criminal responsibility. Her defense contended she was experiencing postpartum psychosis and hallucinated a male voice telling her to kill her children and then herself.

"She was a nurse, a daughter, a wife and a darn good mother," Reddington told jurors in his closing argument.

He read from a list of medications she had been prescribed in the months before the killings and argued that she had received "lousy medical care" when she sought help for anxiety.

Prosecutors contended Lindsay knew what she was doing. They argued that she sent her then-husband, Patrick, out of the house on the day of the killings by sending him to pick up takeout and medication. When he returned, Patrick testified, he found the children in the basement with exercise bands around their necks. He found Lindsay, who had cut her wrists and neck, lying injured in the backyard after she jumped from a second-story window. She remains paralyzed from the waist down.

In her closing argument, prosecutor Jennifer Sprague did not dispute that Lindsay was suffering from mental illness and had attempted to kill herself. But she argued that the killings were the result of rational, premeditated choices.

"She left them discarded on the basement floor like broken toys because she was done playing the game," Sprague told jurors. "You know to a moral certainty she is guilty."

Prosecutors called more than 70 witnesses, while the defense called 10, including Lindsay's mother, sister and former mother-in-law.

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Judge Sullivan instructed jurors to consider first-degree murder, second-degree murder or manslaughter if they rejected Lindsay's insanity defense. The manslaughter option would have given jurors a lesser alternative to a murder conviction if they found Lindsay criminally responsible but did not believe the killings amounted to murder.

Lindsay would face life in prison without parole if convicted of first-degree murder. If found not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, she would be committed to a state mental health facility.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.

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