Lindsay Clancy’s Ex-Husband Patrick Breaks Silence After Mistrial

Patric Clancy is breaking his silence after a Massachusetts judge declared a mistrial in the triple-murder case against his ex-wife, Lindsay Clancy, who admitted to strangling their three children: 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan.

In a statement through an attorney, Patrick described the idea of going through another trial as “extraordinarily painful.”

“Patrick Clancy is grateful to the Court and to the jurors for their hard work, their commitment, and their perseverance,” David Meier, an attorney for Clancy, said. “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.” 

On Friday, Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial after the nine-woman, three-man jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict following 38 hours of deliberations. 

The jury — visibly drained after 38 hours of deliberations over seven days, according to courtroom reporters — returned a somber note to the judge, reading: “With a heavy heart we report we cannot come to a unanimous decision.”

Clancy’s defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, then made a Hail Mary attempt to prevent the mistrial, appealing to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court after Sullivan prepared to dismiss the jury. Sullivan gave Reddington one hour to file an emergency stay before formally declaring a mistrial.

In the filing, Reddington argued that a lone holdout juror should be removed, alleging he was “biased” against people with “debilitating mental illness.” The state’s highest court rejected the emergency appeal. Then, Sullivan declared a mistrial and discharged the deadlocked jury. 

It was an inevitable but dramatic end to the six-week trial that captivated and divided the country – igniting a fierce debate over the role mental illness — particularly postpartum psychosis — should play in determining criminal responsibility.

Earlier Friday morning, tensions flared in the courtroom after Sullivan rejected Reddington’s request to bounce the holdout juror. 

The juror was first singled out Thursday after the foreperson sent Sullivan a note alleging that one member of the panel was refusing to follow the judge’s instructions on reasonable doubt. The surprise note sent the courtroom into a scramble and sparked a heated sidebar involving Sullivan, the defense and prosecution. Reporters inside the courthouse described Reddington as visibly angry and frustrated.

The most serious charges Clancy faced were three counts of first-degree murder, each carrying a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. She is expected to remain at Tewksbury State Hospital, a psychiatric hospital, for now. Prosecutors must decide whether to retry her before a new jury, pursue a plea agreement, or decline to prosecute the case again.

Clancy killed the couple’s three young children by strangling them with exercise bands inside the family’s Duxbury, Massachusetts, home on Jan. 24, 2023, after sending Patrick out to pick up takeout food and medication. She then attempted suicide by jumping from a second-story window after cutting both of her wrists. All three children died, and Clancy was left paralyzed from the waist down.

Patrick Clancy was the first person to discover the horrific scene at the family’s Duxbury home and the first witness to testify in his ex-wife’s murder trial.

“The house was really quiet,” Patrick said, describing the moment he returned home after running errands. “I saw Cora. She had a band around her neck.” He removed it, then found 8-month-old Callan nearby in the same condition. He then searched the basement bathroom and the area around a couch before finding 3-year-old Dawson lifeless in a home office.

“I knew he was gone,” Patrick testified.