A jury in Plymouth, Massachusetts, informed Judge William Sullivan on Tuesday that it was unable to reach a unanimous verdict in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the 2023 deaths of her children. The announcement drew audible gasps from the courtroom. Sullivan declined to declare a mistrial and instructed the panel of nine women and three men to continue deliberating, with jurors expected back in court Wednesday.

Clancy, 36, does not dispute that she killed her children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and eight-month-old Callan — at the family's Duxbury, Massachusetts, home on January 24, 2023, after sending her husband Patrick out on errands. She was left paralyzed after jumping from a second-floor window following the killings and now appears in court in a wheelchair. Her defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, argues she was in a state of postpartum psychosis and could not distinguish right from wrong, citing forensic psychiatrist Dr. Phillip Resnick, who testified she was psychotic at the time of the deaths. Prosecutors, led by Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague, contend Clancy made a calculated choice, arguing her children were the only factor preventing her from ending her own suffering.

The jury began deliberating last Thursday after a five-week trial that featured testimony from more than 80 witnesses and hundreds of exhibits. Jurors have already requested to review pill bottles and a kitchen knife connected to Clancy's suicide attempt, signaling close attention to the physical evidence. The trial has drawn significant public interest, and a woman was arrested by Massachusetts State Police outside the courthouse Tuesday on an expected charge of intimidating a witness or juror, though police did not confirm a connection to the Clancy case.

If the jury reports a deadlock a second time, Judge Sullivan may issue what is known in Massachusetts as a Tuey-Rodriguez charge — sometimes called a dynamite instruction — urging jurors to consider one another's perspectives while maintaining their honest convictions. A third deadlock report could lead Sullivan to declare a mistrial. Defense attorney Reddington said Tuesday he is prepared to represent Clancy again should a retrial become necessary. A conviction on first-degree murder would carry a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.