Clancy juror says holdout offered no evidence to back a conviction vote

A Massachusetts juror says the lone holdout in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial never showed a “single piece of evidence” to back up his vote for conviction.

Nick Dargie, 25, one of three men on the 12-person jury, told ABC News’ Aaron Katersky that the holdout juror could not explain his position when pressed during deliberations. The case ended in a mistrial on Sept. 4 after the jury split 11-1 in favor of not guilty by reason of insanity, leaving the charges unresolved.

“There was several times I would ask him to show us evidence or, you know, describe a witness testimony that helped to prove what he was saying, and … he couldn’t,” Dargie said in an interview Wednesday.

Clancy, of Duxbury, Massachusetts, pleaded not guilty to three murder charges that remain unresolved after the mistrial. She is accused of killing her 5-year-old daughter Cora, 3-year-old son Dawson and infant son Callan at the family’s home on Jan. 24, 2023.

Inside the jury room

Dargie said the final juror would not change his position favoring conviction, despite the repeated requests from other jurors to justify it. According to Dargie, jurors asked the holdout several times to point to evidence or witness testimony that supported his vote, and he could not do so. The split ultimately led the jury foreperson to send a note to Judge William Sullivan, which resulted in the mistrial.

“There wasn’t a single piece of evidence or witness testimony that he used to prove why he was thinking the way he was, which is why we ultimately sent in that note,” Dargie said.

Dargie stressed that he had no problem with a genuinely held opposing view. He said a hung jury is part of the justice system. The issue, he said, was not that the holdout disagreed with the other 11 jurors — it was the lack of reasoning behind that disagreement.

“Otherwise, like there’s nothing wrong with somebody having a completely opposite opinion … that would be a hung jury. That, like that, is our justice system,” he said.

The week of deliberations followed a five-week trial.

Mental health at the center

Much of the testimony in Clancy’s trial focused on whether she was suffering from postpartum psychosis when she strangled her children and attempted to take her own life. Postpartum psychosis is considered a psychiatric emergency, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

The central legal question was whether Clancy should be held criminally liable for the killings. Jurors in Massachusetts are instructed that prosecutors must prove a defendant’s criminal responsibility beyond a reasonable doubt, including proving the defendant did not suffer from a mental disease or defect at the time of the alleged offense, according to the Massachusetts Court System.

That instruction framed the entire trial. Eleven of the 12 jurors ultimately favored finding Clancy not guilty by reason of insanity; one voted for conviction. The charges against Clancy remain unresolved following the mistrial, with no conviction or acquittal entered in the case.

Cruz’s position

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz has not yet announced whether he will retry Clancy. He spoke outside the courthouse on Sept. 4, the day the mistrial was declared.

“I appreciate the fact that there are strong feelings and opinions tied to this case,” Cruz said. “However, our job is to set aside our feelings and focus solely on the facts. The facts are Lindsay Clancy killed her three children and the evidence suggested to us that she was in control of her actions when she committed those homicides.”

Cruz’s statement reflects the prosecution’s core position: that Clancy was in control of her actions at the time of the killings. The case will return to court on Sept. 29 to determine next steps.

Waiting on the next hearing

The Sept. 29 court date is the next public milestone in the case. Both sides are scheduled to appear to discuss the path forward after the mistrial. Whether the district attorney will retry Clancy remains an open question.

Dargie’s account gives the public a look inside the jury room. Several jurors in this case have chosen to share their experience publicly.

ABC said more of Aaron Katersky’s exclusive interview with Dargie would air on “Good Morning America” on Thursday, Sept. 10 from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET.

Key dates in the case

Dargie’s account raises questions about the holdout’s reasoning. He says the juror never offered a single piece of evidence or witness testimony to justify his vote, even when asked several times. But it does not change the legal reality: without a unanimous verdict, there is no conviction and no acquittal, and the three murder charges against Clancy remain unresolved.

The mistrial leaves the case in limbo. The Sept. 29 hearing will begin to resolve that uncertainty.

Source: abcnews.com

jury deliberations · Lindsay Clancy · Massachusetts · mistrial · murder trial · postpartum psychosis