Judge orders status conference to decide fate of Clancy triple murder case
Attorneys for Lindsay Clancy and the Commonwealth argue over dismissal and a gag order as the court looks to set a date for a second trial.
By Kofi Costa ·
Lindsay Clancy appears in a Massachusetts courtroom on Monday for a hearing that may determine whether her triple murder case proceeds to a second trial. Judge William Sullivan plans to address post-trial motions and discuss a potential schedule for the next phase of the litigation.
The case has been in limbo since a jury deadlock forced a mistrial in the summer of 2026. Clancy pleaded not guilty to the 2023 deaths of her three children. A two-month gap separated the end of that trial from the current legal maneuvering. Sullivan stated in September that he intends to move the case forward without delaying it unnecessarily.
"That’s my goal, to get this thing tried to as soon as proper without sacrificing anyone's rights, anyone's position. But I don't want this thing to then just start to kind of get kicked down the road, punted, and go forward," Sullivan said during a September hearing.
The defense team led by Martin Weinberg and Kevin Reddington filed a motion to dismiss the case. They argue that Sullivan failed to fully investigate the holdout juror, Michael Péguy Desronvil. The attorneys contend that retrying the case after an improper mistrial constitutes double jeopardy. Desronvil told Fox News he had no doubts about Clancy's guilt, describing her actions as methodical and logical.
Prosecutors from the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office countered that the judge properly declared a mistrial after the jury reported being deadlocked twice. They wrote that further investigation into the holdout juror would have led to judicial coercion. They also noted that the foreperson's records did not show bias or outside influence on the dissenting juror.
Sullivan denied a request for an evidentiary hearing about the holdout juror last month. He wrote that courts must not delve into a juror's subjective reasoning or the jury's deliberative content. The defense also requested a gag order to stop prosecutors from speaking publicly, but Sullivan will hear arguments on that motion on Monday. Prosecutors argue a gag order is necessary to prevent a carnival atmosphere and protect the integrity of the system. Defense attorney Laura McConnell argued the request is speculative because no jury has been selected yet.
Sullivan told both sides to be prepared to discuss picking a trial date on Monday. He asked why they should not just pick a date to get the case moving. Reddington and prosecutors both said they would rather wait for Sullivan to rule on the motions before agreeing to a new date. Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said his office is still evaluating whether to retry the case to ensure it serves the interests of justice and the three children.
