A Massachusetts judge has declared a mistrial in the case of Lindsay Clancy, a mother accused of murdering her three children. Judge William Sullivan made the declaration after the 12-person jury failed to reach a unanimous decision.
The jury, composed of nine women and three men, was reportedly split 11 to one. Ms Clancy does not deny strangling her children at their home near Boston, but claims she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time.
Prosecutors had argued that Ms Clancy's actions were a deliberate act of murder. Following the killings, her husband found her injured in the yard after she reportedly jumped from a second-story window, leaving her paralysed from the waist down.
The mistrial means the case reverts to its status before the trial began, with Ms Clancy, a 36-year-old former nurse, charged with murder and held at a psychiatric hospital. Prosecutors now face the decision of whether to attempt a second trial with a new jury, potentially with different charges, or to offer a plea deal.
A Boston defense attorney and legal expert, Brad Bailey, suggested that defense lawyers would likely explore a resolution if the threat of a retrial for murder remains. The district attorney's office could also choose not to retry the case, possibly due to the complexity and emotional nature of the case and the potential for another mistrial.