Lindsay Clancy's Defense Targets Holdout Juror, Seeks Phone Records and Dismissal of Murder Charges

Defense lawyers for Lindsay Clancy are targeting the lone holdout juror who blocked her acquittal, asking a judge to probe whether he secretly used a cellphone during deliberations in the prosecution of the Massachusetts mother accused of strangling her three young children.

In court filings unsealed Monday, defense attorney Kevin Reddington requested a formal inquiry into juror Michael Desronvil. The defense wants the court to question Desronvil regarding his alleged phone use during deliberations—a violation of state court rules—and to scrutinize his honesty on a pre-trial questionnaire and during a judicial inquiry held the day before the trial concluded.

The filings request subpoenaed phone and text records for Desronvil between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. for every day the jury deliberated.

The high-profile trial ended in a mistrial on Sept. 4 after the panel declared an irreparable deadlock. Eleven of the 12 jurors favored finding Clancy not criminally responsible, believing the defense’s argument that she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis when she killed her children. Desronvil stood alone in siding with prosecutors, who argued Clancy acted with intent and understood the wrongfulness of her actions.

In a separate motion filed Monday, Clancy’s legal team made the rare request for the judge to throw out the murder indictment altogether rather than permit a retrial. Defense lawyers argued the mistrial was improperly declared, saying the judge should have replaced Desronvil with an alternate after the jury foreperson reported that one panelist refused to follow instructions on reasonable doubt.

The court has not formally charged Desronvil with misconduct, though fellow jurors reported he remained unyielding in his belief that Clancy was guilty. In a statement released through his attorney, Edward Paltzik, Desronvil maintained he had "no doubts" Clancy was fully aware of her actions.

Spokespersons for Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz declined to comment on the defense motions. Prosecutors have not yet announced whether they intend to retry Clancy, who remains committed to a psychiatric facility pending the resolution of her case.

On Sunday, Clancy’s ex-husband revealed why he forgave her for killing their three children, in his first interview since her mistrial.

Her former partner, interviewed alongside his new wife Rachel Danis, explained he did not know how to handle the condition.

“I could piece together what it was like to be really, really anxious or depressed, but I didn’t know how to manage a postpartum illness,” he said. “I think mental illness has this ability to be tragically deceptive. So I’m sure there are things that I didn’t see.”

He went on to address the media and social media's perception of his ex-wife, revealing he decided to forgive Clancy.

“I saw headlines that said, you know, ‘Killer Mom,’ and ‘Baby Murderer,’ ‘Monster.’ And none of them were accurate,” he continued.

“I believe that it was her mental illness that caused that. So I shared those words. And I think when it comes to forgiveness, I also felt that if I didn't get there, I would be eaten up inside forever.”

He also revealed that he and Danis, an infertility specialist, are starting a family and planned on sharing the memories of his lost children with their future brothers or sisters.