Lindsay Clancy jury deadlocked as Dawn Light arrested at court
The Lindsay Clancy murder trial jury remains deadlocked entering a fifth day of deliberations in Plymouth, Massachusetts, after telling the judge Tuesday they had not reached a unanimous verdict. Hours later, Sutton resident Dawn Light, 56, was arrested outside the courthouse on a charge of intimidating jurors—allegedly by filming people leaving court.
The deadlock note marked the first public glimpse into the jury's thinking in a case that has gripped national attention since testimony began July 27. Judge William Sullivan sent the 12 jurors—nine women and three men—back to continue deliberating, and on Wednesday spoke briefly with each juror individually at sidebar before releasing them again.
Key Takeaways
- Jurors reported a deadlock Tuesday after roughly an hour of deliberations, then returned Wednesday for a fifth day without a verdict.
- Dawn Light, 56, of Sutton, was arrested outside Plymouth Superior Court and arraigned on an intimidation charge linked to the Clancy trial.
- Clancy faces charges over the January 2023 deaths of her three children; the jury may convict on murder charges or find her not criminally responsible.
- Massachusetts law limits how many times a judge can push a deadlocked jury before a mistrial becomes possible.
- Defense attorney Kevin Reddington said he would retry the case if this trial ends in a hung jury.
Why was Dawn Light arrested outside the Clancy trial?
Massachusetts State Police said Light was arrested around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, shortly after court was dismissed for the day. She faces one count of intimidation of a witness, jurors, or person furnishing information in connection with criminal proceedings.
According to reporting cited by The Independent, Light was allegedly caught recording people leaving the courthouse. She pleaded not guilty at her arraignment Wednesday, where prosecutors requested $50,000 cash bail.
Judge Sullivan addressed the arrest indirectly Wednesday morning, telling the courtroom that court orders and state statutes protecting jurors, witnesses, and attorneys "are being enforced and will be enforced." State police offered no additional details about the arrest.
What happens when a Massachusetts jury reports it is deadlocked?
After the jury's deadlock note Tuesday, Sullivan encouraged jurors to keep working toward a unanimous decision. Under Massachusetts law, a judge may ask a deadlocked jury to continue deliberating only twice unless the jury itself agrees to keep going.
If jurors still cannot reach unanimity, the judge may declare a mistrial—a hung jury—potentially forcing prosecutors to retry the case. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington told reporters Wednesday the jury has been "incredibly hardworking" and said he would "absolutely" go to trial again if needed.
The jury had logged roughly 23 hours of deliberation before Wednesday's session, according to local reporting. Sullivan's private sidebar conversations with each juror Wednesday were not immediately explained, though he said he asked each person one question.
What must the Clancy jury decide?
Prosecutors say Lindsay Clancy strangled her three children—Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months—on Jan. 24, 2023, using exercise bands before attempting suicide by jumping from a window, an act that left her paralyzed. They argue she planned the killings and was not experiencing psychosis at the time.
Clancy's defense team contends she acted under auditory hallucinations tied to postpartum psychosis and that doctors failed her by overprescribing medications despite her extensive mental health treatment. The jury may convict her of first-degree murder, which carries a life sentence, or choose lesser charges including second-degree murder or manslaughter.
Jurors may also find Clancy not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility. The high-profile proceedings have drawn intense media coverage and public speculation, a pattern familiar in other headline-grabbing cases covered under Bizarre News & Florida Man.
How long could deliberations continue?
Reddington told reporters Wednesday he did not know when a verdict might come but expressed no concern about a second trial if this one ends without unanimity. For now, jurors remain sequestered in their deliberations at Plymouth Superior Court.
The arrest of Dawn Light underscores the extraordinary pressure surrounding the trial. As deliberations stretch into a fifth day, the deadlock raises the real prospect of a mistrial in one of Massachusetts' most closely watched criminal cases in years, according to NBC News.