The lone juror who refused to find Lindsay Clancy to not be criminally responsible for killing her children is explaining his controversial vote, one that has polarized America like few other mass murder cases.
Lindsay Clancy is an accused family killer who did not dispute accusations that she killed her three children (ages five years, three years and eight months) by strangling them with exercise bands. During her first trial, Clancy defended herself by arguing she suffered from postpartum psychosis and killed her children after being commanded to do so by a voice. Eleven of the 12 jurors believed her story and voted to find her not guilty by reason of insanity, yet a lone holdout insisted she knew what she was doing. That juror, Michael Desronvil, later had his identity leaked. After the mistrial, Clancy’s lawyer argued there wasn’t enough evidence that she killed the children, even though in the first trial the defense didn’t dispute it. A judge rejected that argument earlier this month.
On Wednesday Desronvil appeared on Fox News to explain to host Kayleigh McEnany why he refused to go along with the other jurors.
“‘Did you have reasonable doubt?’ McEnany asked,” reported Mediaite’s Sean James. “‘No,’ Desronvil answered. That contradicted claims made by several other jurors, including Roni Carlson, the jury foreperson who said Desronvil ‘admitted he had reasonable doubt.'”
The jury foreperson told NBC 10 in Boston that she believed Desronvil admitted he had reasonable doubt but then reneged, while a separate juror complained that Desronvil “had the hardest time getting off the fact that Lindsay viciously killed her children.”
“Desronvil told McEnany there were a few ‘tense’ moments during the trial, especially during deliberation,” James reported. “‘I definitely had a lot of evidence to back up my claim, but because out of respect of the other jurors and the court system, I will put that to sleep for now,’ he added.”
The Clancy case has received widespread attention in part because many feminists empathize with Clancy’s struggles with postpartum psychosis, which they say is under-treated in the United States.
“When Patrick Clancy returned to their home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, he found Lindsay on the lawn with major injuries, suffered in a jump from a second-story window,” The Conversation reported in 2023. “Inside, his children – ages 5 years, 3 years and 8 months – were unconscious. The two oldest were pronounced dead at the scene, while the youngest survived for several days.”
The Conversation added, “As more details of the case became known, a picture emerged of a doting mother and nurse midwife who often shared family photos and anecdotes on social media. After her youngest child’s birth, these posts included references to depression, anxiety and her ongoing attempts to find relief via therapy and medication.”