Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz was confronted by protesters outside court after the Lindsay Clancy murder trial collapsed into a mistrial. The trial had lasted five weeks with a 12-person jury deliberating for over 37 hours, but ultimately failed to reach a unanimous verdict. Cruz attempted to address the media, but was heckled by a woman who shouted "You only cared when the kids were dead - why didn't you care about the mother?" and others who accused him of being corrupt. The trial will now proceed with a retrial, which could potentially be decided by a judge rather than a jury.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
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Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz was heckled outside of court after the Lindsay Clancy case was ruled a mistrial.
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case → sign → court
Cruz addressed members of the media moments after Judge William Sullivan announced a mistrial at a court in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
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Sullivan → address → Plymouth
As he was talking, a woman standing behind him said: 'You only cared when the kids were dead - why didn't you care about the mother?'.
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you → talk → mother
Cruz kept a straight face as others around him backed up what the woman shouted, chanting: 'Amen'.
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woman → keep → what
As journalists continued to pose questions to Cruz, the woman continued to heckle him, causing him to ask a reporter to repeat their question.
She was also seen shaking her head as he spoke and kept on shouting over him before walking away.
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he → continue → him
Others shouted that he was corrupt.
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he → shout → ?
Another woman stood behind Cruz was seen shaking her head every time he spoke.
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he → stand → head
When questioned over whether his prosecutor's case was insensitive, he responded that killing three children was insensitive.
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killing → question → children
'Insensitive is ignoring those facts, we have an obligation to stand up for those people and seek justice', he added.
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he → ignore → justice
Cruz addressed members of the media moments after Judge William Sullivan announced a mistrial at a court in Plymouth, Massachusetts
As he was talking, a woman standing behind him, seen here in pink over his right shoulder, said: 'You only cared when the kids were dead - why didn't you care about the mother?'
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you → address → mother
Cruz maintained Clancy's killing of her children was cold-blooded murder, but that he refused to be drawn on whether he would push for a retrial and said the decision was yet to be made.
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decision → maintain → retrial
Prosecutors may also ask for the verdict to be decided by a judge, rather than a jury trial.
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verdict → ask → trial
The jury panel of nine women and three men spent over 37 hours deliberating the case after five weeks of evidence.
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panel → spend → evidence
They sent four notes to the judge this week saying they had been unable to reach a verdict.
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they → send → verdict
Yesterday it emerged that 11 of the 12 jurors had come to the same verdict, but that a twelfth holdout was refusing to follow them.
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holdout → emerge → them
The final note sent by jurors on Friday morning read: 'It is with a heavy heart that we are unable to come to a unanimous decision and will not be able to.'
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we → send → decision
Clancy - who killed her three young children in January 2023 - now faces a grueling retrial.
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who → kill → retrial
She strangled her children with exercise bands and then allegedly attempted to kill herself, but her efforts failed and left her paralyzed and in a wheelchair for life.
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efforts → strangle → life
Clancy is seen here during Friday's hearing inside Plymouth County Superior Court
Clancy was charged with murder after strangling her three children, Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan in 2023
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Clancy → see → 2023
The law requires the jury to come to a unanimous decision, and if they are unable to, the judge is forced to declare a mistrial.
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judge → require → mistrial
A mistrial means the prosecution will have the opportunity to try Clancy again.
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prosecution → mean → Clancy
The trial will have to start over from jury selection.
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trial → have → selection
A second trial would not violate Clancy's Fifth Amendment right against double jeopardy, which protects citizens from being punished for the same crime twice.
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which → violate → crime
The Constitution of the United States prevents the government from trying a person again for the same crime after they have already been found innocent or guilty.
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they → prevent → crime
But because Clancy's first trial has resulted in a deadlock, the prosecution is allowed to charge her a second time.
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prosecution → result → her
It is unclear whether the prosecution will move forward with a second trial.
uncertain
prosecution → move → trial
Clancy is likely going to be kept institutionalized in the interim while a decision is made.
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decision → go → interim
