Holdout Juror in Lindsay Clancy Case Breaks Silence After Mistrial Backlash: ‘No Doubts’

Josh Reynolds/AP photo

The lone juror who blocked a unanimous verdict in Lindsay Clancy’s triple-murder trial has broken his silence, insisting he had “no doubts” that the Massachusetts mother understood what she was doing when she killed her three young children.

Michael P. Desronvil defended his position in a statement provided to NewsNation through a spokesperson on Thursday after fellow jurors publicly criticized his role in the 11-1 deadlock that ended in a mistrial earlier this month.

Desronvil told the network:

I didn’t have any doubts. As I tried to explain different possible theories during deliberation, I kept getting cut off as if I had doubts based on the evidence present. Based on all the physical evidence, key witnesses, and what the prosecution presents, I thought it was enough proof that she (Clancy) knew exactly what she was doing and planned.

Clancy admitted killing her children – Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan – at the family’s Duxbury home in January 2023, but her defense argued that she should be found not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis when she strangled the children before attempting suicide.

After more than 38 hours of deliberations, the nine-woman, three-man jury repeatedly told the court it could not reach a unanimous verdict. Jurors disclosed they were split 11-1, with the majority favoring acquittal on criminal-responsibility grounds.

The judge declared a mistrial on September 4.

Several jurors later described increasingly tense deliberations and claimed the holdout had expressed doubts about the prosecution’s case in interviews with ABC News, CBS, and NBC10 Boston.

Desronvil’s account directly disputes suggestions that he remained unconvinced by the state’s evidence while refusing to acquit.

Attorney Edward Andrew Paltzik, who says he is representing Desronvil, also released a statement late Thursday appealing for his client’s privacy and revealing that the lone juror was “safe” and “at an undisclosed secure location in a rural area of Northern New England.”

He described Desronvil as a “devout Catholic” and supporter of President Donald Trump.

“Rest assured that the evil people who have so viciously attacked this American Hero and Champion of Justice will be held accountable to the maximum extent of the law and beyond,” he wrote.

Clancy is due back in court on September 29 as prosecutors weigh whether to put her on trial again.

On Sunday, CBS’s 60 Minutes will air an interview with Clancy’s ex-husband and star witness in the trial, Patrick Clancy, who will speak out for the first time since his court appearance several weeks ago.

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