Skip to Content Facebook Feature Image

Holdout juror in Clancy trial didn't have 'any doubts' that she was responsible for killing her kids

News

Holdout juror in Clancy trial didn't have 'any doubts' that she was responsible for killing her kids
News

News

Holdout juror in Clancy trial didn't have 'any doubts' that she was responsible for killing her kids

2026-09-19 01:15 Last Updated At:01:30

BOSTON (AP) — The lone juror who wanted to convict Lindsay Clancy of murder for killing her three children said he was certain of her guilt, but that other jurors wouldn't listen to him, according to a statement released by his lawyer Friday in his first public comments on the case.

Eleven of 12 jurors were ready to clear Clancy of criminal responsibility, with the majority feeling that the Massachusetts mom was in the grip of a rare condition called postpartum psychosis when she strangled her kids. But juror Michael Desronvil sided with the prosecutors, who had argued that Clancy knew what she was doing.

“I didn’t have any doubts,” Desronvil said in a statement released on X by his lawyer, Edward Paltzik.

The jury's foreperson had claimed in an earlier media interview that Desronvil had admitted having “reasonable doubt” about Clancy's guilt, but wanted to convict her anyway. Desronvil said that wasn't true.

“As I tried to explain different possible theories during deliberation, I kept getting cut off as if I had doubts based on the evidence presented,” he wrote. “Based on all the physical evidence, key witnesses, and what the prosecution presented, I thought it was enough proof that she (Clancy) knew exactly what she was doing and planned.”

The jury's deadlock forced the judge to declare a mistrial on Sept. 4, leaving the case unresolved. The Plymouth County district attorney has yet to say whether he'll seek to put Clancy on trial again.

Neither side disputed that Clancy strangled her children, Cora, Dawson and Callan, in the family’s home in 2023 before trying to end her own life. But her attorney said she was a loving mother experiencing deep delusions and other mental health problems, for which she had been getting treatment.

Since the trial ended, Desronvil has been both publicly praised and scorned for his actions, and his personal life and past financial and legal problems have become the subject of scrutiny by the news media and amateur sleuths.

Among the public revelations: He had a restraining order against him at the time of jury selection and was facing eviction from his apartment due to over $12,000 in unpaid rent. He also was accused of domestic violence in 2021, a charge that was later dismissed.

Some of the opinion has fallen along political lines, with Desronvil being praised by some conservative pundits as a hero.

Paltzik, whose past clients have included President Donald Trump and Martin Shkreli, said on X that Desronvil was in “an undisclosed secure location” in a rural part of northern New England and would not be giving interviews.

“As a devoted father and man of God, he will not be defeated or shattered by the wicked who wish harm upon him,” Paltzik wrote.

A fundraiser to cover what organizers say are costs of “security, lawyers, and lost work” for Desronvil has raised over $289,000.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has rolled out the welcome mat for him, saying that if he is being harassed, “Florida will provide asylum.”

“I’m sure he’d be welcomed and appreciated,” DeSantis wrote on X.

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington, center, leaves court, flanked by media and law enforcement, after the judge declared a mistrial in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial at Plymouth County Superior Court, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Plymouth, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington, center, leaves court, flanked by media and law enforcement, after the judge declared a mistrial in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial at Plymouth County Superior Court, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Plymouth, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington and defendant Lindsay Clancy listen to Judge William Sullivan speak with the jury after declaring a mistrial at court in Plymouth, Mass., on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington and defendant Lindsay Clancy listen to Judge William Sullivan speak with the jury after declaring a mistrial at court in Plymouth, Mass., on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)

Defendant Lindsay Clancy looks at the jury after Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial in Clancy's murder trial on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Plymouth, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)

Defendant Lindsay Clancy looks at the jury after Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial in Clancy's murder trial on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Plymouth, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)

PRAGUE (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to NATO renewed his country’s criticism of the Czech Republic on Friday, saying it had failed to spend enough on defense.

“It is disappointing to see that it has not made more progress towards meeting the Hague Defense Commitment,” Matthew Whitaker told a defense conference in Prague.

“Unfortunately, the Czech Republic is trending towards the bottom of the alliance when it comes to defense spending,” said Whitaker, who met with populist Prime Minister Andrej Babiš on Friday.

“There have been small successes, but more certainly needs to be done, and this has been a message I delivered yesterday and today in person to our friends here in the Czech Republic,” Whitaker added.

Lawmakers aligned with Babiš' government approved a budget in March that allocates less than 1.8% of the country's gross domestic product for defense this year. The approval came despite President Petr Pavel, a retired army general, urging an increase in the defense budget to meet NATO’s commitment.

Whitaker warned the Czech Republic at the time in a post on X: “All Allies must pull their weight and honor The Hague Defense Commitment. These numbers are not arbitrary. They are about meeting the moment — and the moment requires 5% as the standard. No excuses, no opt-outs. “

Responding on Friday, Babiš promised that defense spending would reach 2% of GDP next year.

NATO members agreed in 2014 to spend at least 2% of GDP on defense, and the alliance expected all members — including the Czech Republic — to meet that target last year.

At a summit in The Hague last year, NATO members, under pressure from the Trump administration, agreed to invest 3.5% of GDP on core defense requirements and an additional 1.5% on defense and security-related spending by 2035.

Babiš returned to power after his ANO, or YES, movement won a decisive victory in an October election. It formed a governing coalition with two small political groups whose agenda includes reducing support for Ukraine and rejecting some key European Union policies.

The Freedom and Direct Democracy party, which is anti-immigrant and a member of the coalition, wants to cut the defense budget for next year.

Finance Minister Alena Schillerová recently said she currently considers a 5% target to be “unrealistic.”

“The United States remains committed to NATO and defending every inch of allied territory, and the United States is not stepping back," Whitaker said on Friday. "But we expect our allies to step up and join us and equalize with the United States.”

FILE - Czech Republic's Prime Minister Andrej Babis talks to journalists as he arrives for the EU summit in Brussels on June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Marius Burgelman, File)

FILE - Czech Republic's Prime Minister Andrej Babis talks to journalists as he arrives for the EU summit in Brussels on June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Marius Burgelman, File)

U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker addresses the audience during the America 250 event in Brussels on June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)

U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker addresses the audience during the America 250 event in Brussels on June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)

Recommended Articles