The trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother who admitted to killing her three children in 2023, ended in a mistrial after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict. The nine women and three men deliberated for roughly 38 hours but could not agree on whether Clancy was criminally responsible for the killings. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.

Earlier this week, the jury had twice told the judge they were deadlocked and were sent back to deliberate further. Today, they returned once more, declaring that "with a heavy heart" they could not "and will not be able to" reach a consensus. After a last-ditch appeal to the state's highest court from the defense was denied, Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial. He thanked the jury, which was split 11-1, for their efforts and hard work in serving on such a difficult case, and set a status hearing for September 29.

The Plymouth County district attorney said it would not make a decision on whether to pursue a retrial today. Tim Cruz told reporters outside the courthouse that this case was "not about the healthcare system or how women are treated in it." The case, he said, "was and has always been about getting justice for those three little babies. We're here at this courthouse today because those children are not."

Clancy's defense attorney Kevin Reddington placed blame for the mistrial on the holdout juror that prevented a verdict, but said Clancy would be ready for another trial, should it come in the fall. Reddington claimed he had "won" the case and "crushed" the prosecution's arguments (reminder: we don't know in which direction the jury was split), and said Clancy is a "brave" and "wonderful" person whose life is "a tragedy." He said he hoped the case would spark change for how women experiencing postpartum mental health issues are treated in the United States.

A reminder that Clancy's defense argued that she killed her children while in the throes of severe postpartum psychosis, while the prosecution argued she was in control of her actions and planned the killings. In a recent episode of our Stateside podcast, my colleagues Carter Sherman and Jenna Amatulli unpacked why the case has polarized so many people and the renewed attention it has brought to the shortcomings in the US's maternal healthcare system. My colleague Sarah Sloat has this explainer on postpartum psychosis, its symptoms and how it can be treated, and Jessica Glenza has spoken to experts about the gaps in research into the condition. Maya Yang has highlighted five key moments from what has been called "America's saddest murder trial" and Edward Helmore has our news report.

Thank you for reading our coverage of what has been a deeply distressing and sad case to follow.

If you have been affected by any of the details or issues raised, in the US, the national maternal mental health hotline is 1-833-852-6262; in the UK, the Pandas foundation offers support via Whatsapp on 07903 508334; and in Australia, the national maternal and perinatal mental health hotline is 1300 726 306.

Lindsay and Patrick Clancy's children were Cora, five, Dawson, three and Callan, eight months.