Woman charged with intimidating jurors in Clancy murder trial

A Massachusetts woman accused of photographing jurors outside the courthouse during Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial was charged Wednesday as deliberations in the closely watched case resumed for a fifth day.

Dawn Light, 56, of Sutton, Massachusetts, pleaded not guilty after authorities said she was found in a restricted area outside the Plymouth courthouse Tuesday and had images or video of jurors leaving court in her phone’s deleted files. Prosecutors said her actions threatened the integrity of the trial, which has drawn national and international attention.

“The sanctity of the judicial system is at risk because of her actions,” Assistant District Attorney Nicole Piacentini told a judge during Light’s arraignment, according to The Guardian.

Light was charged with intimidation of a witness, jurors or person furnishing information in connection with criminal proceedings. The BBC described the charge as aggravated intimidation of a juror. A judge released her without requiring bail, denying prosecutors’ request for $50,000 cash bail, and ordered her to stay away from the courthouse, jurors, witnesses and others associated with the Clancy trial. She also was ordered not to produce or disseminate any photos that may have been preserved on iCloud.

Light’s lawyer, Jennifer White, said the case was a misunderstanding. “This is a complete misunderstanding, Your Honour. My client was trying to get a picture of Ms Clancy,” White said in court, according to the BBC. The Guardian reported that White said Light, a retired nurse, was trying to photograph Clancy and “not interact with the jurors.”

Authorities said Light was sitting in a parked car in a restricted area behind the courthouse when they approached her Tuesday. When asked whether she had taken videos, she denied doing so and said she was waiting for Clancy. Prosecutors said troopers later found images or video of jurors in the deleted folder on her phone.

As reporters surrounded Light after the arraignment, she was asked why she filmed outside the courthouse. “To see Lindsay. And I did see her. She was getting picked up by the van,” Light said, according to The Guardian. When a reporter asked, “Why did you want to see Lindsay?” Light replied, “Why not?” the BBC reported. The Guardian also reported that Light described herself in an interview before the arraignment as a “crime junkie” and Clancy supporter.

Judge William Sullivan, who is overseeing Clancy’s trial, has issued an order specifically barring anyone from photographing or filming jurors. After Light’s arrest, Sullivan questioned jurors one by one before deliberations continued Wednesday. The jurors had told him Tuesday they could not reach a unanimous decision, but he instructed them to keep trying.

Clancy, 36, a former labor and delivery nurse, is charged with murdering her three young children at the family’s Massachusetts home in 2023. She does not deny strangling them, The Guardian reported, but has pleaded not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, arguing that postpartum psychosis led to her actions. Prosecutors argue that she knew what she was doing.

The livestreamed trial has packed the Plymouth courtroom with reporters and spectators and generated intense attention online. The BBC reported that more than 200 reporters are covering the case and that groups of women supporters have appeared outside the courthouse over several weeks. The case has stirred divided public reaction over criminal responsibility, maternal mental health and postpartum psychosis.

Despite the broad media coverage, jurors are barred from watching or reading reports about the trial. They must base their verdict only on the evidence and testimony presented in court.