Holdout juror declines interviews after Clancy mistrial

The lone holdout juror whose vote helped deadlock the Lindsay Clancy murder trial will not give interviews for now, his lawyer said, even as the juror has publicly defended his position and rejected claims that he had doubts about the case.

Attorney Edward Andrew Paltzik said in a post on X that his client, Michael P. Desronvil, would not speak further about the days of deliberations that ended with a mistrial in Massachusetts Superior Court on Sept. 4.

“While I appreciate and respect the numerous understandable media requests that have poured in this evening regarding our American Hero and Champion of Justice, he will not be giving any interviews at this time,” Paltzik wrote. “None. Zero.” He added that he also would not give interviews on Desronvil’s behalf. “None. Zero.”

The 12-person jury, made up of nine women and three men, deliberated for nearly 40 hours over seven days after a nearly six-week trial. Jurors were deciding whether Clancy, a 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse, was criminally responsible for killing her three children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months — by strangling them with exercise bands on Jan. 24, 2023.

Clancy pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges by reason of insanity. Her attorney, Kevin Reddington, argued that she was in psychosis at the time because of postpartum psychosis. Prosecutors said she was not psychotic, knew what she was doing and had planned the killings.

Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial after the jury reported it was deadlocked for a third time. Before that, the foreperson twice sent deadlock notices and later told the judge that one juror was not following the reasonable doubt standard and was blocking a unanimous decision.

Several jurors have since described a tense deliberation room. Three women on the jury, including foreperson Roni Carlson, told NBC Boston that 11 jurors agreed to find Clancy not guilty by lack of criminal responsibility while Desronvil wanted to convict. Carlson told NBC10 that the holdout juror “admitted he had reasonable doubt,” then refused to sign on to a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Kellie Farina, another juror, said, “He had the hardest time getting off the fact that Lindsay viciously killed her children.” Juror Paula Devlin said, “He was very arrogant,” adding, “He really did not take anything that anybody said.” Nick Dargie, one of the male jurors, told “Good Morning America” that Desronvil was often disengaged and scrolling on his phone during deliberations.

Desronvil has denied that he wavered. In a statement reported by The Guardian as given to NewsNation, he said, “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.” He added: “Based on all the physical evidence, key witnesses and what the prosecution presents, I thought it was enough proof that she knew exactly what she was doing and planned.” NBC News reported that a similar statement appeared in a social media post from Paltzik, and that Desronvil also gave an off-camera interview to Ray Marcel, host of the streaming series “Fugitive TV,” posted to YouTube.

Paltzik asked the public not to contact Desronvil. “Stay away from his home, stop calling him, and don’t even think about deciphering his location,” he wrote, saying he and his client are focused on Desronvil’s “health, safety, and well-being.”

The Guardian reported that Desronvil’s personal legal issues have drawn scrutiny, including reports by NBC10 and The Boston Globe of a past domestic violence charge from 2021, an active civil restraining order for allegedly assaulting his nephew and eviction proceedings during deliberations.

Prosecutors have not announced whether they will retry Clancy. Reddington has filed a motion to drop the charges and has said he will ask for a jury to be sequestered if there is a new trial. The next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 29.