‘I was shocked’: Nick Dargie says the holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy case staged a reenactment with an exercise band 

A juror from Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial says the panel’s lone holdout physically reenacted the fatal strangulations using an exercise band similar to the one Clancy used on her children. According to People, Nick Dargie, one of three male jurors, told Good Morning America he was “shocked” when the holdout, also a man, tied the band around a water bottle and pulled on it during deliberations.

“I was shocked,” Dargie said. “We’re not in here to play detective. It’s not a game of Clue.” Dargie, who was among the 11 jurors who reportedly favored a not-guilty verdict, called the reenactment “disgusting.” The standoff led Judge William Sullivan to declare a mistrial once it became clear the panel wouldn’t reach a unanimous decision after more than a week of deliberation.

A mistrial caused by a hung jury doesn’t bar prosecutors from trying the case again. Under a legal doctrine called manifest necessity, established by the Supreme Court in United States v. Perez and reaffirmed in later cases, a genuine deadlock is treated as a “non-event” that doesn’t trigger double jeopardy protections. Since jeopardy never legally terminates when a jury simply fails to agree, Clancy could be retried before an entirely new jury without violating her constitutional rights.

What conviction would actually mean for Clancy

Clancy pleaded not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility to murder charges connected to the deaths of her three children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan. She has acknowledged fatally strangling the children, but her defense argues she was experiencing postpartum psychosis at the time. After the killings, Clancy attempted suicide, an act that left her paralyzed from the waist down.

Her trial lasted more than a month, and prosecutors have not yet said whether they’ll pursue a retrial, with a follow-up hearing scheduled for September 29. Dargie, who was serving overseas in the military at the time of the killings in January 2023, told GMA he had been unfamiliar with the case before serving on the jury. He said the holdout never backed his position with evidence.

“There wasn’t a single piece of evidence or witness testimony that he used to prove why he was thinking the way he was, which is why we ultimately sent in that note,” Dargie said, referring to a note jurors sent claiming the holdout wasn’t following the judge’s instructions. Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, tried unsuccessfully to have the juror removed after the note was sent.

If Clancy were ultimately found not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, that outcome wouldn’t mean she walks free. Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 123, Section 16, a verdict like that typically triggers a civil commitment process rather than a release, with the district attorney able to petition for her placement in a psychiatric facility or Bridgewater State Hospital.

If a court finds she remains mentally ill and that release would pose a substantial risk of harm, that commitment can be renewed indefinitely, with no fixed limit tied to the length of a standard prison sentence. Domestic incidents involving young children have drawn scrutiny in other recent cases too.