Holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy trial breaks silence: ‘I didn’t have any doubts’
The lone holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy trial, who refused to accept the defendant’s not guilty by reason of insanity plea, has insisted he never wavered in his opinion on the case.
Clancy, a former midwife, admitted to fatally strangling her children – Cora, five, Dawson, three, and Callan, eight months – at their home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, on January 24, 2023. The 36 year-old argued she was not criminally responsible for their deaths because she was suffering from severe postpartum depression at the time.
With a unanimous verdict needed to secure a conviction, Michael P Desronvil held firm in his view she was guilty, leaving the jury deadlocked 11-1 after more than 40 hours of deliberations and ultimately forcing Judge William Sullivan to declare a mistrial on September 3.
Desronvil, 48, has now issued a statement to NewsNation, in which 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.
“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 (Clancy) was doing and planned.”
Desronvil was disputing comments made in the aftermath of the verdict by jury foreperson Roni Carlson, who told NBC Boston the holdout had “admitted he had reasonable doubt.”
The juror has also given a one-hour phone interview to YouTuber Ray Marcel for his Fugitive TV show since the trial came to an end, which was not broadcast but which Marcel has since discussed publicly.
The host said Desronvil told him he has come to feel “targeted” by the media over the stance he took, citing the resurfacing of past domestic violence allegations against him, and suggesting the animosity he has attracted is because he is a Black Republican.
His brother has meanwhile told The New York Post he does not believe Desronvil’s Catholic faith motivated his feelings in the Clancy case. “I don’t think religion had anything to do with it,” he said.
The juror was praised by his attorney Edward Paltzik Thursday, who took to X to say: “This American Hero and Champion of Justice loves the United States of America as the greatest country in the world; cherishes our sacred Constitution as the pinnacle of human liberty; and supports our amazing leader, President Donald J Trump, as a fellow defender of common-sense, liberty, and sanity.”
Paltzik also said in the post that “the evil people who have so viciously attacked [his client] will be held accountable to the maximum extent of the law and beyond… He will not be defeated or shattered by the wicked who wish harm upon him.”
He further revealed that Desronvil is currently in hiding to escape the unwanted press attention, explaining: “He is presently safe and sound at an undisclosed secure location in a rural area of Northern New England.”
A local mechanic told the Post: “His wife – they just got married – came by yesterday and asked me to put new wheels on her car. She said the media has been crazy and they’re gonna lay low for a while.”
Prosecutors in Plymouth County are currently considering whether to attempt to retry Clancy, unsure if they can convince a second jury to deliver a more decisive verdict. The defendant is due back in court September 29.
