#USA #MA – The lone holdout Catholic juror in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial came forward this week and accused eight of his fellow jurors of behaving like activists who wanted her acquitted from the first day of deliberations. Michael P. Desronvil, 48, of Bridgewater, spoke with Ray Marcel of the streaming program Fugitive TV after a mistrial was declared September 4th. Marcel later recounted the conversation to other outlets. Desronvil said he concluded Clancy was guilty based on the evidence presented at trial and that he never told the panel he had reasonable doubt.
“He said that from day one, he said eight of them were going for Lindsay Clancy not guilty,” Marcel reported. “That was on day one. Eight were going not guilty. Two were for guilty. And two didn’t know.” Desronvil described those eight jurors as activists who spent the week trying to persuade the remaining four, according to Marcel. He said one other juror initially sided with him on guilt but “caved in at the last moment.”
The account directly contradicted statements several other jurors made in the days after the deadlock. Jury foreperson Roni Carlson told NBC10 Boston that the holdout admitted he had reasonable doubt but still refused to find Clancy not guilty by reason of insanity. Carlson said she began filling out the verdict forms before he stopped her. Other jurors described him as arrogant, said he sometimes scrolled on his phone during discussions, and said he failed to cite evidence supporting a guilty verdict.
The twelve-person jury — nine women and three men — deliberated more than 38 hours over seven days before Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial. Jurors sent the court multiple notes reporting they were deadlocked. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington asked the judge to remove the holdout, arguing he was not following instructions on reasonable doubt. Sullivan declined.
Lindsay Clancy, 36, of Duxbury, admitted she strangled her three children — Cora (5) Dawson (3) and 8-month-old Callan — in the family’s home in January 2023. She pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, with her lawyers arguing she was in the grip of postpartum depression and did not understand the wrongfulness of her actions. Prosecutors contended the killings were premeditated. The acts themselves were not in dispute; the only question was criminal responsibility.
Desronvil’s identity became public after the mistrial when he was doxxed. Additionally, court records and reporting linking him to a 2021 assault-and-battery charge involving his then-wife were leaked, despite that charge being later dismissed, in an attempt to character assassinate him. Leaked records also claimed an active restraining order obtained by his nephew and eviction proceedings over unpaid rent. Desronvil said he disclosed his arrest history on the juror questionnaire. Marcel described him as Catholic and well-spoken. Desronvil said he believed he was being targeted in part because he was a Black Republican seated with many Democratic-leaning jurors.
A fundraising campaign was launched for him after his identity was leaked despite a court order protecting his identity, and the identities of other jurors. As of mid September, the fundraiser has raised more than $200,000 for Desronvil. Prosecutors had not announced by mid-September whether they would retry the case. Clancy remained held pending further proceedings.
Cover Image: Michael P. Desronvil, 48 of Bridgewater, Massachusetts.
