Lindsay Clancy jurors speak out on what led to mistrial

The identities of the nine women and three men on the jury have not been made public and the judge banned any photographing or filming of them during the trial to retain their anonymity.

But in the US, once a case is over, any juror can choose whether or not to speak publicly about a case and their deliberations. Jurors often choose to speak out – some even write books – after high-profile cases like that of Clancy.

The BBC, which was in the court during the case, has confirmed the three women who spoke with NBC were on the jury panel.

In the interview with the local Boston NBC affiliate NBC10, which aired on Tuesday, the jury foreperson – a retired fifth-grade teacher – called not being able to reach a verdict in the case “awful” and an “emotional roller coaster”. A foreperson acts as a spokesperson for a jury in any US legal case, meaning they are the person delivering a verdict and sending notes to the judge on behalf of the 12-person panel.

She said the deliberations were difficult and filled with “lots of crying” and “lots of tears and then hugging”.

“I was so sad, so sad that we couldn’t come up with a verdict for Lindsay. It was so heartbreaking,” she added.

Throughout the interview, the three women said the jury was in nearly unanimous agreement to enter their verdict but the holdout juror would not change his mind.

The foreperson said the lone juror “admitted he had reasonable doubt and I started filling out the forms, I was so excited”.

She was halfway through filling out the verdict sheets when the holdout juror, who she said was a man, continued: “But I’m still not going to say that she’s not guilty by reason of insanity,” she says he told the panel.

The man in question has not come forward and has not responded to these comments.

The three jurors noted their deliberations led to fights and yelling, which at times could be heard through the walls.