Karen Read Attorney Predicts Lindsay Clancy Will Face Murder Retrial

On Friday, the Lindsay Clancy trial ended in a mistrial after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict. Karen Read faced a similar outcome when her first trial ended with a hung jury in July 2024. Now, Read’s defense attorney has weighed in on what might happen next for Clancy.

Yannetti Expected A Hung Jury

Ahead of the mistrial in the Clancy case, David Yannetti, who helped defend Karen Read during her two Massachusetts trials, believed the jurors were unlikely to reach a unanimous verdict.

CBS News Boston quoted him as telling WBZ-TV’s Kristina Rex, “I’ve seen it happen both ways.”

He added, “Sometimes I’ve seen juries come back fairly quickly after a Tuey-Rodriguez charge with a verdict…I’d say more often than not I’ve seen hung juries.”

He also said, “I think you’re really, most of the time, headed for a mistrial at that point.” 

Reddington Gets Praised

On Saturday, September 5, David Yannetti spoke with NewsNation Live. Anchor Laura Ingle reminded viewers that Karen Read “was accused of killing her boyfriend but was ultimately found not guilty.”

Turning to the Lindsay Clancy case, she described Friday’s mistrial as “a roller coaster” that included a last-minute “Hail Mary moment.”

Speaking about Kevin Reddington’s defense of Lindsay Clancy, Yannetti was full of praise.

“I think what we saw happen, in my view, is an example of a warrior; a defense attorney fighting as hard as he can for his client,” he said.

Yannetti also suggested that Reddington “felt as though a not guilty verdict was almost in his grasp, and boy, did he put up a fight trying to get it.”

The Clash With The Judge

Moving on, Yannetti addressed Reddington’s apparent clash with Judge Sullivan over what the defense considered a weak instruction before the jury returned to its deliberations.

However, Yannetti believed it was simply a tense professional moment. He said the judge respects Reddington, describing the defense lawyer as a “battle-tested attorney.”

The Jury Problems

Next, Laura Ingle raised the issue of the apparent lone holdout juror. The mistrial was declared after the defense indicated that the jury was split 11–1.

The anchor reminded viewers that “the foreperson said that this person could not apply the instruction of reasonable doubt to the case, and they were having a problem.”

Ultimately, the issue could not be resolved, leaving the judge to declare a mistrial.

A Possible Sequestered Jury

The conversation then turned to Reddington’s suggestion that, if the case goes through another full trial, he might request a sequestered jury.

However, if Clancy faces another jury rather than a bench trial, Yannetti believes sequestration is unlikely.

“I can’t imagine a jury being sequestered these days,” he said.

What Might Happen Next

Asked what he thought would happen next, Yannetti said he suspected the district attorney would pursue the full murder charges against Lindsay Clancy again.

“Well, yes, I do think so,” he said. “I mean, I applaud the DA for not coming out and saying it immediately and at least giving the pretense that they’re going to think about it.”

However, Yannetti believes Reddington is already preparing himself to try the case again.

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