Massachusetts woman pleads not guilty to filming jurors in Lindsay Clancy trial

A Massachusetts woman pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning following her arrest for allegedly filming jurors in the trial of Lindsay Clancy, the mother who has admitted to killing her three children.

Dawn Light, 56, was arraigned on a charge of witness or juror intimidation after police said they found deleted videos of jurors leaving Plymouth District Court on her phone Tuesday afternoon.

At the arraignment, prosecutors said police approached Light after court officers reported seeing someone who may have been filming jurors in the employee parking lot. Light told police she was not photographing or filming anyone and was waiting to see if Clancy would leave the building. Upon examining Light’s phone, officers found deleted videos of people leaving the courthouse, whom court officers confirmed were jurors in the Clancy trial.

Police arrested Light around 3:40 p.m. Tuesday, a spokesperson for Massachusetts State Police told MS NOW.

Massachusetts law forbids interfering with or intimidating witnesses or jurors in criminal proceedings. If convicted, Light could face up to 20 years in prison or a fine of up to $10,000.

At the arraignment, Light’s attorney called the incident a “complete misunderstanding” and said Light “was seeking a picture of Miss Clancy and had no intention of any interaction with the jurors.” She said Light, a retired registered nurse, has no prior criminal record.

Light, who appeared at her arraignment dressed in a gray top and black sweater, was released without bail. The judge ordered her to stay away from the courthouse, have no contact with witnesses or jurors in the Clancy case and not to disseminate any content she recorded Tuesday. She is due back in court on Oct. 15 for a pretrial hearing.

The incident illustrates the depths of the public’s fixation with the case, which centers on Clancy’s state of mind when she fatally strangled her three children — 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan — in the basement of her Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in January 2023. Clancy’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington, alleges she was experiencing postpartum psychosis — a rare psychiatric emergency that can affect women after childbirth — at the time of the killings, and is urging jurors to find her not guilty by reason of insanity. Prosecutors are seeking a triple first-degree murder conviction. The jury could also find Clancy guilty of second-degree murder or manslaughter.

The trial has been livestreamed since it began in July, allowing people across the country — and the world — to follow along.

Judge William Sullivan, who is presiding over Clancy’s trial, obliquely addressed Light’s arrest in court Wednesday morning. He reminded those in the courtroom that the state law, and his order affirming the statute, are “being enforced and will be enforced.” Reporters in the courtroom said the judge questioned each juror under oath on Wednesday morning, though the subject of the questioning was unclear.

On Tuesday, Sullivan instructed the jurors to continue deliberating after they said they could not reach a unanimous verdict. The jurors — nine women and three men, according to reporters who have been in the courtroom — have been deliberating since Thursday.

Outside the court after her arraignment, Light told a reporter, “I only wanted to see Lindsay.” A video from Court TV shows Light running away from reporters after leaving court. In response to a reporter who asked if Light supports Clancy, she flashed a thumbs up and nodded.

When asked by another reporter why she wanted a picture of Clancy, Light replied, “Why not?”

The post Massachusetts woman pleads not guilty to filming jurors in Lindsay Clancy trial appeared first on MS NOW.

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