Lindsay Clancy holdout juror calls her actions ‘methodical’; leaned on his faith after refusing 'not guilty' verdict

The holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial opened up about his Catholic faith in an interview in which he revealed what it was like to serve on that jury and the treatment he endured after refusing to go along with a verdict of “not guilty.” 

Michael Desronvil, the holdout juror, sat down for an interview on Fugitive TV. The channel’s host, Ray Marcel, had previously shared the details of a phone conversation he had with Desronvil shortly after a mistrial was declared on Sept. 4 because Desronvil declined to join the rest of the jury in returning a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity for the mother of three charged with murdering her children.

Clancy, who admitted killing her children, has been described by her lawyers as suffering from postpartum psychosis. 

After describing how he was born in Haiti and moved to Massachusetts as a child without knowing English, Desronvil discussed how his Catholic faith shaped his upbringing and philosophy. He credited his father with instilling “a love of reading” in him, adding, “It’s not necessarily him that had me reading those books.”

Desronvil cited The Power of Intention by Wayne Dyer as the first book that he read before moving on to “a lot of Catholic books, spiritual books, business books and relationship books.”

“My faith really started increasing when I started reading the Bible,” he added. After that, Desronvil said he “started going to church” and “making new friends.”

“From doing a lot of reading and research, I came back to the Catholic faith,” he added, suggesting that he was raised Catholic but had strayed from the faith. Desronvil said he lived in North Carolina for several years before moving back to Massachusetts to care for his widowed mother. “I did my whole OCIA over when I was in North Carolina,” he said. 

The term “OCIA” refers to the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults, which is a series of classes taken by adults seeking to receive one or more of the sacraments of initiation or simply learn more about the Catholic faith. He identified this as the point in his life when he began “really reading a lot in [relation]” to the Catholic faith. 

Desronvil also discussed his role as a father with a young daughter during the interview, telling Marcel how he wanted to pass on his faith to her. “I want her to know, not just hearing it out of my mouth, I want her to really know that I truly love her,” he said. 

Desronvil explained how his life changed after he refused to join the other jurors’ verdict. “I got home on that Friday evening,” he recalled, referring to the day that a mistrial was declared in the case. The very next day, “There were people at my front door, driveway, the backyard, knocking on the front door, peeking through the windows” and going through his mailbox.

“Once the trial was over, I thought I was going back to … normalcy, going back to my 9 to 5 and trying to support myself, my daughter, my fiancée, to get stuff in order,” he explained. “I had no idea it was going to be this big.” 

Many of the people who showed up at his doorstep were reporters, he said, but he didn't want to do interviews because he didn't serve on the jury “to get notoriety,” but to “do what was right.”

Desronvil added, “What I saw was right and I made my decision based on that.” 

When asked if he would want to serve on a jury again in light of the harassment he received for voting to buck the rest of the jury and convict Clancy, Desronvil responded, “I wouldn’t want to serve again,” while clarifying, “If it’s my duty to, then I will.”

As for his next steps, Desronvil said, “I want to finish up my accounting degree,” and then begin “pursuing law school.” 

Desronvil’s interview with Fugitive TV comes a month and a half after a mistrial was declared in Clancy's murder trial due to jurors’ inability to reach a unanimous verdict. While other members of the jury were persuaded that Clancy wasn't criminally responsible for the deaths of her children, as she killed them during an episode of postpartum psychosis, Desronvil had a different take. Doubling down on his position, he described Clancy’s actions leading up to the deaths of her children as “methodical.”

Some jurors have disputed Desronvil’s account of the deliberations. The foreperson, Roni Carlson, told NBC 10 Boston that he “admitted he had reasonable doubt” but would not engage with the others, while Desronvil says he never had any doubts, News Nation reported.