True Crime

Alan Jackson -- the big-time defense attorney who represented Karen Read in Massachusetts during both her criminal trials -- says he sees similarities between her case and Lindsay Clancy's .... especially in the controversial way both were handed a mistrial.

Jackson joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday shortly after a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court justice upheld the mistrial ruling ... and he says the justice system in Massachusetts going after Lindsay again and failing to get a conviction would be a serious black eye.

He says he felt it was a "travesty" when Karen's case ended in a mistrial the first time ... adding he didn't understand when the judge didn't poll individual jurors to see if they'd come to some type of verdict.

Lindsay Clancy's ex-husband is speaking out after her case ended in a mistrial ... saying the deaths of their three children are something he'll never recover from.

Patrick Clancy issued a statement through his attorney expressing gratitude to the judge and jurors for their work throughout the trial. "Patrick Clancy is grateful to the Court and to the jurors for their hard work, their commitment, and their perseverance," the attorney said.

He added ... "The loss of Patrick's children is something from which he will never recover and from which there will never be closure."

12:41 PM PT -- Lindsay Clancy's attorney, Kevin Reddington, spoke to the media after a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court justice upheld the mistrial ... blasting investigators and the District Attorney Tim Cruz.

Kevin also called Lindsay a wonderful woman who is going through a very difficult time now ... before thanking the 11 jurors who came to a consensus -- and singling out the 12th for robbing them of their verdict.

Worth noting ... Cruz said Friday his office will not decide today whether to retry the case or not.

11:20 AM PT -- The mistrial will stand in Lindsay Clancy's trial. The State Supreme Court Justice rejected Reddington's motion to overturn the mistrial.

10:05 AM PT -- The judge has given the defense another hour to go before the State Supreme Court and argue the mistrial should be overturned.

We know the defense has filed legal docs with the SC, but it is unclear if the Court will hear the matter. It is likely that one SC Justice will look at the defense petition and make a decision, at least temporarily, until the full Court can hear the case.

A clerk for the SC just told TMZ ... the Court will hear the defense's motion to overturn the mistrial.

Lindsay Clancy, her lawyers, the prosecution, and the judge headed back to the courtroom soon ... and we're live streaming it all.

The trial's principals are back after the judge's shocking deadline to her attorney -- Kevin Reddington ... giving him just an hour to go to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to petition a justice to overturn the judge's mistrial decision.

As we reported ... Judge Sullivan sent jurors back into the deliberation room Friday morning -- but they emerged a short time later and once again said they were deadlocked. He declared a mistrial, then gave Reddington one hour to get someone above his pay grade to change his mind.

10:50 AM PT -- The Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice has heard arguments from both sides, and will make a ruling ... and she says she'll do it pretty quickly. Stay tuned, because she could be back within just a few minutes.

The Supreme Court of Massachusetts has agreed to hear Lindsay Clancy's argument to block the trial judge from declaring a mistrial, and we are livestreaming in the Supreme Court.

Clancy's lawyer, Kevin Reddington, is trying to block the mistrial, arguing in part the holdout juror is not following the law concerning reasonable doubt ... at least so claims the jury foreman.

The vote is 11 - 1, and although we do not know what specific charge is behind the vote, it seems somewhat likely the 11 may be voting not guilty by reason of insanity.

Lindsay Clancy's fate is still up in the air as the jury continues to deliberate ... but her lawyer, Kevin Reddington, brought a ton of letters to court showing she has an army of supporters.

Clancy's lawyer told reporters earlier today that she reads all the letters ... but couldn't answer how she feels about them -- stating, "That is private."

However, not everyone supports Clancy. We got Nancy Mace out in D.C. yesterday, where she told us the jury should find her guilty of murder ... and that her supporters are misguided and racist.

Saylor Hayes' mother, Geordyn, was seen in a now-viral video describing her daughter to folks after she allegedly ran away, but avoided any further questions as to what exactly went down that fatal day.

In a video posted online, Geordyn Nichole Hayes is shown telling a group of people about Saylor's tendency to gravitate toward food. She describes the alarming day and says she tried looking through the camera to trace the child's whereabouts, but turned up short.

Geordyn says she's just praying Saylor is somewhere and "fell asleep maybe," while thanking those who have shown their support in trying to find her 5-year-old daughter.

Dawn Light -- the woman who was arrested outside Lindsay Clancy's trial on Tuesday -- has been arraigned ... and she didn't want to stick around after the proceedings, instead she decided to physically run to her car outside the courthouse.

The retired nurse stood quietly in the courtroom to start Wednesday while prosecutors laid out the case against her ... explaining that security personnel rushed to a parking lot after learning a person may have been filming jurors.

Prosecutors claim officers approached Light and asked if she was taking photos of anyone in the lot ... and they allege she said she wasn't -- she was only waiting for Lindsay Clancy to come out.

A Massachusetts woman was arrested outside the courthouse where jurors have been deliberating in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial ... though police have not said whether her arrest is connected to the popularized case.

Dawn Light was taken into custody Tuesday around 3:40 p.m. outside Plymouth Superior Court, a Massachusetts State Police spokesperson told WCVB.

Light is reportedly expected to face a charge of intimidating a witness, juror, or person providing information in connection with criminal proceedings.

5:16 PM PT -- Erika Kirk has released a statement on behalf of her family ... saying today's news is an "important step" towards justice.

4:55 PM PT -- District Judge Tony Graf Jr. has ruled that Tyler Robinson will stand trial for the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk.

Tyler Robinson is back in a Utah courtroom to hear whether he's heading for trial ... and we're live streaming the dramatic proceedings.

District Judge Tony Graf Jr. will hear arguments Tuesday in Provo, UT, to decide if there's enough probable cause to justify a murder trial.

Robinson hasn't entered a plea to the 6 charges he's facing yet ... but prosecutors are expected to go for the death penalty.

The Ohio Supreme Court has shut down Mackenzie Shirilla's appeal once again ... rejecting her motion Tuesday.

Shirilla had asked the court to reconsider their previous denial of her appeal ... but the court is standing its ground.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, the court said in its ruling ... "It is ordered by the court that the motion for reconsideration in this case is denied."

She had taken her appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court back in June, which they denied.

Infamous Pastor John-Paul Miller is back in the headlines following the Netflix documentary "Death of a Pastor's Wife" ... and we've learned the terms of his release on bond prohibit him from possessing a firearm ... after his late wife died from a self-inflicted gunshot.

JP was accused of cyberstalking his late wife, Mica Miller, for nearly three years and lying to police. He was indicted by a grand jury in December 2025 but posted a $100K bond.

According to docs obtained by TMZ, the conditions of JP's release, as the case remains pending, require that he not travel outside South Carolina without authorization from the probation office, not excessively use alcohol, and not possess any weapon, including a firearm.

The NYPD fatally shot a woman after authorities say she stabbed two people in a terrifying rampage through New York City's busy Times Square before turning a knife on responding officers.

Authorities say the chaos unfolded when the 49 year old woman allegedly stabbed a man and then a woman in less than 30 seconds. NYPD officers rushed to the scene, where they encountered the woman still armed with a knife.

Wild video captures the tense confrontation as officers repeatedly ordered her to drop the weapon. Police say the woman instead threatened to kill the officers while advancing toward them with the knife, prompting them to open fire.

Ted Kaczynski isn't a person whose actions should be justified or normalized ... so says the son of one of his victims, who is pissed about Netflix's new film "Unabomber."

The streaming giant dropped the trailer for "Unabomber" Thursday ... and Jonathan Epstein -- the son of Dr. Charles Epstein, who was severely injured and lost three fingers after Kaczynski mailed him a bomb in 1993 -- blasted the project.

Jonathan says he understands Netflix wants to "goose its flattening viewership" ... but says this show isn't the way to go about it.

Closing arguments in Lindsay Clancy's triple-murder trial just wrapped up.

The final pitches -- from prosecutors and the defense -- came after more than 20 days of testimony in the Massachusetts mother’s closely watched trial.

Lindsay is accused of strangling her three children -- 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan -- and then attempting suicide inside their home in January 2023.

She has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder ... with her defense arguing she was suffering from postpartum psychosis, and, therefore, not criminally responsible for the killings.

Here's Lindsay Clancy's attorney ripping a forensic psychologist who testified that she should have done more legwork to address her alleged mental health issues ... before she snapped and allegedly murdered her three kids.

In a heated moment from Lindsay's murder trial Tuesday, defense attorney Kevin Reddington hammers Dr. Kirk Heilbrun over his testimony that Lindsay should've asked for advice from friends and family -- and looked up medications herself when she was feeling her postpartum symptoms before the kids were strangled to death.

Reddington was blown away by the testimony ... and tried to use the statement to show how his client was not properly cared for by other doctors prior to the horrific events.

3:19 PM PT -- Brittany Romano responded to the developments with a lengthy message on Instagram ... saying in part, "I am a credentialed, freelance journalist, and Vanity Fair allegedly told TMZ they revoked my access over the smile, which is absurd, since I never had a contract with them for a piece to begin with."

The Vanity Fair reporter who went viral for her unsettling grin and wink during the Lindsay Clancy murder trial has to find something new to smile about ... because the outlet has called off the essay from her they planned on running.

A spokesperson for VF's parent company, Condé Nast, tells TMZ ... "We were interested in the prospect of a personal essay by Brittany Romano about her experience growing up with Lindsay Clancy. Yesterday, after clear conflicts with our editorial standards and processes, we informed Romano that we were not moving forward with her essay and informed the court that she is no longer credentialed by Vanity Fair."

Romano went viral on Monday, when a camera panning the courtroom caught her in the front row of the gallery ... she mugged for the camera, with a super creepy smile ... and even freaking winked.