Defendant Lindsay Clancy's murder trial over the deaths of her three children ended in a mistrial on September 4, 2026, after the jury deadlocked 11-1. That same day, Judge William F. Sullivan sealed the jurors' names for 14 days, through September 18. He cited safety concerns — police had already arrested someone for secretly filming jurors as they left the courthouse. A week later, on September 11, NBC10 Boston reported that the holdout juror sat on the jury while facing a 2021 domestic-assault charge (since dismissed), an active restraining order, and a pending eviction. The report didn't print his name. That same day, a fellow juror told CBS Mornings the holdout was the panel's only Black member. Separately, Gov. Ron DeSantis called NBC's report a smear and offered the juror a new home in Florida. In the days that followed, a blogger published the juror's name, photo, and address anyway.

1. This was legitimate accountability journalism (NBC10 Boston — reporter Ryan Kath, commentator Sue O'Connell)

NBC says it dug into a public-interest question: did this juror answer his jury questionnaire honestly?

NBC says this is about the questionnaire, not gossip. Massachusetts' standard juror questionnaire asks whether a prospective juror has been arrested, charged with a crime, or served with a court order. NBC reported that the holdout juror's 2021 charge and active restraining order should have raised red flags on that questionnaire, according to experts the outlet cited.

NBC withheld the one identifying detail: his name. NBC ran the story while the judge's sealing order was still in effect, and it never printed the juror's name.

Commentator Sue O'Connell defended the process behind the story. She described it as the product of "careful vetting, deep investigation, patience, some good old-fashioned door-knocking, court visits, and shoe leather."

Critics say NBC effectively unmasked a juror the court had just promised to protect.

DeSantis calls the report a smear. He wrote that "NBC is trying to smear that juror, whose identity should be protected," and offered him asylum in Florida if he faces harassment.

Media critics say NBC's details made him identifiable without ever naming him. NewsBusters and Legal Insurrection argue that family interviews, an uncensored birthday, and detailed court and eviction records were enough to expose the juror. They say that undercut the anonymity the judge had ordered a week earlier.

The court had already flagged the safety risk before NBC's story ran. Police arrested someone for secretly filming jurors as they left the courthouse, which is why Judge Sullivan sealed the names in the first place.

3. A blogger named him anyway (Aidan Kearney, scrutinized by RedState and Twitchy)

NBC didn't publish the juror's name; a blogger already under indictment for doing this to someone else did.

Kearney went further than NBC did. Blogger Aidan Kearney, known as "Turtleboy," separately published the holdout juror's actual name, photo, and home address.

He's currently under indictment for allegedly doing exactly this. Kearney faces nearly a dozen felony charges connected to his coverage of the unrelated Karen Read case, including witness intimidation and conspiracy. Prosecutors say he held rallies outside witnesses' homes and published their personal information. His trial is tentatively set for December 1, 2026.

Where This Lands

NBC10 says it exposed a real question about whether a juror's answers on a sworn questionnaire held up, and it never printed his name. DeSantis and his allies say the level of detail NBC published amounted to unmasking him anyway. That came a week after a judge sealed the jury list over safety concerns. None of that changes what happened next: a blogger already facing felony charges for doing this exact thing to someone else went ahead and published the juror's name, photo, and address. The sealing order runs through September 18.

Sources