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The Situation Room

Families Search For Loved Ones in Nepal; Tropical Storm Threatens Texas and Louisiana; Lindsay Clancy Jury Deadlocked. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired September 01, 2026 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[11:00:00]

JUSTIN TUPPER, PRESIDENT, U.S. CATTLEMEN'S ASSOCIATION: But we're going to work to continue to raise the best beef we can and make sure the consumer has a choice.

We really want mCOOL, so the consumer can decide which beef they want to buy in the grocery store. That's in the farm bill, and we're hoping we can get that passed.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: All right, Justin Tupper, thank you for coming on. We appreciate it -- Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: And the next hour of THE SITUATION ROOM starts right now.

BROWN: And happening now: building strength. A small, but intense storm will soon make landfall along the Gulf Coast. Communities, get ready for torrential rain.

BLITZER: And a CNN exclusive, what we're now learning about a brand- new effort within the Department of Homeland Security to root out alleged voter fraud.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: And we begin this hour with the breaking news developments in the Lindsay Clancy triple murder trial. A jury of nine women and three men told the judge last hour that they're unable to reach a unanimous decision.

It's a situation that potentially could lead to a mistrial.

BROWN: The judge told jurors to keep deliberating and to try to work through this deadlock to reach a verdict. They're deciding if the former nurse is criminally responsible for killing her three children.

Now, Clancy admits to strangling them, but her defense argues she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and is not criminally responsible. That is key.

So I want to bring in Jean Casarez, who has been following all the developments in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

You have been inside that courtroom, Jean. Bring us up to speed on the latest. And at what point would a judge declare a mistrial?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it takes a while, because there are steps that he takes.

But, Pamela and Wolf, we experienced it all together, right, about one hour ago. It's when the jury sent a note to the judge saying that they could not reach a verdict. And this is after several days. This is their fourth day of deliberation. I think we have that moment in court, so we can let everyone listen to it for themselves. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE WILLIAM SULLIVAN, MASSACHUSETTS SUPERIOR COURT: Members of the jury, I have got your question. And the question is: "After many hours of deliberation, we are unable to come to a unanimous decision."

I brought you back out because I know that this was a long trial, all right? I know there were over 80 witnesses. There were over 300 exhibits. And -- but, because of that, I'm going to ask you to go back out, keeping in mind all the instructions that I gave you, to go out and to continue your deliberations at this time.

All right? And so with that, I'm going to ask you to go back out. Like I said, keep in mind the instructions I gave you, reviewing the evidence, and I'd ask you to resume your deliberations at this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Now, here's what we know from our producer in the courtroom. When the jury filed in originally, there was one female juror that looked at the defense table and then looked at the prosecutors and then looked straight ahead.

And every other juror just looked straight ahead, stoic, just as we have been seeing. There was one male jewel that kept rubbing his face with his hands. When the judge read the note and announced that they were deadlocked, there was an audible gasp from the gallery.

And that gallery is packed. I mean, it's wall to wall with people. There's media, of course, but there are people in the community that have come here, that have come from out of state. And it's standing room only virtually.

And then, when the judge was telling them, I want you to go back, keep working at it, keep delivering -- deliberating there was one female juror that was just -- had her hands in her lap, had her eyes shut, and was looking down the whole time. And then they stood up and then they walked out.

BROWN: This has to be just a hard case for the jurors. You have to think about the emotion behind all of this, Jean. Three children are dead. Lindsay Clancy's defense says she did kill them, but that she was having a psychotic episode and didn't quite realize -- didn't realize what she was doing.

The prosecution in this case saying, no, she did. She asked her husband to go run errands while she did this, and she was fully aware. When you look at the five possible verdicts in this triple murder trial, walk us through them and what the jury is considering right now.

CASAREZ: Right.

And, Pamela, what we know is now some people are on the side of the prosecution, at least one person, possibly more. Some people are on the side of the defense. Well, the first-degree murder, that is the harshest penalty in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that you can have. It is based on two theories, deliberate premeditation of murder.

[11:05:04]

And, remember, this is a triple murder case. It's not just one murder, it's three murders potentially the jury has to decide upon. And the second theory is with extreme atrocity and cruelty. And what the prosecution through testimony tried to build was the manner, the way those children were killed is extreme atrocity, extreme cruelty.

No parole for first-degree murder. Second-degree murder, intent-to- kill murder, that is virtually intent to kill, that is a possibility of parole. The third one, and the defense asked for this, which is very interesting, it's manslaughter.

If there would be a conviction on manslaughter, that's a homicide. The jury would believe she knew right from wrong when she did her actions on that day. But her mental state is taken into consideration, her mental disease or defect that both sides believe she had at that time.

The prosecution's not saying that she did not have mental illness at the time, but they believe she still knew right from wrong. But that is allowed to be taken into consideration with manslaughter and also for the punishment of manslaughter, which is up to 20 years, but there can be probation.

Then you have a straight-out not guilty, and that's because she is presumed innocent. She pleaded not guilty, and constitutionally she deserves that on the verdict form, straight-out not guilty. And then you have not guilty by lack of criminal responsibility, that she didn't appreciate, understand the criminality of her act, she didn't know right from wrong.

Also in the instructions, they do use the phraseology of mental insanity. And that is where the defense wants this jury to go.

BROWN: All right, Jean Casarez in Plymouth, Massachusetts, thanks for laying it all out for us. We appreciate it -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Pamela, I want to bring in jury consultant and attorney Alan Tuerkheimer.

Alan, thanks very much for joining us. As you know, there are three men, nine women on this jury. What does

that signal potentially to you?

ALAN TUERKHEIMER, JURY CONSULTANT: You know, it's hard to read into the gender. A lot of the discussion and experiences, that's more paramount. It's really what people bring with them. So I'm not -- at this point, I can't say that it's 9-3 or that there's any kind of gender alliance.

Now, it's certainly a factor, and people see the world through many different facets, one of them being gender, but there's something else going on here. And it's understandable that the jurors just at this point seem like they're dug in. They have seen all this testimony. They have heard the arguments.

There were some exceptionally credible experts for both sides that said that one thing, and then another said the other. So, whatever side you're on, say that you're on the prosecution side, there was a credible expert that said she knew right from wrong, the voices wouldn't stop after she killed the kids.

But if you're on the other side, another expert said who met with her 11 days afterwards that she didn't know what she was doing, she couldn't have appreciated the wrongfulness of her conduct. So there's a real disparity here in terms of what the case narrative is and what she knew and what she didn't know. So that just couldn't get resolved, apparently, at this point.

And the jurors, even though they have tried, just can't get everybody on board with one verdict.

BLITZER: From a jury psychology standpoint, Alan, what are the biggest issues the jurors are likely debating right now?

TUERKHEIMER: I think it's the a question of whether or not there's one of the murder charges or criminally not responsible. I don't think that they're going to be arguing about whether it's murder one or two. Now, maybe they are. I could be wrong. You never know with juries.

There's certain nuance in there where you can have a little give-and- take. Jurors sometimes in a deliberation concede things. They make concessions. They keep an open mind. Then they're going to listen to other jurors, and they're going to try to work toward a common solution and common verdict.

But, here, I have a feeling there is at least one and maybe a contingent of jurors that are saying she should be criminally responsible. Maybe it's murder one. Maybe it's murder two. But I also think that, by the same token, there's some jurors in there that are pretty adamant that she should not be held criminally responsible, that she didn't know right from wrong, that she had this hallucination and the postpartum psychosis took hold, and that there's another way to deal with this.

So it'll be fascinating once they come out, if they get to a verdict, which they might, or if they don't, hearing what actually went on in the deliberation.

BROWN: And...

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: The case, I just want to point out -- and Pamela's got another question -- has generated enormous public attention, very strong emotions right now.

How do the jurors separate sympathy, anger, and tragedy from the legal standards that they're required to apply inside the jury room?

TUERKHEIMER: That is such a nearly impossible task. The judge says -- in the instruction, he said you can't use sympathy to guide your discussion. Put it aside.

But let's face it, jurors are human. You can't entirely do that. Now, there might be some jurors in there that remind others that you're not allowed to do that, because, of course, sympathy is going to play a role. Every time they saw photos of those three children, the autopsy reports, the whole trial is full of sympathy.

[11:10:16]

You can't just extricate it from your mindset and your outlook on things. But I believe that this jury, which sounds, by all accounts, that they're doing everything possible in a diligent way to try to get to the verdict, they're probably parsing through the law. They're looking back at the testimony, the expert testimony, some of the arguments, the witnesses, and they're trying to decide, where does that fit in?

And it just seems like, at this point, some jurors are really dug in and probably unwilling to budge. It's not at the point where a juror or half the jurors are saying, look, we're not going to change and nothing's going to stop. That's usually the point where they come to the judge and it's pretty definitive that they're not going anywhere.

But they might be heading in that direction. We just -- we don't know. Maybe they're back keeping an open mind, trying to be unanimous. We just -- we just don't know, but something will come up shortly, and we will have a much better sense of where they are.

BROWN: All right, thank you so much, attorney Alan Tuerkheimer. Appreciate your time.

And still ahead: what the White House is doing today to lower fuel prices, as Americans bear the brunt of higher prices from the war with Iran.

BLITZER: And, later: hidden plans, a whistle-blower's startling new details about the Trump administration's latest effort to try to control mail ballots.

Lots going on. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:16:12]

BLITZER: We have more breaking news coming into THE SITUATION ROOM.

The death toll from the catastrophic flooding in Nepal has now surpassed 1,000 people, and almost 4,000 are still unaccounted for. And the search for more survivors is turning very desperate almost a week after the disaster hit the country's border with China. Some areas are still beyond contact after the floodwaters cut them off, and others haven't gotten any aid whatsoever.

BROWN: A new report from scientists says that there were some warning signs before the event, including glacier meltwater that turned brown and visible cracks in the surrounding slope.

And despite all of that, Nepal's prime minister says more than 11,000 people have been rescued so far, including this 5-year-old little girl. Her father talked to CNN's Will Ripley.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOK BAHADUR UCHAI MAGAR, FATHER (through translator): Her face was not recognizable. She had injuries. Her condition was serious, had multiple injuries and blood all around.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What is it like as a father to look at a video like that and see your daughter in that condition?

MAGAR (through translator): She's my child. That's all I have to say. I have no words.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: CNN's Anderson Cooper is in Nepal. He spoke with the family of Americans who are among the missing -- Anderson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST (voice-over): Last Wednesday morning, Ramesh Sharma and his wife, Neelam, New Yorkers, were getting ready to cross into Tibet on a Hindu pilgrimage with five other Americans, including Amita Amin and Tejal Patel.

Their guide, Abhishek Singh (ph), called his wife in Kathmandu, saying they were about to go through immigration. A little more than 30 minutes later, this happened. The border crossing was obliterated.

I spoke with the Sharmas' daughter, Radhika, a doctor, and her brother, Akash, in North Carolina. She was already planning to come to Kathmandu.

DR. RADHIKA SHARMA, PARENTS MISSING IN NEPAL: My plan is to first go to the embassies, talk to them, and then from there maybe go to the different hospitals. COOPER (voice-over): She arrived Sunday with her husband, Pujan (ph).

A family friend brought them to the small upstairs office of Trekking Planner, the tour company that organized her parents' visit.

COOPER: How are you holding up?

SHARMA: I have had ups and downs. It kind of just fluctuates, honestly. It is nice to be here with people who are, like, also directly affected...

COOPER: Yes.

SHARMA: ... by this.

COOPER (voice-over): Dikshya Lamichhane runs the company.

DIKSHYA LAMICHHANE, HUSBAND MISSING IN NEPAL: So he is my husband.

COOPER (voice-over): Her husband, Abhishek, was Radhika's parents' guide. He and two other guides are also missing.

LAMICHHANE: He got a tattoo.

COOPER: Wow. It's an amazing tattoo.

LAMICHHANE: His whole back, one leg. He's a Chelsea fan. I have given all the information about him because he got a lot of tattoos, so it will be very easy to identify him. We have been to everywhere to check the bodies because...

COOPER: You've been to the hospital and the morgue?

LAMICHHANE: Yes.

COOPER: You're hopeful, but you also...

LAMICHHANE: Yes, still checking every place.

SHARMA: Of course, our hope is that if they heard the alarms and the warnings, they either drove or they ran. And we're still waiting for that answer.

COOPER (voice-over): On the street outside, a Hindu procession passes by. Radhika and Pujan (ph) will head to the embassy and then hospitals and the morgue.

(on camera): You're saying that, inside, that part of being here, it helps because there's others who are in the same situation.

[11:20:03]

SHARMA: Yes, because then I know I'm not going through this by myself. There are other people who are affected and we will all get through it together.

COOPER (voice-over): Anderson Cooper, CNN, Kathmandu. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And a special thanks to our Anderson Cooper for that report.

Don't miss a special edition of "ANDERSON COOPER 360" later tonight. He's reporting live from Nepal tonight 8:00 p.m. Eastern. And you can find out how you can help Nepal flood victims at CNN.com/Impact -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, up next here in THE SITUATION ROOM, Wolf: how the Trump administration plans to ramp up efforts to find alleged voter fraud just weeks from early voting in the midterms.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:25:26]

BLITZER: Happening now: Tropical Storm Edouard is gaining strength as it approaches the Gulf Coast, where it's expected to make landfall in just a matter of hours.

Satellite images shows the lightning the system is generating. The National Hurricane Center says it could approach hurricane strength before it reaches land. And its outer bands are already reaching shore with bursts of heavy rain and very strong wind gusts. A hurricane watch is in effect right now in parts of Texas and Louisiana.

The Texas governor, Greg Abbott, activated the state's emergency operations center yesterday. Listen to what they're expecting. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): The biggest problem we expect out of the storm at this moment in time is flooding. Some local rainfall may be as high as 10 to 15 inches. Some could be three to four inches per hour. The most intense rainfall is expected to be in and around Harris County area.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Our CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam is over at the CNN Weather Center monitoring all of this for us.

How soon, Derek, could we actually see landfall?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good question, Wolf, because we just got the 11:00 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center. We can do the math live here on TV.

It's about 30 miles south of the Cameron Parish in Louisiana, which is located right about here, and it's moving northwest at eight miles per hour, 30 divided by 8, roughly a little over three hours. So we're talking probably just after lunchtime as it makes its final approach into the border of Louisiana and Texas. So here's a look at the current winds with the radar behind it. A

couple of things to note here, we are not at even tropical storm criteria at this moment in time, but some of the aircraft that have flown around in the center of this storm have found tropical-storm- force winds at higher levels of the atmosphere.

So let's take it into the future. This is a 12-hour time span, so you're not exactly getting the full picture between these forecast points from the National Hurricane Center. It could still further strengthen from that 50-mile-per-hour storm, because water temperatures here are like a bathtub.

They're registering right around 88 degrees Fahrenheit. That's like high-octane fuel for a hurricane to really gather strength. Now, of course, we all know this, but it's good to be reminded because it's been a while, around the counterclockwise rotation around a hurricane, this tends to push up the water.

And this is a very low-lying area here, very susceptible to storm surge. So, three to five feet of water above normally dry ground is a problem, especially into those susceptible communities across Cameron Parish, perhaps into the coastal areas of Jefferson County, depending on exactly where that right quadrant of the storm actually makes landfall.

You heard the mayor, -- or, rather, the governor of Texas talk about the flood threat, three to six inches. That's what our computer models are picking up on. But there, of course, will be locally heavier amounts, and when you start talking about this area, highly populated Houston, Texas, and Harris County, that's not what we need right now -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, absolutely not needed at all.

All right, Derek Van Dam, thank you very, very much.

And just ahead, Pamela.

BROWN: Here in THE SITUATION ROOM: President Trump is reigniting his feud with Chicago. He says the Windy City will die if the federal government doesn't step in.

We will ask former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel about it all straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:30:0]