Hung: In The Balance

In January 2023, a Massachusetts mother was accused of killing her three young children in a case that would spark intense debate about mental illness, motherhood, and criminal responsibility.
In Part 1 of the Lindsay Clancy case, Christie steps into the jury box as the prosecution and defense present two dramatically different explanations for an unimaginable tragedy. Was this a calculated act, or the result of a devastating mental health crisis?
Through the testimony of Lindsay's husband, Patrick Clancy, Christie and Maryn examine the warning signs, psychiatric treatment, conflicting accounts of Lindsay's behavior, and the heartbreaking events of January 24, 2023.
As the evidence begins to unfold, one question remains: When does mental illness affect criminal responsibility, and how can a jury determine the difference?
Join Christie and Maryn as they begin exploring one of the most emotionally challenging cases they've covered.
Content Warning: This episode discusses the deaths of children, suicide, and mental health struggles.
Hung in the Balance — Two perspectives. One case. Beyond the verdict.
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It’s the conclusion of our nine-week deep dive into the Michael Peterson case.
With the blood spatter expert’s credibility in ruins and a new trial ordered, the state faces major hurdles: lost evidence, overturned rulings, and a murder weapon theory that no longer holds up.
Maryn walks Christie through the legal roller coaster that followed Peterson’s conviction, including constitutional challenges, Alford plea negotiations, and the growing question of whether the state could even successfully retry the case.
Then they turn to the theories suggesting Peterson may not have been the killer at all — including one you probably won’t see coming.
Tune in as Maryn and Christie weigh the evidence, reconsider the alternatives, and finally reveal where they land on the case that has consumed the past two months.
 
Content Warning: This episode discusses murder, graphic descriptions of injuries and blood spatter, death, and the legal process surrounding a violent crime. It also includes references to pornography, extramarital affairs, and escort services. The upcoming case teased at the end of the episode involves the deaths of children and a suicide attempt. Listener discretion is advised.
Production Credit: Produced and edited by Big Mic Creations. Learn more at bigmiccreations.com.

In this eighth installment of their deep dive into the Michael Peterson trial, the roles finally flip. Christie has spent seven episodes examining the case strictly through the eyes of a juror — weighing only what the jury saw and heard. Now it's Maryn's turn to pull back the curtain on everything that happened outside the courtroom, before, during, and after the trial.
Maryn walks Christie through a string of strange and surprising details that never came up at trial — revelations from books written by both a journalist and Peterson himself, an unlikely prison romance, and a family secret or two that complicate the narrative in unexpected ways. The conversation then turns to the forensic backbone of the prosecution's case — the blood spatter analysis — and the stunning post-trial revelations about the state's key expert that would eventually call the entire conviction into question. 
It's an episode full of "wait, what?" moments, and Christie — who has held firm on her own verdict from the trial episodes — finds herself forced to keep an open mind as the ground keeps shifting beneath the case she thought she understood.
 
Content Warning: This episode discusses murder, violent death, and detailed forensic evidence including blood and blunt force trauma. We also discuss suicide (a passenger going overboard on a cruise ship), prison violence, a separate murder victim found in a trash bin, and explosive devices. The conversation includes mention of death row and execution. If any of these topics are difficult for you, please take care while listening.
Production Credit: Produced and edited by Big Mic Creations. Learn more at bigmiccreations.com.
 

8.7 Ten Doubts and a Verdict (Michael Peterson - Ep.7
The Michael Peterson trial reaches its climax. The defense wraps its case with a courtroom moment nobody saw coming — calling the lead detective to the stand and revealing a piece of evidence that sends shockwaves through the room.
The state fires back with a rebuttal case built on biomechanics, autopsy findings, and a sister's memory. Expert witnesses go head-to-head over whether Kathleen's injuries could come from a fall — or only from a beating.
Then both sides deliver hours of closing arguments: the defense lays out ten reasonable doubts, while the state argues the puzzle pieces all point one direction. After weeks of testimony, Christie steps into the jury box to deliver her verdict.
Was it a tragic accident or something far darker? Tune in to hear how the evidence stacks up — and where Mom ultimately lands.   Content Warning: Though not explicit, this episode includes detailed discussion of blunt force trauma, lacerations and head injuries, autopsy findings, blood and crime scene evidence, and domestic violence themes. Listener discretion is advised.
Production Credit: Produced and edited by Big Mic Creations. Learn more at bigmiccreations.com.

One staircase. Four experts. A defense theory that keeps changing shape.
In this episode, the defense begins its fight to reframe Kathleen Peterson’s death as a tragic fall. Maryn and Christie examine testimony from a neuropathologist, a crime-scene expert, renowned blood-spatter analyst Dr. Henry Lee, and a biomechanics expert who reconstructs how Kathleen could have sustained her injuries.
But as each expert explains the blood, the wounds, and Michael Peterson’s clothing, their theories begin to collide. Was Kathleen standing, sitting, coughing, falling—or somehow doing all of it?
Christie breaks down the science from the jury box while Maryn asks whether the defense’s explanations fit together. The question isn’t whether each piece is possible—it’s whether the complete story is reasonable.
Content Warning: This episode contains detailed discussion of a violent death, autopsy findings, blood evidence, injuries, and crime-scene reconstruction. Listener discretion is advised.
Production Credit: Produced and edited by Big Mic Creations. Learn more at bigmiccreations.com.

Two women. Two staircases. Two autopsies that refuse to add up.
In this episode, Maryn and Christie step into the courtroom as the state's medical experts take the stand to lay out what the bodies of Kathleen Peterson and Elizabeth Ratliff really tell us. Between neuropathologists, forensic reports, and a family member's gut-wrenching return to a blood-soaked staircase, the details pile up in ways that are hard to ignore — and harder to explain away.
Christie breaks down the science from the jury box while Maryn digs into the human moments outside it, and together they start connecting threads that stretch back nearly two decades. By the end, you'll be asking the same question the jury had to face: how many coincidences does it take before they stop being coincidences?
Tune in for a deep dive into the evidence that's building the state's case — and get ready, because the defense is about to fight back.
Content Warning: Though not explicit, this episode contains detailed descriptions of autopsy findings and forensic evidence, including graphic descriptions of wounds, blood, and injuries to two victims. Topics discussed include death, violence, and blunt force trauma. Listener discretion is advised.
Production Credit: Produced and edited by Big Mic Creations. Learn more at bigmiccreations.com.

Eighteen years before Kathleen Peterson died at the bottom of a staircase, another woman fell to the same fate — in a different country, under eerily similar circumstances. In this episode, we dive into the death of Elizabeth Ratliff, the Petersons' close friend and neighbor in Germany, whose two young daughters were taken in by Michael and Patty after her sudden death in 1985.
Was this history repeating itself, or is the prosecution reaching for a connection that isn't there? Christie breaks down every witness from the jury box, and we start pulling the threads together.
If you're just joining us, go back to Part 1 for the case background — you'll want the full picture before this one.
 
Content Warning: Though not explicit, this episode discusses true crime, including death investigation details, autopsy findings, and descriptions of blood evidence at a crime scene. Listener discretion is advised.
 
Production Credit: Produced and edited by Big Mic Creations. Learn more at bigmiccreations.com.

A secret witness. Blood inside his shorts. A staircase full of questions. Maryn and Christie hit the halfway mark of the Michael Peterson trial, digging through testimony from digital forensics experts, a medical examiner, and a blood spatter analyst — and the evidence just got a lot harder to explain away. Was it an accident, or is the truth finally starting to surface?Content warning: Though not explicit, this episode contains detailed discussion of a violent death, including forensic and autopsy findings, blood evidence, and injury descriptions. It also includes discussion of sexual content, infidelity, and adult services. Listener discretion is advised.

Maryn and Christie step back into the jury box for round two of the Michael Peterson trial. This episode, they dig into the police response, crime scene processing, and forensic lab work — from first responders and supervisors piecing together the scene, to fingerprint and blood evidence sent off for testing. Between questions about protocol, contamination, and a mysteriously missing fireplace tool, they weigh whether the investigation held up or left more questions than answers.
Trigger Warning: Though this episode doesn't contain explicit language, it contains detailed discussion of a violent death, including descriptions of blood, injuries, and crime scene evidence. Listener discretion is advised.

Maryn and Christie are back, and this time they're diving into what might be their most complex case yet. After fair warning that this one is going to be a beast, the mother-daughter duo introduces a new case that you may think you already know — but probably not the way you're about to hear it.
Christie takes her seat in the jury box armed with only what the courtroom was allowed to see: the evidence, the testimony, and the arguments from both sides. In this episode, she breaks down five days of trial content, starting from the very beginning — the opening statements.
Both sides come out swinging, and Christie's first impressions are... well, she's keeping her mind open. Mostly.
Grab your favorite beverage — this one's long, layered, and just getting started.
Trigger Warning: Though not explicit, this episode contains detailed discussion of a violent death, including graphic descriptions of blood spatter and physical trauma, as well as themes of suspected domestic violence and spousal homicide. Financial abuse and manipulation are also discussed. Listener discretion is advised.