Clancy lawyer changes tune on evidence she killed her children
Lindsay Clancy’s defense attorney has shifted his argument, asserting that prosecutors lack sufficient evidence to prove she was responsible for her children’s deaths. This marks a change from the initial trial, where her defense acknowledged her actions but attributed them to postpartum psychosis, claiming she was not criminally responsible. During a recent court hearing as the case was declared a mistrial due to a deadlocked jury, the defense lawyer argued that the case is based on speculation and pointed to Clancy’s injuries, her lack of memory of the events, and her psychiatric state at the time.Prosecutors countered, asserting that Clancy deliberately murdered her three children and attempted to take her own life afterward, with evidence supporting their case. The legal proceedings remain uncertain as prosecutors decide weather to retry Clancy on murder charges or pursue lesser charges. The case has garnered important attention, highlighting issues related to postpartum psychosis. Clancy remains hospitalized and faces potential life imprisonment if convicted; if acquitted on the grounds of mental health, she could be committed to a psychiatric facility.
Lindsay Clancy’s defense attorney is shifting his argument about whether she killed her three children, telling a judge Tuesday that prosecutors have not presented enough evidence to prove that she was responsible for their deaths.
The argument marked a notable change from Clancy’s first trial, in which her defense did not dispute that she killed her children but argued she was not criminally responsible because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis.
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During Tuesday’s status conference, Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, told Judge William Sullivan that “this entire case is based on speculation.”
It was the first hearing since Sullivan declared a mistrial Sept. 4 after a jury deadlocked over whether Clancy was guilty of killing her children.
“There is not enough evidence that this woman killed those children,” Reddington said.
Reddington pointed to the condition in which Clancy was found after the deaths, including her severe injuries and bleeding in the yard outside her home in Massachusetts, as well as her lack of memory of the events when she awoke in a hospital.
“Where is the admission? Where does she say that she did this?” Reddington asked.
He also reiterated his argument that Clancy was experiencing psychosis and delusions at the time of the deaths.
Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham called the defense argument “laughable,” arguing in court papers filed Monday that the evidence they contend supports a conviction.
Prosecutors alleged Clancy, 36, deliberately strangled her children — 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan — with exercise bands on Jan. 24, 2023, before using multiple methods in an attempt to die by suicide.
They argued during the first trial that Clancy deliberately sent her husband out of the house to pick up medicine for one of the children and dinner for the family before killing the children. Her husband and first responders testified that she attempted to die by suicide immediately afterward. The injuries left her paralyzed from the waist down after jumping from a second-story window.
The defense, meanwhile, argued that Clancy’s postpartum psychosis left her unable to understand the nature and consequences of her actions.
Prosecutors must now decide whether to retry Clancy on first-degree murder charges, pursue lesser charges such as second-degree murder or manslaughter, or abandon the case.
After the mistrial, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said his goal remained “getting justice for those three little babies.”
Lindsay Clancy returns to court as lawyers fight to investigate holdout juror
The case has drawn widespread attention, in part because of its focus on postpartum psychosis, a rare psychiatric condition.
Clancy remains charged with murder and is expected to remain at a psychiatric hospital until the case is resolved. If convicted of murder, Clancy could face life in prison. But if acquitted due to her claims of psychosis, a judge could still order her to be committed to a mental health facility.
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