Key facts
- A judge denied a request to find Lindsay Clancy not guilty of murder.
- Prosecutors presented sufficient evidence for a jury to find Clancy responsible for killing her three children in 2023.
- Clancy's defense argued she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and is not legally responsible.
- A jury previously failed to reach a verdict, resulting in a mistrial.
- Clancy did not dispute strangling her children but claimed she was not legally responsible due to postpartum psychosis.
- A new hearing is scheduled for November 2 to discuss potential trial dates.
A Massachusetts judge on Thursday rejected a request by Lindsay Clancy's lawyers to find her not guilty of murder, stating that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence for a jury to find her responsible for the 2023 killings of her three young children. Clancy, 36, maintains she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time and is therefore not legally responsible.
Clancy's legal team had argued that there was insufficient evidence to support beyond a reasonable doubt that she actually murdered her children or admitted doing so, with her attorney Kevin Reddington suggesting investigators "just immediately assumed that this woman is guilty." Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham countered that the evidence was "voluminous" and dismissed claims to the contrary as "laughable."
Superior Court Judge William F. Sullivan heard arguments on the request Tuesday. He concluded the hour-long proceeding by setting another hearing for November 2, when potential trial dates and a gag order requested by prosecutors against Reddington are expected to be discussed.
A jury declared a mistrial on September 4 after being unable to reach a unanimous verdict on whether to find Clancy guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity. Several jurors indicated that 11 out of 12 members wanted to find her not guilty by reason of insanity.
Clancy did not dispute at trial that she fatally strangled her children, Cora, five; Dawson, three; and eight-month-old Callan, on January 24, 2023, in their suburban Boston home. She then reportedly attempted suicide by cutting her neck and wrists and jumping from a second-story window. Reddington argued at trial that Clancy did not understand the wrongfulness of her actions due to postpartum psychosis.
If found not guilty by reason of insanity, Clancy would be committed to a Massachusetts state psychiatric hospital, subject to regular re-evaluation. Prosecutors could also pursue a plea deal or retry her on second-degree murder charges, which would allow for a judge to decide the verdict instead of a jury.