Lindsay Clancy murder retrial in doubt after defence demands acquittal in Massachusetts
A judge heard arguments over whether to acquit Lindsay Clancy, charged with killing her three children in 2023, after her first trial ended in a mistrial.
Judge weighs acquittal bid as Clancy returns to Plymouth court
Lindsay Clancy's defence attorney argued Tuesday that there is insufficient evidence to prove she killed her three children, a significant legal shift following a trial that centred primarily on her mental state rather than on whether she carried out the killings, according to reporting by pbs.org.
"This entire case is based on speculation," attorney Kevin Reddington told Judge William Sullivan at the first hearing since Clancy's initial trial ended 4 September with a deadlocked jury.
The jury was split 11 to 1 in Clancy's favour, resulting in a mistrial. Reddington is now pressing Sullivan to acquit her outright rather than subject her to a second trial.
Evidence dispute at the centre of hearing
During the original trial, the defence had not contested that Clancy strangled 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan at the family's Plymouth, Massachusetts home on 24 January 2023. The strategy had been to argue she was not criminally responsible due to a rare condition called postpartum psychosis.
On Tuesday, Reddington shifted ground, arguing there is not enough evidence "that this woman killed those children." He pointed to Clancy's physical state when first responders found her — badly injured and bleeding in the yard — and her reported lack of memory of events when she regained consciousness in hospital.
"Where is the admission? Where does she say that she did this?" Reddington asked, also reiterating claims that she was psychotic and delusional at the time.
Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham dismissed the argument as "laughable," citing evidence presented at trial. In court papers filed Monday, prosecutors restated their position that sufficient evidence existed to convict Clancy. The prosecution maintains that Clancy, 36, a former labour and delivery nurse, used multiple methods to attempt to end her own life after the killings, and that she understood her actions were wrong.
Clancy was left paralysed from the waist down after jumping from a second-story window. Her now ex-husband and first responders testified at the original trial that she attempted suicide immediately after the children's deaths.
Judge Sullivan did not rule immediately, and no date for a potential retrial was set.
Lone holdout juror under scrutiny
The defence has separately asked the judge to dismiss the criminal case entirely, citing concerns about the conduct of the single juror who voted to convict. The jury foreperson had complained during deliberations that the juror, identified as Michael Desronvil, refused to engage with the law on reasonable doubt.
Clancy's legal team has requested an investigation into whether Desronvil was truthful on a pre-trial questionnaire, whether he was candid when questioned by the judge the day before the trial ended, and whether he violated court rules by using a mobile phone during deliberations.
Desronvil, speaking through his attorney, has maintained his position was firm. In a brief statement to Fox News' Hannity programme on Monday, he said: "The whole focus has been on me, but we want to reel everything back and put the focus on the three angels," referring to the children.
Prosecution's options and public interest
Tuesday's hearing also offered a window into prosecutors' next steps. Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz, who after the mistrial said his goal was always "getting justice for those three little babies," can choose to retry Clancy on first-degree murder charges, pursue lesser charges such as second-degree murder or manslaughter, or drop the case entirely.
Prosecutors alleged that Clancy acted deliberately, arranging to have her husband leave the home on the evening of the killings by sending him to collect medicine for one of the children and dinner for the family, before strangling all three with exercise bands.
The livestreamed trial drew substantial public attention and reignited debate around maternal mental health following childbirth. Around a dozen supporters, most dressed in pink, gathered outside the Plymouth courthouse on Tuesday to await Clancy's arrival.
Clancy remains charged with murder and is being held at a psychiatric hospital pending resolution of her case. Had she been convicted at the original trial, she faced a mandatory life sentence. Had she been acquitted on the grounds of mental illness, the judge could have ordered her committed to a psychiatric facility.
Editor's note: This article references suicide. The national suicide and crisis lifeline in the US is available by calling or texting 988.
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)