Lindsay Clancy's lawyer now says there's no evidence she killed her children
Lindsay Clancy looks on as Judge William Sullivan declares a mistrial in Plymouth, Mass., on Sept, 4. (Greg Derr/Reuters)Social SharingWARNING: This article contains details about violence against children and attempted suicide.
In a shift from what was presented in her high-profile murder trial, Lindsay Clancy's lawyer now argues there's no evidence Clancy actually killed her three children.
"Where is the evidence that she did this?" defence lawyer Kevin Reddington said in a status conference Tuesday in part to determine whether there would be a retrial.
It appears to be a departure for the defence, which previously did not dispute that she caused her children's deaths but argued a lack of criminal responsibility based on postpartum psychosis. Earlier this month, after seven days of deadlocked jury deliberation, the highly divisive case ended in a mistrial after the 12-person jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict.
Reddington called the original investigation "ridiculous," adding "they just immediately assumed this woman was guilty."
He also questioned the accuracy of the statements Clancy made in the hospital after her apparent suicide attempt, saying it was "chilling" and that "she was told what happened."
"This entire case is based on speculation. Where is the admission? Where did she say that she did this?” he told Judge William Sullivan.
"There is, there was, and there cannot be evidence under the Latimore standard that this woman killed those children,” he added, citing the Massachusetts legal test used to determine whether the evidence presented is legally sufficient.
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Clancy's high-profile murder trial, which ended Sept. 4 in a mistrial, has captivated spectators from the beginning. The case gripped the public, sparking debates about maternal mental health, creating dramatic moments both inside the court and out, and launching online conspiracy theories.
Clancy, 36, had been charged with murder in the killing of her three children in 2023 while her then-husband, Patrick, was running an errand. Jurors in Plymouth County Superior Court in Plymouth, Mass., heard that she strangled the children with exercise bands in the basement of their home in the Boston suburb of Duxbury.
She then attempted to take her own life.
Previously, Clancy's defence didn't dispute the killings, but argued she isn't criminally responsible because she had bipolar disorder and was suffering from postpartum psychosis, a rare and little-understood mental health condition that can affect a new mom's sense of reality.
Prosecutors argued that Clancy was guilty of three counts of first-degree murder because she plotted to get her husband out of the house so she could carry out the killings.
A Nov. 2 date has been set for a hearing to consider Reddington's motion and several others.
Natalie Stechyson has been a writer and editor at CBC News since 2021. She covers stories on social trends, families, gender, human interest, as well as general news. She's worked as a journalist since 2009, with stints at the Globe and Mail and Postmedia News, among others. Before joining CBC News, she was the parents editor at HuffPost Canada, where she won a silver Canadian Online Publishing Award for her work on pregnancy loss. You can reach her at natalie.stechyson@cbc.ca.
