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WARNING: 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 a lack of evidence that 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.”
“There is no evidence that she admitted she did this,” he said.
“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.
A Nov. 2 date has been set for a hearing to consider Reddington’s motion and several others Clancy’s lawyers have filed seeking to avoid a retrial.
A sign with the images of the three children of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts woman whose trial on murder charges for killing her three children ended in a mistrial earlier this month, in a vehicle outside court in Plymouth on Tuesday. (CJ Gunther/Reuters)Case has captivated spectators
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.
CBC News has reached out to representatives for Patrick Clancy about Reddington’s comments Tuesday. They said they would not be making a public comment.
WATCH | What happens next after Lindsay Clancy’s mistrial?:
Judge declares mistrial, what happens next? Legal analyst Melba Pearson talks with CBC News Network
The judge in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial declared a mistrial Friday, after her attorney’s last-minute appeal to remove a juror and start deliberations again with a replacement failed. Get the latest on CBCNews.ca, the CBC News App, and CBC News Network for breaking news and analysis.’Voluminous’ evidence: prosecution
In Tuesday’s status conference, Plymouth County assistant district attorney Shanan Buckingham argued that there is “voluminous” evidence to suggest Clancy killed her children.
“We’re hearing now for the first time in this argument that counsel is challenging first the sufficiency of the evidence as it applies to the three counts of murder,” Buckingham said.
“I suggest to you that the entire record is voluminous as to the information supporting the fact that she did this.”
She cited the DNA found on the exercise bands found around the necks of the children as an example, as well as the testimony from a hospital chaplain that Clancy said she had to kill them.
Speaking outside of court later, Plymouth County district attorney Timothy Cruz told reporters his office hadn’t yet decided whether to retry Clancy.
“We’re on for November 2. We’re going to see what happens with the motions; we’re still waiting for transcripts,” Cruz said.
“We’re doing a very thorough review right now, and we’re going to continue to do our job to make sure that we do what’s best in the interest of justice and the interests of the three children.”
Attorney Kevin Reddington argues the commonwealth never proved that Lindsay Clancy murdered her children, on Tuesday, during a hearing set to determine the next steps after a mistrial was declared on Sept. 4, in Plymouth, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger/The Associated Press)