Massachusetts judge delays decisions in Lindsay Clancy post-trial hearing
A Plymouth Superior Court judge postponed rulings on motions in the Lindsay Clancy case, including a request to dismiss the charges, with a new decision date set for Nov. 2.
Lindsay Clancy and her attorneys appeared before Plymouth Superior Court on Tuesday to argue that the state has not presented evidence linking her to the deaths of her three children. The hearing, the first since a mistrial was declared in September, involved several pending motions.
Judge William Sullivan deferred consideration of most motions, including defense counsel Kevin Reddington’s request to dismiss the case, until a later hearing scheduled for Nov. 2. He also declined to set a new trial date, noting that both the defense and prosecutors agreed more issues needed resolution before scheduling.
Reddington invoked Massachusetts Rule 25, which allows a not-guilty verdict when the prosecution fails to prove its case, and contended that the Commonwealth offered no proof of Clancy’s involvement. Prosecutors countered that the record contains extensive evidence of her guilt. > "And now, for the first time, the defendant is arguing that there’s no evidence that she did this," Assistant District Attorney Shanan Buckingham said.
Clancy, 36, is accused of strangling her three children—Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months—using exercise bands in January 2023. Her defense maintains she was experiencing postpartum psychosis and lacked awareness of her actions, while the prosecution asserts the killings were pre-planned, seeking a first-degree murder conviction.
The prior trial ended in a mistrial after the jury deadlocked three times. Eleven jurors reportedly favored a verdict of not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, while a single holdout juror insisted on conviction. That juror, identified as Michael P. Desronvil, has denied the allegations and emphasized his focus on the victims.
The Commonwealth also moved to bar Reddington from making extrajudicial media statements ahead of a possible retrial. The Boston Globe and local CBS station WBZ-TV opposed the motion, arguing it would limit free speech. Sullivan will address arguments on both the dismissal and media-statement motions at the November hearing.