EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes a discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, America’s National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available by calling or texting 988.
BOSTON (AP) — The judge in Lindsay Clancy’s murder case refused Thursday to find her not guilty, rejecting a defense motion that said there was not enough evidence to prove she was responsible for killing her three children.
During Clancy’s first trial, which ended Sept. 4 with a deadlocked jury, her defense argued that she was not criminally responsible because of mental illness, specifically a rare condition called postpartum psychosis. As such, the defense did not dispute that the 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse committed the murders at her family’s Massachusetts home in 2023.
However, at a hearing earlier this week, Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, tried to persuade the judge that prosecutors had not presented any evidence that Clancy committed the act. Prosecutors argued there was ample evidence, calling Reddington’s claims “laughable.”
WATCH: Back in court, Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer now questions whether she killed her children
Prosecutors have not yet decided whether they will put the case before a jury a second time. They could choose to retry her on first-degree murder charges or seek to try her only on lesser charges, including second-degree murder or manslaughter, or drop the case altogether.
In his ruling Thursday, Judge William Sullivan noted that for purposes of his decision, he was required to analyze the evidence in the light most favorable to prosecutors — and that it was up to the jury, not the judge, to decide whether to believe the defense’s expert witnesses who said Clancy was not responsible for his actions because of his mental illness.
“Evidence has been presented, both material and circumstantial, that would enable a rational finder of facts to find beyond a reasonable doubt the elements of the murder charge,” Sullivan wrote.
At the first trial, prosecutors acknowledged that Clancy suffered from mental health problems that included months of treatment and a stay in a psychiatric hospital, but argued that she knew what she was doing when she strangled the children — the youngest was just 8 months old — then attempted suicide.
Sullivan had declared a mistrial, with the jury split 11-1 in favor of acquitting Clancy of the murder charges.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Reddington suggested the entire case “was based on speculation” and listed flaws in the prosecution’s case. There was almost no police investigation, he claimed, and significant questions revolved around Clancy’s condition outside of the night of the murders and his lack of memory of what happened.
At the trial, jurors heard testimony that Clancy said he heard voices ordering him to kill Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan Clancy, 8 months. His DNA was found on exercise bands used to strangle them. Before the trial, Reddington himself filed a motion in which he said Clancy was willing to stipulate, in writing, his involvement in the children’s deaths.
“For the first time the defendant says there is no evidence she did this,” prosecutor Shanan Buckingham told the judge. “I would tell you that the entire record is voluminous in terms of the information supporting the fact that she did this.”
Clancy remains charged with murder and is expected to remain in a psychiatric hospital until her case is resolved.
Clancy could have faced life in prison if convicted of murder. If he had been acquitted, the judge could have ordered his internment in a psychiatric facility.
Her former husband, Patrick Clancy, who discovered the children’s bodies, has said in interviews that he forgives her. The live-streamed trial attracted strong public interest and focused attention on the mental health of mothers after childbirth.
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