Lindsay Clancy’s defense attorney urged the court to throw out the murder charges against her, arguing that prosecutors presented a “total and complete lack of evidence” proving she killed her children.
Attorney Kevin Reddington made the argument during a Sept. 29 hearing, asking Judge William Sullivan to dismiss the case because, he said, the prosecution had not established its claims beyond a reasonable doubt.
“I ask the court,” Reddington said during the hearing, which was streamed by CourtTV, “to hearken back to the evidence that was presented and ask yourself, where’s the evidence that she did this?”
Reddington sharply criticized the police investigation, calling it “horrific” and “ridiculous.” He claimed authorities relied on “woefully deficient” DNA and fingerprint evidence, as well as a statement from Lindsay’s then-husband, Patrick Clancy. Patrick told investigators he returned from running errands to find Lindsay had gone through a window and the children dead in the basement.
The defense attorney also raised questions about why Lindsay was found barefoot on the lawn, why investigators did not find blood in her bedroom and whether the prosecution’s timeline was consistent with the available evidence.
Reddington pointed to testimony from psychiatrists and doctors at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, saying Lindsay emerged from what he described as an apparent coma only to be told what had happened. “She had no memory of what happened,” he told the judge.
He further argued that prosecutors had not disproved the defense’s claim that Lindsay was experiencing postpartum psychosis when the killings occurred. That issue was central to her first trial, which ended in a mistrial on Sept. 4.
“The evidence shows clearly and unequivocally that she was in a state of psychosis,” Reddington said.
Because prosecutors allegedly failed to establish both that Lindsay committed the killings and that she was not suffering from postpartum psychosis, Reddington said she should be acquitted of the murder charges.
Prosecutors countered that the case against Lindsay included a “voluminous” body of evidence tying her to the deaths of her children.
Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney Shanan Buckingham said the defense was raising its challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence for the first time during the hearing. “For the first time, the defendant is now arguing that there is no evidence she did this,” Buckingham said.
Buckingham argued that Lindsay was the only person inside the home when the children were killed. She noted that surveillance footage showed Patrick carrying out his errands and said DNA recovered from the exercise bands used in the killings matched Lindsay.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Premier League Verdict Finds Manchester City Guilty Over ‘Sham Deals’ Claims
The prosecutor also cited a conversation Lindsay allegedly had with a hospital chaplain after the killings. According to Buckingham, Lindsay described hallucinations that instructed her to kill the children in order to protect them.
Buckingham dismissed the defense’s claim that the state had failed to overcome reasonable doubt as “laughable.”
Judge Sullivan took the arguments under advisement and did not issue a ruling on the pending motions.
No Retrial Date is Set for Lindsay Clancy
Although Sullivan said he wanted to “get this thing tried,” he agreed not to schedule a retrial yet. Both sides asked to wait until the court resolves the outstanding motions before setting a new trial date.
Sullivan reluctantly agreed but said the court would revisit the scheduling question at the next hearing, set for Nov. 2.
Motion to Investigate Juror is Pushed to Later Hearing
Reddington has also filed a motion seeking an investigation into juror Michael Desronvil, the lone holdout whose vote resulted in the mistrial, according to NBC News. The court postponed that matter until the Nov. 2 hearing.
Desronvil’s attorney spoke out on X, saying the motion was “a full frontal attack on the U.S. Constitution” and dismissing it as “Looney Tunes.”
Sullivan likewise postponed consideration of Reddington’s request to dismiss the case until Nov. 2.
Lindsay Clancy Speaks For First Time in Court
Lindsay remained quiet beside her attorneys for most of the hearing. However, she spoke in court for the first time after the judge greeted her.
Lindsay responded, “Good morning,” before the hearing got underway.
Lindsay Clancy’s Trial Ends in a Mistrial
Lindsay’s last trial ended in a mistrial Sept. 4.
The jurors were deadlocked 11-1 in favor of declaring her not guilty by reason of insanity, but could not come to a unanimous decision.