Lindsay Clancy defense argues there is ‘no evidence’ she killed her kids
A legal dispute is intensifying in Plymouth, Massachusetts, as defense attorney Kevin Reddington maintains there is insufficient evidence that Lindsay Clancy killed her three children. Assistant District Attorney Shanan Buckingham has pushed back, arguing that the prosecution’s evidence is extensive. Attorney Edward Paltzik has also criticized the defense’s conduct following a mistrial, as both sides prepare for a pivotal November hearing.
Massachusetts Judge William Sullivan has rejected Lindsay Clancy’s request for a required finding of not guilty.
Sullivan denied a similar motion when Clancy’s mistrial was declared on Sept. 4. He rejected the renewed request Thursday after Reddington argued earlier this week that Plymouth County prosecutors had not presented enough evidence at trial to establish Clancy’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
“There was evidence introduced, both physical and circumstantial, that would permit a rational trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt the elements of the charge of murder,” Sullivan wrote.
Lindsay Clancy and her attorney, Kevin Reddington, attend a status hearing for the Clancy case at the Plymouth County Superior Court in Plymouth, Massachusetts on September 29, 2026. Clancy appeared in court for the first time since the judge declared a mistrial on September 4, after a jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict in the high-profile case of Clancy, an American woman who killed her three young children. (Greg Derr / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
The judge also rejected Reddington’s claim that prosecutors had failed to prove Clancy could be held criminally responsible for the deaths.
Callan, left, Dawson and Cora Clancy. The three children were killed at their Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in January 2023. (Lindsay Marie Clancy/Facebook)
“Mental illness alone does not preclude a finding of criminal responsibility beyond a reasonable doubt,” Sullivan wrote.
“The Commonwealth’s theory of criminal responsibility was that when the defendant committed the crime, she did not lack substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality or wrongfulness of her conduct and did not lack the substantial capacity to conform her conduct to the requirements of the law,” he continued. “In support of this position, the Commonwealth introduced evidence regarding the nature and methods of the killings and the defendant’s actions and demeanor at times surrounding the killings.”
(L) Patrick Clancy and (R) Lindsay Clancy’s three children, 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 7-month-old Callan, who died. (David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images and Lindsay Marie Clancy Facebook)
Clancy is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 2 for a hearing on her pending double jeopardy motion, along with Reddington’s request for an inquiry into the sole holdout juror who wanted to find her guilty.
This is a breaking news story.