PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — Lindsay Clancy returned to court Tuesday for a hearing that could help decide whether she will face a second trial for killing her three young children.
It was Clancy's first return to the courthouse since her initial trial ended Sept. 4 with a deadlocked jury. A judge declared a mistrial with the jury split 11 to 1 in favor of acquitting Clancy of murder charges.
Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse, never disputed that
she killed the children, but her attorney said she had a rare condition called postpartum psychosis and was delusional and not responsible for her actions.
Prosecutors acknowledged that Clancy, 36, had 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 then tried to kill herself in 2023.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.
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Clancy's attorneys have filed several motions that could be addressed Tuesday.
They have asked the judge to acquit Clancy or dismiss the criminal case, rather than putting on a new trial. Among other things, they have argued that the judge should have ousted the one juror who favored a murder conviction after the jury foreperson complained he was refusing to listen to the law on reasonable doubt.
The juror, Michael Desronvil, has said through his lawyer that he had no doubts about his stance. Desronvil told Fox News’ “Hannity” in a brief video statement on Monday that “the whole focus has been on me, but we want to reel everything back and put the focus on the three angels,” meaning the children.
The defense has also asked the judge to investigate the juror's truthfulness on a questionnaire that prospective jurors filled out before the trial began, his truthfulness when jurors were questioned by the judge a day before the trial ended and also whether he broke court rules by using a cellphone during deliberations.
Tuesday's hearing could also reveal whether prosecutors will move to put Clancy on trial for a second time. Prosecutors can 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 entirely.
In court papers filed Monday, prosecutors recapped their arguments that there was enough evidence to convict Clancy.
After the mistrial was declared, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz told reporters his goal was always “getting justice for those three little babies.”
Prosecutors said Clancy acted deliberately when she strangled 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan Clancy with exercise bands. They said she contrived to get her husband out of the house on Jan. 24, 2023, by sending him to pick up medicine for one of their children and dinner for the family.
The livestreamed trial generated intense public interest and drew attention to maternal mental health after childbirth. About a dozen Clancy supporters, most dressed in pink, stood outside court Tuesday waiting for her to arrive.
Clancy’s lawyer said she should not be held criminally responsible because of her postpartum psychosis, a rare mental illness linked to the stress, sleep deprivation and hormonal changes that follow childbirth.
Clancy remains charged with murder and is expected to stay at a psychiatric hospital until her case is resolved. She has been paralyzed from the waist down since jumping from a second-story window after strangling her children.
Clancy could have been sentenced to life in prison if convicted of murder. If acquitted, the judge could have ordered her confined to a mental health facility.
