Duxbury mother Lindsay Clancy appears in court as trial schedule is set
lindsay clancy, the Duxbury, Massachusetts mother charged with killing her three children, made her first full in-person courtroom appearance on Friday for a pretrial hearing that set key dates and raised dispute over whether a psychiatric evaluation can be filmed. The hearing moved forward scheduling for a July 2026 trial and established dates for oral argument and a prosecution-selected mental health exam.
Lindsay Clancy appears in court in person
Clancy, who has been held in a treatment program at Tewksbury State Hospital and had attended prior hearings remotely, was brought into Plymouth Superior Court in a wheelchair. She has been charged in the deaths of her three children: Cora, age 5; Dawson, age 3; and Callan, age 8 months. Prosecutors allege she deliberately sent her husband out on an errand the night of January 24, 2023 so she had time to harm the children, and they say she did not suffer from postpartum depression.
After the children's deaths, Clancy jumped from a second-floor window in an apparent suicide attempt that left her paralyzed. Her parents were present in court for the first time; they told the court they have been staying near the hospital to visit daily and described her as a loving mother. Clancy's attorney has said he wants her to appear in person moving forward when possible while noting the emotional strain such appearances impose.
Defense seeks two-stage trial and raises filming dispute
Defense counsel argued for a bifurcated, or two-stage, trial that would first ask jurors to decide whether Clancy committed the killings and then, only if there is a guilty finding, address whether she was legally responsible because of a mental disease or defect. The defense has indicated it will pursue an insanity-based defense and has described serious postpartum mental health issues in court filings.
Friday's hearing also addressed whether prosecutors' psychiatric evaluation of Clancy could be videotaped. Prosecutors said they would not object to videotaping the evaluation itself but objected to filming Clancy while she fills out testing forms, citing proprietary rights held by the testing company. The defense pushed back on that objection and said it may consult its own experts before further argument on the issue.
Next dates and the narrow path ahead
Court participants set March 2 for oral arguments on outstanding motions, April 10 for a mental health evaluation to be conducted by an expert selected by prosecutors, and June 18 for an additional motions hearing. The murder trial is scheduled to begin in July 2026 in Plymouth Superior Court. The April evaluation and the March arguments are observable milestones that will shape pretrial strategy.
If a jury first finds Clancy guilty, the second phase of a bifurcated trial could proceed to examine her mental state at the time of the deaths. The April evaluation will provide expert material that both sides can use in preparing their arguments for and against bifurcation and in framing any insanity-related defense. Court filings also include a civil suit filed by Clancy's husband alleging overmedication and related concerns in the months before the deaths; that filing is part of the court record and may inform pretrial motions but does not change the criminal schedule established at Friday's hearing.
Many procedural questions remain unresolved, including the extent to which testing materials will be accessible to the defense and whether Clancy will continue to appear in person. The March, April, and June dates will determine how quickly those issues are litigated ahead of the July trial window.
