Lindsay Clancy Appears in Court in Person as Lawyers Seek Two-Stage Trial
lindsay clancy, the Duxbury mother charged with killing her three children, made her first full in-person appearance in court on Friday as lawyers argued procedural steps that will shape a July murder trial. The hearing advanced scheduling on contested issues including whether the trial should be split into separate phases to determine guilt and then legal responsibility.
Development details: Lindsay Clancy in court
The hearing, held ahead of the trial set for July 2026 in Plymouth Superior Court, marked the first time Clancy was physically present for proceedings in the case. She faces charges in the deaths of her three children: Cora, age 5; Dawson, age 3; and Callan, age 8 months. Prosecutors allege the children were strangled and say Clancy deliberately sent her husband out so she would have time to harm them on the night of January 24, 2023. Authorities have said Clancy attempted suicide after the killings by leaping from a second-floor window, an act that left her paralyzed and wheelchair bound.
Defense counsel has sought a bifurcated trial, asking that jurors first decide whether Clancy committed the alleged killings and, only if they find guilt, move to a second phase examining whether she was legally insane or suffering from a mental disease or defect at the time. The court set a schedule for further pretrial activity: oral arguments on outstanding issues, including the bifurcation request, are scheduled for March 2; an expert mental evaluation selected by prosecutors is set for April 10; and a further motions hearing is scheduled for June 18. The defense also pressed to have the prosecution’s psychiatric evaluation filmed, a request that prompted disagreement over whether tape should include test-administration materials described as proprietary by the company conducting testing.
Context and pressure points
The procedural fight in court tracks competing narratives in filings and statements from the parties. Defense attorneys contend Clancy was suffering from postpartum mental-health problems and have signaled an insanity defense. In a recently filed civil lawsuit referenced by the defense, Clancy’s husband alleged she was overmedicated to the point of hearing voices, and the defense has framed her history as central to legal responsibility questions. Prosecutors have challenged that characterization, maintaining she did not suffer from postpartum depression and advancing facts they contend demonstrate intent.
Clancy has been committed to a treatment program at Tewksbury State Hospital since October 2023 and has attended prior hearings virtually from the hospital. Family members were present in court for the first time on Friday; they say they have been near the hospital to visit daily since her commitment. Defense counsel told the court he is protective of his client’s well-being and seeking a gradual acclimation to in-person appearances.
Immediate impact
The hearings and rulings set in recent weeks affect multiple stakeholders. Prosecutors will prepare to defend the decision to introduce psychiatric evidence and to resist filming parts of the mental evaluation they describe as proprietary. The defense will pursue expert assessments to support an insanity defense strategy and to argue for a bifurcated proceeding that separates guilt from legal responsibility. The family and the broader local community are affected by the case’s pace and the public procedures; medical personnel at the hospital and sheriff’s deputies who transport Clancy are engaged in ongoing logistics for her attendance.
For the victims’ extended family and for the legal teams on both sides, the immediate consequence is a concentrated schedule of legal steps in the months before July. The April mental evaluation, in particular, will generate expert material that may be central to whether a second phase proceeds if a jury finds Clancy guilty.
Forward outlook
With a July trial date set, several confirmed milestones remain on the calendar that will shape evidence and courtroom framing. Oral arguments on March 2 will take up the bifurcation request and other outstanding motions. The April 10 evaluation by a prosecution-selected expert is a confirmed event; how that testing is documented and whether portions are filmed is unresolved and likely to be litigated further. A June 18 motions hearing will address remaining pretrial disputes ahead of jury selection and trial preparation.
What makes this notable is the procedural posture: a bifurcated approach, if allowed, will separate fact-finding about acts from determination of mental responsibility, changing the sequence and focus of evidence presented to jurors. The matter remains under review, and the coming weeks will determine how psychiatric evidence is collected and shown, which in turn will shape trial strategy and public understanding as the case moves toward the courtroom in July.
lindsay clancy’s case will therefore be guided not only by disputed factual allegations about the events of January 24, 2023, but also by court rulings on how mental-health evidence is handled—decisions that will be central to how the trial proceeds and what jurors will be asked to decide.
