Lindsay Clancy appears in court; defense seeks two-stage trial

On Friday, Feb. 20, 2026 (ET), lindsay clancy made her first full in-person appearance in a Plymouth courtroom for a pretrial hearing in the case accusing her of killing her three children, a step that sets up competing legal fights over guilt and mental-state evidence ahead of a July trial. The hearing focused on whether the trial should be split into two phases and on arrangements for a court-ordered mental evaluation.

Lindsay Clancy appears in court

Clancy is charged with the murders of her three children: Cora, age 5; Dawson, age 3; and Callan, age 8 months. Family members were present in court for the hearing. Prior to Friday, lindsay clancy had attended hearings remotely from Tewksbury State Hospital. She is wheelchair bound after an earlier suicide attempt that left her paraplegic following the events alleged in the case.

Defense seeks two-stage trial

At the hearing, defense attorney Kevin Reddington asked the court to bifurcate the proceedings so jurors would first decide whether Clancy committed the killings and, only if they find guilt, move to a second phase to determine legal sanity. The defense has said it will pursue an insanity defense and has argued that Clancy was experiencing serious postpartum mental-health issues.

Prosecutors contend Clancy deliberately sent her husband out on an errand the night of Jan. 24, 2023, to have time to harm the children and maintain she did not suffer from postpartum depression. Prosecutors also allege the children were strangled with exercise bands in the family home.

The parties addressed whether the prosecution’s psychiatric evaluation could be videotaped and debated what portions of testing, if any, could lawfully be recorded. Prosecutors indicated they would not object to videotaping the evaluation itself but raised objections to filming Clancy while she completed proprietary testing materials; the defense said it would consult experts before pressing the issue further.

Court schedule and next steps

Counsel set several upcoming dates to resolve outstanding issues ahead of the murder trial, which is scheduled for July 2026 in Plymouth Superior Court. Oral arguments on the bifurcation request and related pretrial disputes are set for March 2 (ET). A mental evaluation to be conducted by an expert chosen by prosecutors is scheduled for April 10 (ET). A further motions hearing was set for June 18 (ET).

• Key takeaways: first in-person court appearance; defense seeks split trial; mental exam and pretrial dates set ahead of July 2026 trial.

The hearing marked a procedural turning point in a case that has included civil filings and competing medical claims. Clancy’s husband has filed a civil lawsuit that alleges overmedication by former treating doctors; the suit asserts that treatment led to troubling side effects. Clancy’s parents told the court they have been staying near the hospital to visit daily and described her as a loving mother.

Next steps will center on the March 2 oral arguments, the April mental-health assessment, and the June motions calendar. If the court grants a bifurcated trial, jurors would first consider whether the defendant committed the acts charged and then, in a separate phase, evaluate whether she was legally responsible because of a mental disease or defect.

Details about what will be admissible at each phase and whether videotaping of psychiatric testing will be allowed remain unresolved and are scheduled for argument in the coming weeks. Uncertainties about evidentiary limits and the outcome of the evaluation are now the primary factors that will shape the path to the July trial date.