Lindsay Clancy Appears in Court, Defense Seeks Two-Stage Trial Over Killings of Her Three Children
Lindsay Clancy appeared in person in Plymouth Superior Court on Friday as her defense asked the judge to bifurcate the upcoming murder trial into two separate phases. The motion — and a schedule of hearings leading up to a trial set for July — focuses attention on questions of guilt and mental state after the January 24, 2023 deaths of her three young children.
Development details: Lindsay Clancy’s court appearance and bifurcation request
Clancy, 35, was transported from Tewksbury State Hospital and wheeled into court for what marked her first full in-person appearance in the case. She is charged with three counts of murder and two counts of strangulation in the deaths of her children: Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months. Prosecutors allege the children were strangled with exercise bands in the basement of the family home on Summer Street on January 24, 2023.
Defense attorney Kevin Reddington asked Judge William Sullivan to bifurcate the trial so jurors first decide whether Clancy committed the killings and, only if guilt is found, consider in a second phase whether she was legally insane or suffering from a severe postpartum condition at the time. Reddington has confirmed he will pursue an insanity defense and has argued his client was emotionally unstable and suffering significant postpartum mental illness.
The court set several dates: March 2 for oral arguments on outstanding issues including the bifurcation request; April 10 for a mental evaluation by an expert selected by prosecutors; and June 18 for an additional motions hearing. Prosecutor Jennifer Sprague agreed to allow videotaping of the evaluation itself but objected to recording Clancy completing proprietary testing materials, prompting a dispute over whether forms may be taped during the assessment.
Context and escalation
Clancy had attended prior proceedings remotely from Tewksbury State Hospital, where she has been held in a treatment program since October 2023. After the alleged killings, court records and statements in filings indicate she attempted suicide by jumping from a second-floor bedroom window and suffered injuries that left her paraplegic and confined to a wheelchair. Defense filings contend she was over-medicated and struggling with postpartum depression and related symptoms in the months before the deaths; medical records cited in court show she had been prescribed antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and the antipsychotic Seroquel at least as far back as the September preceding the incident.
The children’s father found them in the basement after leaving the home to pick up a prescription and dinner, and the family’s situation has produced parallel civil action: Clancy’s husband has filed a lawsuit alleging overmedication and other failures by medical providers. Clancy’s parents traveled to court and have been supporting her while visiting at the hospital during months of proceedings.
Immediate impact
The bifurcation motion reshapes immediate trial strategy and evidentiary planning. If the court allows a two-stage trial, prosecutors will be required to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in a first phase, after which the commonwealth must then negate a mental disease or defect in a second phase. That sequence affects what evidence each side prioritizes and how expert testimony will be presented.
Practical consequences are already evident: Clancy’s presence in court required coordination among sheriff’s deputies, hospital staff, and defense counsel to arrange transport and care. Her continued confinement at Tewksbury State Hospital means future hearings will involve logistics for in-person transport or continued remote participation, and disagreement over how the mental evaluation is documented has introduced a procedural dispute that could affect expert review and defense preparation.
Forward outlook
Key procedural milestones are set in the coming months. Oral arguments on March 2 will address the bifurcation motion and other outstanding issues. A mental evaluation by a prosecutor-selected expert is scheduled for April 10, with a further motions hearing on June 18. The case has already been delayed multiple times and remains scheduled for trial in July.
What makes this notable is that the court’s decision on bifurcation will determine the order and scope of how jurors hear competing narratives about motive, mental health and responsibility—issues central to both criminal verdicts and parallel civil claims.
