Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer now questions whether she killed her three children

Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer has argued that there wasn’t enough evidence to prove she killed her three children, a striking turn after a lengthy trial that focused more on her mental state than on whether she took their lives.

“This entire case is based on speculation,” attorney Kevin Reddington said on Tuesday (US time) during the first hearing since Clancy’s initial trial ended on September 4 with a deadlocked jury. They were split 11 to 1 in her favour.

Lindsay Clancy in Plymouth Superior Court on Tuesday at a hearing focused on the next steps in her case.Greg Derr/Pool The Patriot Ledger via APDuring the trial, Reddington didn’t dispute that Clancy killed the children at the family’s home in 2023. Instead, the defence sought to persuade the jury that the 36-year-old former labour and delivery nurse was not criminally responsible because of mental disease, a rare condition called postpartum psychosis.

But at Tuesday’s hearing, Reddington sought to persuade Judge William Sullivan – the same judge who presided over the first trial – to acquit her.

There is, Reddington contended, not enough evidence “that this woman killed those children”. He pointed to matters ranging from her condition when she was found, badly injured and bleeding, in the yard outside her home to her lack of memory of what happened when she woke up in a hospital. At the first trial, her now ex-husband and first responders testified that she tried to kill herself immediately after killing the children.

“Where is the admission? Where does she say that she did this?” Reddington asked, going on to recap his arguments that she also was psychotic and delusional at the time of the children’s deaths.

Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham called his argument “laughable”, pointing to witness testimony that Clancy said she heard voices instructing her to kill her children. Clancy was the only one home at the time with the children and her DNA was found on exercise bands used to strangle them, she added.

“For the first time, the defendant is arguing that there is no evidence she did this,” Buckingham said. “I’d suggest to you the entire record is voluminous as to information supporting the fact that she did this.”

During the trial, Paul Zeizel, a clinical and forensic psychologist and defence witness, testified that he overheard her saying a disembodied male voice told her she had no choice but to kill the children and then herself.

Before trial Reddington filed a motion in which he said Clancy would be willing to stipulate in writing “to her involvement in the underlying conduct resulting in the death of the three young children”.

The judge didn’t immediately rule on the motion, and no trial date was set.

Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, argued there was not enough evidence to prove she had killed her three children.Greg Derr/Pool The Patriot Ledger via APThe prosecution maintains that Clancy knew her actions were wrong when she used exercise bands to strangle five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson and eight-month-old Callan Clancy. They said she contrived to get her husband out of the house that evening by sending him to pick up medicine for one of their children and dinner for the family.

Prosecutors have yet to decide whether to retry Clancy, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said after the hearing. They could 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.

“We are going to do what we can for the children,” Cruz told reporters outside the court. “That is what this case is about.”

Sullivan said he wanted to set a new trial date, but both sides pushed back – arguing that the judge should rule on several motions in front of him first.

Initially, the defence urged the court to set a new trial date soon. But on Tuesday, Reddington told Sullivan he couldn’t see having a new trial before June due to his schedule.

Clancy’s attorneys have asked the judge to dismiss the criminal case, a motion that will be heard November 2.

Among other things they have argued that the judge should have ousted the one juror who favoured 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.

Among other motions pushed back was a Commonwealth request for a gag order that would bar attorneys and their supporters “from making extrajudicial statements to the media that would have a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing the criminal proceeding”.

Reddington has given a series of interviews since the mistrial and held walking news conferences almost every day during the proceedings. Prosecutors, in contrast, never talked to reporters.

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 on Tuesday waiting for her to arrive.

Clancy remains charged with murder and is expected to stay at a psychiatric hospital until her case is resolved.

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.

Support is available from Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14 and Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800.

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