A jury is to determine whether Lindsay Clancy is criminally responsible for killing her three children in 2023 in Duxbury, Massachusetts. She was being treated for postpartum mental health issues when she killed the children: Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, who was 8 months old. Plymouth County Superior Court Judge William Sullivan is presiding over the jury trial, which began on July 27 and is expected to last six to eight weeks.
Curated by: Meghann Cuniff (223 videos)
The judge in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial declined to declare her not guilty today after prosecutors rested their case. Clancy's lawyer Kevin Reddington asked Judge William Sullivan this morning (Monday, August 17, day 14) to acquit Clancy of murder or alternatively reduce her charges. The motion for acquittal is a standard part of criminal trials after prosecutors present their evidence. Judges rarely grant them, and Judge Sullivan didn't grant Clancy's. 01:33 "I suggest, Your Honor, that the evidence that has been presented in this case is overwhelming. That this young woman was clearly and unequivocally suffering from a mental disease or defect. That it was occupying her waking hours, her life. That she considered all of her avenues." "She attempted to go to these healthcare providers, using the term loosely. That she she went to these people. She had medication after medication after medication. She was obviously acting. I suggest to the court in a in a in a state that was observed by witnesses that in fact that she was suffering from mental disease, a defect, and then ultimately this horrific incident." 03:44 Assistant District Attorney Shanan Buckingham: "The court says that a motion for required finding of not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility may only be brought at the close of all of the evidence, not at the close of the Commonwealth's case." "In this case, as you're aware, defense plans on presenting experts who testify that the defendant was not criminally responsible, and then the Commonwealth will have a rebuttal case with their own experts. So I think the time and place for this, for the motion, would be at the close of all of the evidence, and not now." 04:09 Judge "I'm going to deny the defendant's motion." The case refered to is In Commonwealth v. Manuel Brunette-Silveira (No. 24-P-1351, May 12, 2026), in which the Massachusetts Appeals Court overturned a defendant's assault and battery convictions on public officers, ruling that the Commonwealth failed to disprove the defendant's lack of criminal responsibility due to insanity. Read more here: https://law.justia.com/cases/massachusetts/court-of-appeals/2026/24-p-1351.html