Duxbury, MA — In a tragic case that has gripped Massachusetts, Lindsay Clancy, a mother accused of the murder of her three young children, is set to pursue an insanity defense, according to court filings. The incident occurred on January 24, 2023, inside the family home.
Legal documents reveal that Clancy’s defense team, led by attorney Kevin Reddington, submitted a notice asserting her lack of criminal responsibility due to mental illness. This legal move, filed in Plymouth Superior Court, indicates that expert witness testimony will support her mental condition at the time of the crime.
The catastrophic event led to Clancy’s hospitalization after she purportedly jumped from a second-story window, resulting in paralysis from the waist down. She faces charges of three counts of murder and three counts of strangulation or suffocation.
In her initial court appearance, Clancy pleaded not guilty to the accusations. As of last Wednesday’s court date, her trial is scheduled to begin on December 1, 2025. An earlier request from the prosecution for a trial in September 2025 was discussed, but ultimately a later date was set.
Prosecutors allege that the killings were premeditated, accusing Clancy of using exercise bands to strangle her five-year-old daughter, Cora, and her sons, three-year-old Dawson and eight-month-old Callan. Contrarily, her defense attributes her actions to a psychotic break. During a February hearing, reports suggested that the severity of her mental health worsened after giving birth to her youngest child and being treated with multiple psychiatric drugs.
Those close to the case noted that Clancy had been prescribed a combination of up to 13 different medications, described by Reddington at one point as a “toxic soup.” Reddington has argued that these medications led to severe side effects, including suicidal and homicidal thoughts.
Before the tragic killings, Clancy had even checked herself into a psychiatric facility, raising alarms about her treatment’s impacts, though she was discharged days later without further action from the facility.
On the day of the murders, the children’s father, Patrick Clancy, came home to discover a harrowing scene. He found his wife injured in the backyard and, rushing inside, discovered their children in the basement, lifeless with exercise bands around their necks, according to prosecutors.
The distressing details of this case paint a complex picture of mental health and criminal responsibility, a subject that will likely be thoroughly examined as the trial unfolds over the coming years.
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