Lindsay Clancy faces charges over the deaths of three children as defense casts doubt on evidence

Lindsay Clancy’s attorney has changed the defense’s position in the case, arguing that there is insufficient evidence linking his client to the deaths of her three children. He also criticized the way police conducted the investigation.

During Tuesday’s hearing, the attorney described the DNA and fingerprint evidence as “woefully insufficient.” He said the shortcomings were so significant that the police investigation could not be considered a genuine investigation.

“Where is the evidence that she did this?” he asked in the courtroom.

Clancy, 36, a former nurse, is accused of killing her three children on January 24, 2023, in the basement of the family’s home in Massachusetts: five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson, and eight-month-old Callan. She faces three charges of first-degree murder.

The attorney’s new approach comes after a nearly six-week trial that ended without a final verdict.

During the earlier phase of the trial, the defense had not disputed that Clancy killed the children. Its main argument was that she should not be held criminally responsible because of her severe mental state at the time.

According to that version, Clancy had experienced severe postpartum psychosis and was suffering from hallucinations. She had said that she heard a voice ordering her to kill the children and then herself.

The attorney explained that the court’s decision not to conduct the trial in two parts had placed the defense in a difficult position. To support the claim that Clancy was not criminally responsible because of her mental state, the defense had to acknowledge that she had committed the killings.

“We are now faced with a dilemma in which we have to concede guilt in order to raise the issues of criminal responsibility,” he said.

Prosecutors have challenged the defense’s new line of argument, saying that extensive evidence of the killings was presented during the trial. They said the claim that there was a lack of evidence contradicted the material presented during the proceedings.

The trial ended in a deadlock, and no decision has yet been made on whether prosecutors will seek a retrial. Before that, the court is also expected to consider Clancy’s requests to have the charges dismissed.

At the end of the hearing, the defense announced that it would not be prepared for a second trial before June. The case is expected to return to court on November 2, when the next procedural steps may be determined.