Among the motions denied was one to dismiss charges in the deaths of Clancy’s 3 kids
Three significant motions filed in connection with the case against Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three children, were denied on Monday by a superior court judge.
Judge William Sullivan of the Plymouth Superior Court heard arguments on all three of the motions last week. He issued his rulings on Monday:
- Sullivan denied without prejudice the prosecution’s motion for a gag order, which would have blocked attorneys from speaking to the press about the case. He allowed the prosecution to renew the request “if circumstances change and it can demonstrate that a prior restraint is necessary.”
- Sullivan denied a defense motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that retrying Clancy would constitute double jeopardy. He rejected the defense’s argument that the lone holdout on the jury should have been replaced before a mistrial was declared.
- Sullivan also denied the defense request for an inquiry into the holdout juror, including allegations of lying on his questionnaire and using a cellphone while in the jury room. “Because Clancy has failed to demonstrate that the requested evidence is relevant and material to her defense at any retrial of the murder indictment, the Court declines to exercise its discretion to order production,” Sullivan wrote. “Nor can the Court perceive any valid justification for examining Juror Doe under oath at this point in the proceedings.”
Clancy, 36, was on trial over the summer for the deaths of 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan at their Duxbury home on Jan. 24, 2023. Her defense argued she was not criminally responsible for murder because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings.
The jury was ultimately deadlocked, with a reported 11-1 split in favor of acquittal after seven days of deliberations. A mistrial was declared.
Last week, when Sullivan asked the prosecutors whether they were planning to pursue another trial, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague replied, “We’re not at that point yet.”
Defense attorney Kevin Reddington, however, was more direct.
“I want a trial, and I want it with you, and I want it this spring,” he told the judge.
Clancy’s case is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 16, and District Attorney Tim Cruz said he would “be talking more” about the path forward after that hearing.
