Lindsay Clancy Returns to Court as Retrial Decision Looms in Postpartum Psychosis Case
PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — Lindsay Clancy is scheduled to return to court Tuesday for a hearing that could help determine whether she will face a second trial in the killings of her three children, months after a jury deadlocked in her murder case.
It will be Clancy’s first return to the courthouse since Sept. 4, when the judge declared a mistrial. The jury was split 11 to 1 in favor of acquitting her on murder charges.
Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse, never disputed that she killed the children. Her attorney argued she was suffering from postpartum psychosis, a rare condition that left her delusional and not responsible for her actions.
Prosecutors acknowledged that Clancy had serious mental health problems, including months of treatment and a stay in a psychiatric hospital, but argued she knew what she was doing when she strangled the children and then tried to kill herself in 2023.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.
Clancy’s attorneys have filed several motions that could be addressed Tuesday. They have asked the judge to take the unusual step of dismissing the criminal case rather than putting her on trial again. Among other arguments, they contend the judge should have removed the lone juror who favored a murder conviction after the jury foreperson complained that he was refusing to follow the law on reasonable doubt.
The defense has also asked the judge to investigate the juror’s truthfulness on a questionnaire that prospective jurors filled out before trial, his truthfulness when jurors were questioned by the judge a day before the trial ended, and whether he broke court rules by using a cellphone during deliberations.
Tuesday’s hearing could also reveal whether prosecutors will move to retry Clancy. They can choose to pursue first-degree murder charges again, seek only lesser charges such as second-degree murder or manslaughter, or drop the case entirely.
After the mistrial was declared, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz told reporters his goal had always been “getting justice for those three little babies.”
Prosecutors say Clancy acted deliberately when she strangled 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan Clancy with exercise bands. They say she arranged to get her husband out of the house on Jan. 24, 2023, by sending him to pick up medicine for one of their children and dinner for the family.
The livestreamed trial generated intense public interest and drew new attention to maternal mental health after childbirth. Clancy’s lawyer said she should not be held criminally responsible because of postpartum psychosis, a rare mental illness linked to the stress, sleep deprivation and hormonal changes that can follow childbirth.
The case has become a flashpoint in broader debates over how the legal system treats severe postpartum mental illness and whether courts can consistently distinguish between mental illness and criminal intent. Legal observers say the defense motions—especially those focused on the juror—could shape not only whether Clancy is retried but also how any second trial would unfold.
Clancy remains charged with murder and is expected to stay at a psychiatric hospital until her case is resolved. She has been paralyzed from the waist down since jumping from a second-story window after strangling her children.
If convicted of murder, Clancy could face life in prison. If acquitted, a judge could order her confined to a mental health facility.