Clancy Defense Reverses: Now Claims No Evidence of Killings

At her first hearing since the mistrial, Lindsay Clancy's lawyer argued there was not enough evidence she killed her three children, after admitting it at trial.

Lindsay Clancy's attorney Kevin Reddington argued at Tuesday's hearing in Plymouth Superior Court that there was not enough evidence to prove she killed her three children, calling the case 'based on speculation' and urging Judge William Sullivan to acquit her. Judge Sullivan did not rule immediately.

The Boston Globe reports that Clancy admitted the killings at trial while asserting an insanity defense because Judge Sullivan denied the defense's request for a bifurcated trial, creating what Reddington called a conundrum; he now argues there is a 'complete lack of evidence' and asked for a directed verdict of not guilty. He pointed to Clancy's condition when she was found badly injured and bleeding in the yard, and to her lack of memory of what happened when she woke in the hospital, asking 'Where is the admission?'

Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham called the argument 'laughable' at the hearing, and in court papers filed Monday prosecutors recapped evidence they say was sufficient to convict. The prosecution maintains Clancy knew her actions were wrong when she strangled the children with exercise bands after sending her husband out to pick up medicine and dinner. In filings, Buckingham noted the defense repeatedly stipulated at trial to physical evidence showing the killings occurred in the basement, according to the Globe.

The deadlocked jury split 11 to 1 in Clancy's favor. Clancy's attorneys are pressing the judge to dismiss the case on double jeopardy grounds, arguing the lone holdout refused to follow reasonable-doubt instructions. They also want a limited inquiry into the juror, Michael Desronvil, including his questionnaire answers, phone records during deliberations and a civil restraining order — details reported by The Boston Globe. Desronvil's lawyer says he filled out the questionnaire accurately and is 'the only one being targeted' because of his vote.

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz has not decided whether to retry Clancy on first-degree murder, reduce to second-degree murder or manslaughter, or drop the case. 'We are going to do what we can for the children,' Cruz said outside court. Clancy remains at a psychiatric hospital.

About a dozen Clancy supporters, most dressed in pink, waited outside court Tuesday, while Reddington pushed through a chaotic scrum of reporters outside Plymouth Superior Court, according to KATV. If convicted of murder Clancy could face life in prison; if acquitted, a judge could order her confined to a mental health facility.