A judge has rejected Lindsay Clancy’s not-guilty motion over the 2023 deaths of her three children, ruling that prosecutors presented enough evidence for the case to be decided by a jury.
Judge William Sullivan issued the decision on Thursday, following a mistrial last month after jurors failed to reach a verdict. Kevin Reddington, Clancy’s lawyer, had renewed the request after the mistrial was declared.
The motion, known as a Rule 25 motion for a required finding of not guilty, was also made at the end of the prosecution’s case and again when the defence concluded its evidence. It was denied on each occasion.
Reddington argued that the investigation had not established Clancy was the person who strangled the children. He also said prosecutors had not proved that she understood the wrongfulness of her actions or was not suffering from mental illness at the time.
Judge Sullivan rejected the argument over the identity of the perpetrator, noting that Clancy was the only person at home when the children were killed. GPS data and surveillance footage showed her then-husband and the children’s father, Patrick Clancy, was away from the house.
The judge said the question of Clancy’s mental state was one for a jury, given the conflicting evidence provided by psychological experts.
“The Court finds that the evidence, when viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth and with the reasonable inferences permitted to be drawn, was sufficient to have satisfied any rational trier of fact beyond a reasonable doubt as to the essential element of the defendant’s criminal responsibility,” Judge Sullivan wrote.
Under the Rule 25 procedure, the evidence must be considered in the light most favourable to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Legal experts had described the motion as difficult to win.
Reddington has also asked the court to investigate the conduct of the lone holdout juror during deliberations. The defence is separately seeking dismissal of the case on double-jeopardy grounds before any possible retrial.
The next hearing is scheduled for November 2.
