PLYMOUTH, MASS. (WHDH) - Lindsay Clancy, the 35-year-old Duxbury mother arrested and indicted for murdering her three young children in January 2023, appeared in court in person for the first time Friday. Her defense team is asking the judge to split her trial into two parts.
Prosecutors argue Clancy deliberately strangled her three children, who were 8-months-old, 3-years-old, and 5-years-old at the time, with exercise bands. The children’s father found them in the basement after he had gone to pick up a prescription and dinner. Clancy also attempted to stab herself, and jumped out a window of her home. She survived, but is paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair.
Her defense claims she was over-medicated and suffered from severe postpartum depression at the time.
Clancy is charged with three counts of murder and two counts of strangulation. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges against her.
She was transported to Plymouth Superior Court from Tewksbury State Hospital Friday for what marked her first time facing a judge in person instead of over Zoom.
Clancy’s Defense Attorney Kevin Reddington has asked the judge to split her trial into two parts, which is legally called a bifurcation. The motion states, “…the first phase would focus on whether the government has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Clancy is guilty…” and the second phase would determine whether she was insane at the time of the crime.
The commonwealth would need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Clancy was not suffering from a mental disease or defect when she murdered her children.
“We are very protective of her and we don’t want her to be stressed,” said Reddington. “I know it’s been a very emotionally draining thing and she’s nervous and scared, and I want her to gradually acclimate.”
Clancy’s parents have been traveling from Connecticut to support her.
“We love our daughter very much, and we’re here to support her in any way we possibly can,” Mike Musgrove, Clancy’s father, said outside court.
“She’s a loving mother, she always has been,” said Paula Musgrove, Clancy’s mother.
The judge is considering the bifurcation motion, and the next hearing will be March 2.
Clancy’s trial was pushed back three times, but it is now set to begin on July 20.
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