Crime
Judge William Sullivan denied a defense request to move Clancy’s trial to Suffolk County in light of the intense media coverage.
Lindsay Clancy appeared via Zoom from Tewksbury Hospital for a hearing last month in Plymouth Superior Court in Brockton. Clancy has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder for the slayings of her three young children. Plymouth Superior Court
November 18, 2025 | 12:33 PM
3 minutes to read
Lindsay Clancy, the Duxbury mother accused of strangling her three children to death, will now be heading to trial in July 2026 after a Plymouth Superior Court judge granted another delay in her murder case.
Describing the pretrial process as “discovery-intensive,” defense attorney Kevin Reddington noted Clancy’s case involves several expert witnesses who will need to evaluate the 35-year-old and prepare reports of their findings.
“We’ve just got an awful lot of stuff we have to accomplish,” he told Judge William Sullivan.
Clancy’s trial had been scheduled to begin in February after several delays.
Speaking in court Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague agreed with Reddington’s request for another delay and said prosecutors could be ready to try the case by mid-to-late June. Sullivan, however, expressed concern about a June trial spilling into summer vacation season.
“What I don’t want to do is have a date, and we get ready for trial, and then somebody says, ‘I’m going to Truro,’ or ‘I’m going to the Finger Lakes,’ or ‘I’m on vacation,’” he said.
“It’s always a concern in the summer,” Sprague acknowledged, adding that jury selection will likely take some time.
“I don’t take vacations, so it’s fine by me,” Reddington cracked.
After conferring with the attorneys, Sullivan set a new July 20 start date.
The next status conference in the case will be held Jan. 27, a little more than three years after Clancy allegedly strangled her children at home in Duxbury before severely injuring herself in a suicide attempt on Jan. 24, 2023. She has pleaded not guilty to three counts each of murder and strangulation in the deaths of 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan Clancy.
While prosecutors have characterized Clancy as cold and calculating, Reddington has argued the young mother was heavily medicated and battling postpartum mental illness following the birth of her third child. He’s said Clancy plans to pursue an insanity defense, arguing she can’t be held criminally responsible due to her mental state.
Reddington had also asked to move Clancy’s trial to Suffolk County in light of the intense media coverage surrounding her case, a motion Sullivan denied Tuesday.
“As I stand here now, I understand that it’s an uphill battle to get a court to change venue,” Reddington acknowledged, pointing to Brian Walshe’s recent failed attempt to have his Norfolk Superior Court murder trial moved to another county.
Reddington said his concern lay not with the jurors of Plymouth County, but the “overwhelming nature of the publicity.” He suggested Boston’s jury pool may have been exposed to less of the “hysterical publicity that has been involved with this case.”
Sprague pushed back, noting Clancy’s case has not generated protests, marches, or demonstrations, as other high-profile Massachusetts criminal cases recently have. Further, she argued, the reporting has largely been factual in describing each side’s view without giving opinions.
News articles about the case are equally available to residents of Suffolk County, Sprague pointed out, adding, “The entire commonwealth has been exposed to all this media.”
The lawyers also discussed the logistics of Clancy’s transportation to and from court dates, as she remains committed at the state-run Tewksbury Hospital and uses a wheelchair due to injuries sustained during her suicide attempt.
Reddington filed a motion seeking to have Clancy transferred via ambulance from Tewksbury, rather than a van from the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office. He described Clancy as mild-mannered and non-combative, disputing any notions that his client might face threats from members of the public who vilify her for her alleged actions.
Sprague argued against special conditions, saying Clancy should be treated the same as any other defendant, notwithstanding her wheelchair use and need for reasonable accommodations.
Sullivan said he will draft an order for Clancy’s transportation and confer with both sides.
Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between.
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