Mother who killed her three young children then paralyzed herself in botched suicide attempt will ‘very likely kill herself’ during murder trial, lawyer says
The Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three children and left paralyzed after a failed suicide attempt could try to take her own life again, her lawyer warned.
Lindsay Clancy, 35, should be considered a ‘danger to herself,’ according to her defense attorney Kevin Reddington.
Clancy is accused of strangling her three children – Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight–month–old Callan – in January 2023.
After the alleged murders, she tried to kill herself by jumping from a second–story window, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down.
Reddington told Plymouth County Superior Court on Wednesday that Clancy could attempt suicide again.
‘If this woman kills herself during this trial, which there is a very real probability that could happen, it’s on somebody, and it’s not on me,’ Reddington said, per Boston25News.
Clancy was ‘not a danger to others, but she’s surely a danger to herself,’ he added.
Lindsay Clancy, 35, allegedly strangled her three children – Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight–month–old Callan – to death in January 2023
Clancy allegedly strangled her three children using exercise bands in the basement of her $750,000 Duxbury home on January 24, 2023.
She has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder, three counts of strangulation and three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
The mom–of–three’s murder trial is scheduled to begin July 20, although Reddington raised concerns about her ‘significant suicidal ideation.’
Clancy requires around–the–clock supervision and, according to her lawyer, will need an ambulance to and from court once her trial begins.
‘This case is going to be a logistical nightmare,’ Reddington said.
He added: ‘We have a person who is paralyzed, will be paralyzed for the rest of her life, and has lost any sensation and any motor control whatsoever.’
Clancy, who is now in a wheelchair, ‘is not able to even use a handicap bathroom stall.’
She has been hospitalized at Tewksbury State Hospital, a mental health facility, since being arrested.
The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office argued that Clancy could get to court using a wheelchair–accessible van.
Reddington shot back that she needed extra supplies and a nurse – ‘not just some random person from the sheriff’s department that’s going to sit in a jump seat in the sheriff’s van.’
On Wednesday, the sheriff’s office said they would provide an ambulance, if needed. However, it would cost significantly more money.
‘It’s a much bigger ask,’ Jessica Kenny, the sheriff’s office general counsel, said. ‘We would have to contract with a private ambulance company to provide that because we do not have an ambulance and Tewksbury does not have an ambulance.’
She added that scheduling the emergency vehicle would be challenging due to the ‘nature of what ambulances are.’
Reddington eventually agreed that a van capable of carrying Clancy’s wheelchair was ‘sufficient.’
He said: ‘I know that Tewksbury has done that on a number of occasions with her, bringing her to various hospitals all over the place for various testing, and they use a van, so I may have misspoken in the sense of an ambulance.’
Clancy tried to kill herself by jumping from the second–story window of her home, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. Her lawyer said she will need transportation to and from court
The request has not been ruled on yet by Superior Court Judge William F. Sullivan.
‘I certainly think that that may be something that the defendant may want to go forward on,’ he told the court. ‘So, I’m not gonna deny that motion at this time.’
Clancy plans on pursuing an insanity defense, arguing that she suffered from postpartum depression at the time of the alleged murders.
Prosecutors countered that Clancy had been evaluated by mental health professionals and not diagnosed with that.
Clancy allegedly used her cellphone to research ways to kill in the days before her children died.
After their deaths, she allegedly also cut her wrists and neck before the attempt to kill herself by jumping out of the second floor.
Her husband Patrick Clancy was the first to find both his wife and the dead children, according to prosecutors.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Reddington, Clancy’s lawyer, for further comment.