FILE - Lindsay Clancy, center, speaks with her lawyer Kevin Reddington during proceedings in her murder trial, Aug. 20, 2026, in Plymouth, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds, Pool, File)

BOSTON - The judge in the Lindsay Clancy murder case on Thursday refused to declare her not guilty, turning down a defense motion that had argued there wasn't enough evidence to prove she was responsible for killing her three children.

During Clancy's first trial, which ended Sept. 4 with a deadlocked jury, her defense argued that she was not criminally responsible because of a mental disease, specifically a rare condition called postpartum psychosis. As such, the defense didn't dispute that the 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse carried out the killings at her family's Massachusetts home in 2023.


However, in a hearing earlier this week, Clancy's attorney Kevin Reddington tried to persuade the judge that prosecutors had not offered any proof that Clancy did it. Prosecutors argued there was plenty of evidence, calling Reddington's claim  laughable. 

___

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

___

In his ruling, Judge William Sullivan noted that, for the purposes of his decision, he was required to analyze the evidence in the light most favorable to prosecutors - and that it was up to the jury, not the judge, to decide whether to believe expert witnesses for the defense who testified that Clancy was not responsible for her actions because of mental illness.

 There was evidence introduced, both physical and circumstantial, that would permit a rational trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt the elements of the charge of murder,  Sullivan wrote.

At the first trial, prosecutors acknowledged that Clancy had mental health problems that included months of treatment and a stay in a psychiatric hospital, but argued that she knew what she was doing when she strangled the children - the youngest just 8 months old - then tried to 

#click2houston   #crimewatchhouston