Lindsay Clancy's defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, has characterized the police investigation into the deaths of her three children as "botched" and "no investigation," asserting that crucial questions remain unanswered.
During proceedings on Wednesday, Reddington asked the judge to permit the jury to consider jury instructions based on what he described as an inadequate police investigation. "They basically accepted the fact that she strangled the children and moved on," Reddington stated, adding that investigators did not test a window screen or a tumbler allegedly used to crush pills. He also raised concerns about unexplained blood spatter at the scene.
"I could go on and on about the horrific investigation," Reddington said. He argued that if the police investigation is found deficient, the jury has the right to consider that as grounds for acquittal. However, Judge William Sullivan denied the request to allow the jury to consider an inadequate police investigation as a basis for acquittal.
Clancy, 36, is on trial for the murders of her children, Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan, which occurred at their Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in 2023. She has admitted to strangling her children with exercise bands and then attempting suicide, an act that left her paralyzed and wheelchair-bound.
Clancy has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, citing postpartum psychosis, and is seeking commitment to a mental health facility rather than imprisonment. The defense is seeking an acquittal based on a lack of criminal responsibility.
Meanwhile, the prosecution concluded its case on Wednesday with testimony from forensic psychiatrist Dr. Gregory Saathoff. Saathoff testified that Clancy exhibited "preparatory planning" before the killings and maintained that she was criminally responsible for her actions. He cited several factors, including Clancy's denial of suicidal or homicidal thoughts to another doctor the day before the killings and her online searches for distances to a restaurant and a pharmacy, which he interpreted as planning errands. Saathoff also pointed to the availability of exercise bands and the nature of a phone call with her husband as indicators of planning.
During cross-examination, Reddington questioned the evidence Saathoff used. Saathoff acknowledged that information about Clancy saying "I tried to kill myself" came from her husband, Patrick, and admitted that Clancy made no audible words on the 911 call, only "guttural grunts." Reddington also highlighted inconsistencies in Clancy's accounts of when she began hearing voices, contrasting her statements to Saathoff with those made to another physician. The defense attorney pointed to crime scene photos showing food items as potentially undermining the psychiatrist's findings.
Closing arguments are scheduled for Thursday, after which the case will be sent to the jury for deliberation. The judge did state, however, that he will provide a manslaughter instruction, allowing the jury to consider lesser charges than murder.