Lindsay Clancy appeared in court Thursday in advance of her murder trial, as a judge said prosecutors could show jurors autopsy photos of her three slain children.
Clancy, 35, allegedly strangled her three children to death in her Duxbury home in 2023. Her trial is scheduled to begin July 20 in Plymouth Superior Court.
On Thursday, Judge William F. Sullivan considered two requests from prosecutors — that they be allowed to show jurors autopsy photos of the slain children and play audio for the jury of her husband, Patrick Clancy, speaking to 911 dispatchers as he discovered the bodies of the children in the basement.
Sullivan granted the motion regarding the autopsy images, “subject to the specific photographs,” and took the other motion under advisement.
Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse, has pleaded not guilty to three counts each of murder and strangulation or suffocation for allegedly killing her children, Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months, with exercise bands on Jan. 24, 2023, after sending her husband, Patrick, to get takeout for the family.
Authorities say she cut her wrists and neck after allegedly killing her children and leapt from a second-story window in a failed attempt to end her own life. Clancy is paralyzed from the waist down and remains held at Tewksbury Hospital, where she continues to receive treatment.
On Thursday, Clancy sat next to her lawyer, Kevin J. Reddington, in her wheelchair, looking straight ahead and showing no sign of outward emotion.
Reddington, has said he’ll assert what’s commonly known as an insanity defense at trial.
Should jurors acquit Clancy under that scenario, she would not go free but would instead be sent to a state psychiatric hospital where she’d come up for periodic reviews to determine whether she can safely live in the community.
Reddington has said Clancy was overmedicated on 13 different drugs as she contended with postpartum issues, a “horrific” regimen that led to “homicidal ideation, suicidal ideation.”
During the hearing, prosecutor Jennifer Sprague laid out what jurors would hear on the 911 call from Patrick Clancy.
“Mr. Clancy calls 911 when he finds the defendant in the backyard on the ground,” Sprague said, adding that dispatch is heard “asking about her injuries. He’s saying that she has cuts on her wrists and neck, they’re telling him to apply pressure. He’s telling them, ‘they’re not bleeding, I don’t need to do that.’”
In court papers, prosecutors have said that Patrick Clancy later screamed, “‘She killed the kids!’” when he discovered the children in the cellar.
Sullivan said that he’ll listen to the call to see if “all of it’s admissible” or if portions are.
Regarding the autopsy photos, he said he’ll “allow that at this point, subject to the specific photographs.”
He said there will likely be a sidebar discussion at trial on which photos to admit.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for July 13.
Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report. This story will be updated.
Travis Andersen can be reached at [email protected].
