Lindsay Clancy's lawyer made a stunning argument Tuesday in the first hearing since her mistrial earlier this month.
At Clancy's murder trial that took place over the summer and ended in a mistrial Sept. 4 with a deadlocked jury, her attorney Kevin Reddington did not dispute that his client strangled her three young children to death in 2023.
'Where is the admission? Where does she say that she did this?'
In fact, the Associated Press reported at the time that "both sides agree she killed her children," but Clancy's defense argued that she wasn't criminally responsible for their deaths because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis.
However, Reddington argued Tuesday that there wasn’t enough evidence to prove that Clancy, now 36, killed her three children, the AP said.
“This entire case is based on speculation,” Reddington said Tuesday, according to the outlet, which added that the lawyer tried to persuade Judge William Sullivan — the same judge who presided over the first trial — to acquit Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse.
More from the AP:
Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham called Reddington's argument “laughable,” the AP reported, as she pointed out evidence presented during the original trial. In court papers filed Monday, prosecutors recapped their arguments that there was enough evidence to convict Clancy, the outlet noted.
The prosecution stated that Clancy knew her actions were wrong when she used exercise bands to strangle 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan Clancy, the AP said. The prosecution also maintained that Clancy schemed to get her husband out of the house that evening by sending him to pick up medicine for one of their children and dinner for the family, the outlet added.
Judge William Sullivan didn’t immediately decide, the AP said, and no trial date was set.
However, Sullivan concluded Tuesday's hearing by saying attorneys should be prepared on Nov. 2 for picking a new trial date.
RELATED: Lindsay Clancy murder trial hits huge speed bump (UPDATE)
Prosecutors haven't yet decided if they will retry Clancy, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said after the hearing, the outlet said.
They could choose to retry her on first-degree murder charges or seek to try her only on lesser charges, including second-degree murder or manslaughter — or drop the case entirely, the AP reported.
“We are going to do what we can for the children,” Cruz told reporters outside court, the outlet said. “That is what this case is about.”
Clancy’s attorneys also have asked the judge to dismiss the criminal case, the AP said, adding that they have argued that the judge should have dismissed one juror who favored a murder conviction after the jury foreperson complained that he refused to listen to the law on reasonable doubt. The jury was split 11 to 1 in Clancy's favor, the outlet said.
The holdout juror, Michael Desronvil, has said through his lawyer that he had no doubts about his stance, the AP said.
Desronvil told Fox News’ “Hannity” in a brief video statement Monday that “the whole focus has been on me, but we want to reel everything back and put the focus on the three angels,” meaning the children, the outlet noted.
About a dozen Clancy supporters, most dressed in pink, stood outside court Tuesday waiting for her to arrive, the AP said.
Clancy remains charged with murder and is expected to stay at a psychiatric hospital until her case is resolved, the outlet said, adding that she could have been sentenced to life in prison if convicted of murder — but if acquitted, the judge could have ordered her confined to a mental health facility.
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[H/T Blaze Media]
