The judge for the murder trial of Duxbury mother Lindsay Clancy has ordered that autopsy photos of the three children and the 911 call from Patrick Clancy will be for courtroom presentation only and not published by the media.
“For the reasons set forth in the Father’s Request and the impounded supporting materials, the Court finds that any such access, recording, display, reproduction, distribution, or other dissemination by the media ‘will create a substantial likelihood of harm’ or ‘other harmful consequences’ to the father and the family of Cora Clancy, Dawson Clancy, and Callan Clancy,” Plymouth Superior Court Judge William Sullivan wrote in his Friday morning order, quoting allowances in a Supreme Judicial Court rule on media access to materials.
Sullivan’s order will “apply with the same scope, force, and effect to any individuals or members of the public,” he adds. The order is not intended to affect the trial in any way.
“Specifically, nothing in this order shall limit or restrict either the Commonwealth or Defendant from introducing, presenting or utilizing the aforementioned items of evidence at the trial of this matter,” Sullivan writes. “Members of the public present in the courtroom are permitted to listen to and observe the evidence as presented during the course of the trial.”
The murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, 36, is scheduled to begin on Monday.
She is charged with the murder of her three children, Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months. Prosecutors say that she sent her husband Patrick Clancy out to pick up dinner and children’s medicine from a drugstore in Plymouth and then strangled her three children with exercise bands in the basement of the family home.
Patrick Clancy found his wife sprawled on the driveway after she had purportedly jumped from their bedroom window on the second floor and called 911. As first responders arrived to tend to Lindsay Clancy, Patrick Clancy discovered his children in the basement, according to previous court hearings and filings.
Lindsay Clancy’s attorney Kevin Reddington has repeatedly said he does not contest the events of Jan. 24, 2023, and is instead mounting a psychiatric defense. He says that his client was suffering from postpartum psychosis and was on an unbalanced medley of medications that clouded her mind.
Patrick Clancy’s attorney David Meier argued Thursday that the 911 call and any photographs and videos of the children, whether before or after their deaths, be limited to courtroom appearances and not be disseminated in the media. Neither Reddington or prosecutor Jennifer Sprague challenged the request.
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