'This Would Be a Retrial,' a Prosecutor Told the Clancy Judge. Which Charge, She Said, Is Not Decided, and the District Attorney Is Not Saying Until Nov. 16

A Plymouth County prosecutor told the judge in Lindsay Clancy's murder case on Monday that the case 'would be a retrial,' but said prosecutors have not decided what charge Clancy would face, according to reporting from the hearing by South Coast 360, the BBC, CNN and The Associated Press.

Near the end of the hearing in Plymouth Superior Court, Judge William Sullivan asked whether the Commonwealth had decided how it would proceed. 'This would be a retrial,' Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague said. What that trial would look like, she said, depends on his rulings on the motions argued Monday. 'We're not at that point yet,' she said, South Coast 360 reported.

The BBC described Sprague's statement as prosecutors' clearest indication yet that they plan to retry Clancy, but noted that District Attorney Timothy Cruz had not confirmed a retrial. 'I'll be talking more on November 16,' Cruz said outside court, according to CNN's report as published by Courtroom Insider.

<h3>Three motions under advisement</h3>

Sullivan took all three motions argued Monday under advisement, South Coast 360 reported: a defense motion to dismiss the indictments on double jeopardy grounds; a defense motion to preserve records and question the holdout juror; and a prosecution request to limit what the lawyers may say about the case outside court.

The double jeopardy motion rests on the mistrial. If Sullivan finds the mistrial was not a 'manifest necessity,' defense lawyer Weinberg, who joined the defense in September to handle the motion, told him, there can be no second trial, according to South Coast 360. If he denies the motion, the indictments stand.

The hearing grew heated at points. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington argued that the holdout juror had access to a phone during deliberations, a potential violation of Massachusetts court rules that bar jurors from using phones or accessing the internet, social media or news reports during deliberations, TMZ reported from its livestream of the hearing. That is the defense's allegation; the court has not made a finding on it.

<h3>The fight over timing</h3>

Reddington pressed for a trial date. 'Why do we not know if the next trial is going to be murder in the first degree or a lesser charge or no charge?' he said. 'I have to know, logistically, if it's going to be triple homicide first degree or something else,' according to South Coast 360.

He said the defense would not delay a trial by appealing the double jeopardy ruling, and pointing to the judge's approaching retirement, asked Sullivan to preside over a spring trial. 'I will not have this woman sit in jail for another year or two or three. I want a trial, and I want it with you, and I want it this spring,' he said, according to CNN. CNN also reported that Reddington accused the prosecution of '(spinning) everyone in the breeze.'

Prosecutors asked for a status date rather than a trial date, saying either side could appeal the rulings and that an appeal could take significant time. Sullivan continued the case to Monday, Nov. 16, at 10 a.m. for a status hearing and possible trial assignment, and said he would do his best to rule on the motion to dismiss by then. If it is denied, he said, a trial date would be picked that day.

'I think March is probably realistic,' Sullivan said. 'I don't want anybody reading the tea leaves into my schedule,' according to South Coast 360.

<h3>The first trial</h3>

Clancy's trial this summer ran seven weeks and ended Sept. 4, when Sullivan declared a mistrial after the jury, split 11 to 1 in favor of finding her not guilty by reason of insanity, could not reach the unanimous verdict the law requires, according to reporting by ABC News and the AP cited by South Coast 360. The AP reported the split as 11-1 in favor of acquittal.

Her lawyers argued she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and could not be held criminally responsible; prosecutors argued she was responsible for the 2023 deaths of her three children in Duxbury. Clancy did not testify. She has been held at Tewksbury Hospital since shortly after the deaths and remains partially paralyzed from a suicide attempt, CNN reported.

Clancy has not been convicted. The first trial produced no verdict, and the charges remain allegations.

<h3>The options</h3>

Prosecutors could retry Clancy on first-degree murder charges, bring lesser charges such as manslaughter, or drop the charges, CNN reported, and there is a remote possibility of a plea agreement. If prosecutors pursue second-degree murder, Clancy could choose between a jury and a trial before a judge alone, CBS News Boston reported, as cited by South Coast 360.

A conviction for murder could bring life in prison. If a jury finds she cannot be held criminally responsible, the court would likely begin the process of committing her to a psychiatric hospital, according to CNN.