In a chilling case that has gripped the nation, Lindsay Clancy, a mother accused of murdering her three young children before an attempted suicide, is now seeking an ambulance for transportation to her murder trial. The 35-year-old, who survived a second-story leap that left her paralyzed, made this unusual request during a recent court hearing.
According to a report by Law & Crime, Clancy’s defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, argued for the necessity of an ambulance, stating her current reliance on a wheelchair. The tragic events leading to this trial unfolded in January 2023, when Clancy allegedly ended the lives of her children—Cora, five; Dawson, three; and baby Callan, just eight months old—before attempting to take her own life.
The prosecution, however, contends that Clancy is capable of managing the trip to court without such assistance. They referenced a report from a health services administrator, which suggested that she could attend the proceedings under her own power.
Reddington, standing firm for his client, challenged this assertion, insisting that her physical condition necessitates the accommodation. As the legal battle continues, the court must now deliberate on how best to proceed with these logistical challenges amid the gravity of the charges Clancy faces.
The state had argued that Clancy could look after herself, citing a report from a health services administrator that said she could get to court on her own.
However, her lawyer disputed that report.
‘How the hell does she come up with telling you that she’s able to ambulate, and self-transfer, and provide self-care in all aspects of the day trip like this to the courthouse when you have this letter that tells you the condition that this woman is in?’ Reddington asked.
‘She is not able to even use a handicap bathroom stall.’
Reddington said Clancy would require extra supplies and need a nurse to provide care, ‘not just some random person from the sheriff’s department that’s going to sit in a jump seat in the sheriff’s van,’ he told the court.
The mom-of-three was paralyzed after jumping from a two-story window following the murder of her three children – Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan – in January 2023
Lindsay Clancy, 35, (pictured in court on Wednesday) requested the use of an emergency vehicle to get to and from court during a Wednesday hearing as she is wheelchair after being paralyzed
Clancy has been hospitalized at Tewksbury State Hospital, a mental health facility, since her arrest.
On Wednesday, the sheriff’s office said they would provide an ambulance, if needed, but it would complicate coordination, as it would have to be through a private company and would cost significantly more.
‘It’s a much bigger ask,’ the Sheriff’s Office General Counsel Jessica Kenny said. ‘We would have to contract with a private ambulance company to provide that because we do not have an ambulance and Tewksbury does not have an ambulance.
‘So there would be certainly a cost associated with that.’
She went on to say that it would be hard to schedule the ambulance due to the ‘nature of what ambulances are.’
Reddington later rolled back on the need for a full-equipped ambulance, clarifying that a van with the ability to transport her wheelchair would be ‘sufficient.’
‘I know that Tewksbury has done that on a number of occasions with her, bringing her to various hospitals all over the place for various testing, and they use a van, so I may have misspoken in the sense of an ambulance.’
Superior Court Judge William F. Sullivan decided not to rule on the motion to wait on more information.
The court did not decide on whether or not she would get an ambulance transfer, as there was conflicting information regarding her condition
Her husband found her after she killed their three children
Clancy has been hospitalized at Tewksbury State Hospital, a mental health facility, since her arrest. Her lawyer is expected to argue insanity and that she had post-partum depression after the birth of her last baby
‘I certainly think that that may be something that the defendant may want to go forward on. So, I’m not gonna deny that motion at this time,’ he said in court.
The court will revisit the ambulance issue on January 27. Clancy’s trial is expected to start on July 20.
Clancy allegedly strangled her children in the basement of her $750,000 Duxbury home in 2023.
Her husband returned home to find Clancy with slashes to her neck and wrists in an effort to take her own life.
Reddington will reportedly pursue an insanity defense for Clancy, arguing she was suffering from postpartum depression at the time she allegedly strangled the children.
‘This is not a situation that was planned by any means,’ he previously said. ‘This was a situation that was clearly the product of mental illness.’
But the prosecution countered that Clancy had been evaluated by mental health professionals before and was told she did not have post-partum depression.
They claimed Clancy had been researching ways to kill on her cellphone in the days leading up to the murders, and have suggested her suicide attempt was staged.
Clancy has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder, three counts of strangulation and three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
