For the first time since prosecutors say she strangled her three children in the basement of her Duxbury, Massachusetts home in January 2023, Lindsay Clancy appeared in a Plymouth courtroom on Friday, February, 20, 2026. Clancy, who uses a wheelchair, is paralyzed from the sternum down due to injuries she suffered jumping from a second-story window after her children’s deaths. Her condition created logistical challenges for her transport from Tewksbury State Hospital to Plymouth, leading to several court hearings. On Friday, a court officer pushed Clancy, who wore a black sweater and a cross necklace, into the courtroom, parking her next to her defense lawyer.
She did not appear to be restrained, unlike other defendants charged with murder, who are typically handcuffed and shackled when they are brought into court. During the brief hearing, Clancy spoke aloud only to address the presiding judge. She spoke to her lawyer, Kevin Reddington, periodically during the hearing.
Reddington, who had offered criticisms of the Plymouth County sheriff’s office during hearings on the transportation issues, changed his tune on Friday.
“I would actually, strangely enough, like to commend the sheriff’s department and our staff and Tewksbury that have melded together incredibly and done just a marvelous job of transportation and supplies and taking care of our ancillary issues,” he said, adding it was helpful for Clancy to appear in person as well.
“Anytime I have a case, I want the client to be immersed in the case and know what’s going on,” Reddington told reporters after the hearing.
Ahead of the hearing, Reddington filed three motions, which were not heard on Friday. He asked to split Clancy’s trial into two phases, to videotape the prosecution expert’s evaluation of her, and to get access to juror information before the first trial day.
If Reddington has his way, the first phase of Clancy’s trial would focus on whether prosecutors have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that she is guilty of the crimes she is charged with, and to what degree. The second phase would focus on whether prosecutors can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Clancy “was not suffering from a mental disease or defect to the extent she was unable to appreciate the criminality of her conduct or conform her conduct to the requirements of the law.”
In a case like Clancy’s, where the defense centers on whether a person’s mental illness prevented them from understanding they were committing a crime, prosecutors must prove both elements to get a conviction.
“It makes sense, if you think about it,” Reddington told reporters after the hearing. “You have the first part of the trial, the allegations and the evidence on the alleged crime. Then … the rest of the trial would be on the issue of lack of criminal responsibility.”
A hearing was scheduled for March 2, 2026, to address the three pending motions. Reddington, after speaking to Clancy, asked that she be transported in person for the hearing.
Clancy’s parents, Mike and Paula Musgrove, attended the hearing Friday afternoon, telling reporters they were continuing to support their daughter. “She’s a loving mother, always has been,” Paula Musgrove said. She quickly became overcome by emotion as she spoke. “We love our daughter very much, and we’re here just to support her any way we possibly can,” said Mike Musgrove.
Clancy’s criminal trial is scheduled to begin on July 20, 2026.
In recent weeks, both Clancy and her husband, Patrick, have filed medical malpractice lawsuits against people who treated her for postpartum depression and anxiety following the birth of their third child. They claim that Clancy’s medical providers over-medicated her and failed to adequately treat her when she reported worsening symptoms.
-by Charlie McKenna
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