Story perspectives

Judge to Hear Motions After Clancy Mistrial

By Drooid · Sep 29, 2026, 2:25 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

U.S. mother Lindsay Clancy returns to Plymouth Superior Court after a mistrial.
Judge William Sullivan will hear motions to dismiss the case.
Sullivan will also probe juror Michael Desronvil.
Defense claims the mistrial breaches double jeopardy and seeks a not-guilty finding.
Clancy admitted strangling children Cora (5), Dawson (3) and infant Callan on Jan. 24, 2023, citing postpartum psychosis.

History

Historical Context

After Andrea Yates drowned her five children in June 2001 and was later found not guilty by reason of insanity in July 2006, courts tightened standards for psychiatric testimony. That precedent guided the 2023 murders of her three children by Lindsay Clancy, whose 2026 Plymouth Superior Court retrial—overseen by Judge William Sullivan—faces the same scrutiny of postpartum-psychosis defenses.

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Story summary

U.S. mother Lindsay Clancy returns to Plymouth Superior Court after a mistrial.
Judge William Sullivan will hear motions to dismiss the case.
Sullivan will also probe juror Michael Desronvil.
Defense claims the mistrial breaches double jeopardy and seeks a not-guilty finding.
Clancy admitted strangling children Cora (5), Dawson (3) and infant Callan on Jan. 24, 2023, citing postpartum psychosis.

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