By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-09-10 20:31:43 | Updated at 2026-09-10 21:39:57
1 hour ago
Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer insisted the psychiatric defense used at the killer mom’s triple murder trial won’t inspire copycats — as two eerily similar cases continue to catch the public’s attention.
Defense attorney Kevin Reddington batted down the idea that the 36-year-old Duxbury, Massachusetts, mom’s case would prompt others to fake psychiatric problems to get away with slaying their children.
“How would they want to copycat or use it as an excuse, especially if there is a component of medical history?” Reddington said during an interview with Fox News. “I mean look at the history that Lindsay had in this case. What are they going to go out and kill their children just because of Lindsay Clancy? No, not at all.”
During jury deliberations, a Lindsay Clancy-obsessed Illinois woman Corie Walsh, was arrested after allegedly hanging her 2-year-old son before trying to take her own life on Sept. 1. And in April, Massachusetts mom Janette MacAusland, was arrested for allegedly strangling her two kids, ages 6 and 7, before her own suicide attempt.
Reddington, 75, also rejected the notion that more criminal defense lawyers would use the insanity defense in murder cases, given his near win.
“I think that most defense attorneys that try murder cases are more than capable of determining what their strategies will be. I don’t think they are going to take a page out of my book,” Reddington told the outlet.
A judge declared a mistrial on Friday in the gripping murder case against Clancy where Reddington asked jurors to find his client — a former labor and delivery nurse — not guilty by reason of insanity based on the claim she was experiencing severe postpartum psychosis and heard a voice forcing her to strangle her three kids.
After the slayings, Clancy tried to kill herself by slashing her wrists and neck, downing prescription pills and throwing herself from her second-floor window. She is now wheelchair bound after injuring her spine in the fall.
Recent interviews revealed that 11 of the 12 jurors were prepared to find Clancy not criminally responsible but one holdout male juror couldn’t get past the horrific nature of the crimes, despite allegedly expressing doubt about her guilt, they claimed.
Walsh’s lawyer, Robert Kerr, said earlier this week that the 40-year-old mother-of-four was “severely mentally ill” and was diagnosed with “grief psychotic disorder” at the hospital after allegedly killing son Barrett.
However, Kerr slammed claims that Walsh was a Clancy “copycat” as “sickening.”
Prosecutors allege Walsh had been texting with friends about the Clancy case before the horrifying incident.
MacAusland, a 49-year-old acupuncturist from Wellesley, allegedly killed Kai, 7, and Ella, 6, on April 24, 2026 before showing up to her aunt’s home in Vermont with a bloodied gash on her neck.
Her lawyer, Joseph Krowski Jr., insisted his client is “not Lindsay Clancy 2.0,” according to the Boston Globe.
“There’s been a discussion, a discourse opened up in this country about whether or not we want to criminalize mental illness,” he reportedly said Thursday.
“I’m hoping that this district attorney’s office, and the new district attorney-elect, takes a look at this, and takes a different approach in how we prosecute women suffering from profound mental health problems.”
Clancy will return to court for a hearing in her case on Sept. 29, where prosecutors are likely to announce whether they plan to retry her case, if not before.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
