Jury selection resumes in murder trial of woman accused of killing her three children

Jury selection continued Tuesday in the murder trial of a 35-year-old woman accused of killing her three children in their Duxbury home in 2023. The defendant, a former labor and delivery nurse, has admitted to the killings but pleaded not guilty, citing severe postpartum mental illness.

m. Tuesday in Plymouth Superior Court. Another 92 potential jurors appeared in court on Tuesday after five were seated Monday from a pool of 89.

proceedings Judge William F.

Sullivan is seeking 18 jurors, including six alternates, for a trial estimated to last about six weeks. Potential jurors completed lengthy questionnaires before being questioned individually at sidebar by the judge, defense counsel, and two prosecutors.

The defendant, who is paralyzed from the waist down, was brought into the courtroom in a wheelchair accompanied by two nurses and a court officer. Her parents sat in the gallery. Dozens of potential jurors were excused during the process.

case On Jan. 24, 2023, the defendant strangled her three children with exercise bands after her husband left the house to pick up takeout, then attempted suicide by slashing her neck and wrists and jumping from a second-story window. Prosecutors allege the killings were premeditated.

Jurors will hear the 911 call made by the defendant's then-husband after he discovered his wife injured and found the children's bodies in the basement. Under state law, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was not mentally ill or that she knew the acts were wrong and could obey the law.

The prosecution lists 168 potential witnesses while the defense lists 53. If found not guilty by reason of mental illness, the defendant would be committed to a psychiatric hospital and evaluated periodically for possible release.