BOSTON — Kevin Reddington, the Massachusetts defense attorney who became a familiar face during the Lindsay Clancy triple-murder trial, isn’t taking a breather. Just days after a jury failed to reach a verdict in that case, Reddington confirmed he’s taking on a new client — one whose alleged crime is markedly different in nature.
During a Friday press conference announcing the hung jury and mistrial for Clancy — who was accused of killing her three young children — Reddington told reporters he would next defend Kelsie Cote, a 30-year-old woman charged with killing her own grandmother in 2022.
“Between Lindsay and Kelsie, I’ll get it done,” Reddington said, describing Cote as “a very nice young lady.”
The quick pivot from a case that drew national sympathy for the defendant to one involving alleged elderly abuse and financial gain has raised eyebrows — even as Reddington’s defenders note that every accused person deserves legal representation.
The Allegations Against Kelsie Cote
Prosecutors allege that Cote killed 74-year-old Doris Cote on Halloween night 2022, between 7:30 p.m. and midnight. The attack, they say, took place in Doris’s home office in Massachusetts, where Kelsie allegedly struck her grandmother with a pair of scissors and a paperweight. Authorities believe she then moved or dragged Doris’s body to the stairs to make the death look like a fall.
Kelsie told investigators she discovered her grandmother’s body around 10 a.m. on November 1. She waited six hours before calling her father, who arrived and made the first 911 call.
Investigators quickly found injuries inconsistent with an accidental fall — sharp-force wounds to the back of Doris’s head and a cut on her thumb that appeared defensive. They also determined that the killing likely occurred in the office, not on the stairs, based on blood evidence and the position of the body.
Police found bloody towels and cleaning solution near the presumed murder scene. Kelsie reportedly explained that she had tried to clean up because her grandmother was a “clean freak” and would have been upset by the mess.
Court records reviewed by The Berkshire Eagle detail additional evidence: bloody clothing, along with the alleged murder weapons, were reportedly found in Kelsie’s 2014 Chevrolet Malibu. Authorities also unearthed damning internet searches made before the killing — including one about the anatomy of the human skull.
Motive: A Million-Dollar Inheritance
Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue told the Eagle that Kelsie had developed a drug addiction that played a role in the crime. More pointedly, he said Kelsie had persuaded Doris to name her as the beneficiary of an estate worth over $1 million.
While the two women had once been close — Kelsie even lived with her grandmother for a time — prosecutors argue that the inheritance, combined with addiction, drove the younger woman to violence.
Kelsie Cote has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including first-degree murder; armed assault to murder a person over 60; two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a person over 60; and evidence tampering.
Reddington’s Role and Next Court Date
Reddington’s involvement in the Clancy case delayed Cote’s trial. But now that the Clancy proceedings have ended in a mistrial — with prosecutors vowing to retry her — Reddington is free to focus on his new client.
He is scheduled to appear at an evidence suppression hearing for Cote on September 28. It is unclear what evidence Reddington plans to challenge.
The case presents a starkly different public narrative from Clancy’s, where defense arguments centered on postpartum depression and psychosis. Cote’s alleged actions have no such sympathetic framing in the court of public opinion — a scenario that has led some legal observers to wonder how Reddington’s reputation, which was bolstered by his passionate defense of Clancy, will fare with a client accused of killing an elderly relative for money.
Still, Reddington has never shied from unpopular clients. His career has included representations that drew public scorn, and his willingness to take on difficult cases has earned him a measure of respect within legal circles — even among those who disagree with his tactics.
For now, Reddington’s message is clear: He believes in his client’s innocence, and he’s ready to fight.
The case remains in its pre-trial phase, with the September hearing likely to shape what evidence jurors will eventually see. For Kelsie Cote, the wait for a full trial continues — now with a lawyer who is no longer juggling a double murder case in the spotlight.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/who-is-lindsay-clancys-attorney-defending-next