Lindsay Clancy appeared “calm and cooperative” during psychiatric evaluations conducted just days after the deaths of her three children and her own suicide attempt, a psychiatrist told jurors Monday.
Dr. Sejal Shah testified that she evaluated Clancy several times while Clancy was hospitalized at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston in January and February 2023.
During an assessment on Jan. 30, Shah said Clancy denied having suicidal or homicidal thoughts and did not report experiencing hallucinations or delusions. Her thinking was described as organized and focused on specific goals.
During another evaluation in February, Shah said Clancy was primarily concerned with her physical condition and the legal circumstances surrounding her case. She was also looking forward to beginning rehabilitation.
Under questioning from the defense, Shah agreed that Clancy had been an “honest” patient. The psychiatrist also acknowledged that someone experiencing psychosis can still communicate, make plans and appear capable of functioning in certain situations.
The testimony came during the second week of Clancy’s trial, in which she faces three murder charges for the deaths of her children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months.
The case has centered heavily on Clancy’s mental health and whether she was criminally responsible for her actions. Prosecutors maintain that she intentionally killed her children, while the defense argues that she was experiencing postpartum psychosis and therefore should not be held criminally responsible.
On Jan. 24, 2023, prosecutors allege Clancy strangled all three children at the family’s Duxbury, Massachusetts, home with exercise resistance bands. She then injured herself and jumped from a second-story window in an apparent suicide attempt, leaving her partially paralyzed.
The prosecution has described the killings as deliberate and methodical, arguing that Clancy acted with a specific purpose.
Her defense team has acknowledged that she caused the children’s deaths but maintains that she was severely mentally ill at the time.
“She had no motive. She loved her children,” defense attorney Kevin Reddington told jurors during opening statements.
Psychiatric evaluations after the killings
Shah’s evaluations were partly related to a decision involving Clancy’s health care proxy. At one point, Clancy wanted to change the person authorized to make medical decisions for her from her husband, Patrick Clancy, to her parents.
Shah testified that Clancy was able to explain why she wanted the change, saying she believed her parents were supportive and would act in her best interests.
Another psychiatrist, Dr. Jhilam Biswas, testified about meeting Clancy on Jan. 26, just two days after the killings and her suicide attempt.
Because Clancy was on a ventilator and unable to speak, Biswas gave her paper and a pen. Clancy wrote questions and responses, including asking for an attorney and expressing concern about the condition of her body and legs.
Biswas said Clancy appeared anxious but understood the questions and did not display signs of hallucinations or psychosis during their roughly 20-to-30-minute interaction.
Clancy’s writings reveal her mental health struggles
Investigators also described notebooks and books found inside the family’s kitchen cabinet.
Massachusetts State Police Detective John Santos testified that the materials included information about postpartum depression and anxiety, a workbook focused on postpartum anxiety and notes listing medications and when they should be taken.
Investigators also found a copy of Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts, a book dealing with intrusive thoughts experienced by some mothers.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys have also highlighted entries from Clancy’s personal diary, which documented her deteriorating mental health while caring for her three young children.
In one entry, she described feeling desperate for a mental break and wrote that she wanted help and wanted to become well again.
She also documented feelings of guilt and difficulties surrounding sleep-training her infant son, Callan.
Doctors describe the children’s injuries
Medical professionals also testified about the devastating injuries suffered by Clancy’s children.
Dr. Michael Snyder, who treated Cora, said the 5-year-old arrived at the hospital without a heartbeat or signs of breathing. She had bruising around her neck and petechiae around her eyes, indicating broken blood vessels. Her skin also appeared blue because of oxygen deprivation. Attempts to revive her were unsuccessful.
Doctors treating Callan described similarly severe injuries. Dr. Andrew Capraro said the 8-month-old arrived cold and limp, with marks and swelling around his neck. He required mechanical ventilation and showed signs of serious brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen and blood flow.
Dr. David Casavant, an intensive care physician, later testified that Callan suffered catastrophic brain damage and did not respond to touch or light. Doctors ultimately determined that he was brain dead. With Patrick Clancy’s input, life support was discontinued, and Callan was pronounced dead on Jan. 27, 2023.
Dawson, 3, was also found without a pulse or signs of breathing and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Doctors also discussed Clancy’s own injuries after the fall. Dr. Kelly McDonough testified that Clancy suffered a serious thoracic spine injury, although scans did not show a head injury. The cuts on her neck and wrists were described as superficial.
After being transferred to Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Clancy went into cardiac arrest and required CPR, according to ICU nurse Rachelle Amedee. She also received several blood transfusions.
Amedee said Clancy appeared emotionally “flat” during her hospitalization, showing little visible emotion. Police officers remained outside her room throughout the stay.
Patrick Clancy’s testimony
The testimony followed emotional evidence from Patrick Clancy, who previously described what he said was his former wife’s worsening mental health in the months before the killings.
He testified that she had visited hospitals and worked with doctors while trying different medications for insomnia, anxiety and depression.
On Jan. 24, Patrick said he left the house briefly to pick up food and medication. When he returned, he discovered Lindsay injured in the backyard and his three children in the basement.
About a week later, Patrick said Lindsay called him from the hospital and spoke about what she had experienced.
According to his testimony, she told him she had heard a man’s voice telling her that she had to act immediately or she would lose her opportunity.
The trial is expected to continue for several more weeks, with prosecutors and defense attorneys presenting competing accounts of Clancy’s mental state before, during and after the deaths of her children.
