A Massachusetts State Police detective testified about the contents of Lindsay Clancy’s phone during her closely watched murder trial, revealing search history, private messages and personal notes investigators recovered from the device.
Among the searches presented to jurors was a particularly unsettling question: “can you treat a sociopath.”
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According to testimony, the search was made on Jan. 20, 2023 — just four days before Clancy’s three young children were killed.
Clancy is facing murder charges in connection with the January 2023 deaths of her children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, who was only 8 months old. The trial, being held in Plymouth County Superior Court in Massachusetts, entered its third week as prosecutors continued presenting evidence from Clancy’s phone and other sources.
On Thursday, Aug. 13, Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Timothy Chiappini took the witness stand after being called by prosecutors. Chiappini was responsible for extracting information from Clancy’s phone and walked jurors through portions of the data recovered from the device.
His testimony included internet searches, text messages and notes stored on the phone.
The “sociopath” search immediately drew attention because of its timing. Investigators said it was conducted only days before the deaths, although the search itself does not establish why Clancy made it or what she intended by looking up the question.
Chiappini also testified about another search involving “hallucinations” that had been made on the phone in the days leading up to the killings.
Jurors were additionally shown notes found on the device that appeared to reference Clancy’s personal struggles and included statements that seemed to serve as personal affirmations.
The detective’s testimony also touched on Clancy’s communications with her then-husband, Patrick. Jurors heard a text exchange between the couple concerning takeout food on the same day their children were fatally strangled.
During cross-examination, defense attorney Kevin Reddington questioned Chiappini about the enormous amount of information extracted from Clancy’s phone. Reddington specifically asked whether the detective remembered reviewing searches connected to suicide.
Chiappini said he did not recall.
The phone evidence comes as prosecutors and the defense continue to present sharply different explanations for what happened.
Clancy does not dispute that she killed her three children. However, her defense argues that she was experiencing severe postpartum psychosis at the time and had also been overmedicated.
The prosecution has continued examining evidence surrounding Clancy’s mental state and activities before the killings, while the defense has sought to establish that her psychiatric condition played a critical role in the tragedy.
After killing the children using exercise bands, Clancy jumped from a second-story window in what prosecutors described as an apparent suicide attempt.
The case has attracted widespread attention, with testimony focusing not only on the deaths themselves but also on Clancy’s mental health, treatment and behavior in the days and weeks before the tragedy.
As the trial continues, jurors are being asked to consider the evidence surrounding Clancy’s state of mind and the circumstances that preceded the deaths of her three children.
