A psychiatric nurse practitioner told jurors that Lindsay Clancy frequently questioned her medications in the weeks before she killed her three children, describing concerns about side effects, insomnia and intrusive thoughts.
Lindsay Clancy’s struggle with her mental health treatment took center stage in court Tuesday as a psychiatric nurse practitioner testified that Clancy repeatedly asked to change her medications in the weeks leading up to the deaths of her three children.
Rebecca Jollotta, who worked with Clancy through South Shore Hospital’s perinatal behavioral health program, told jurors that she began treating the Massachusetts mother in late November 2022. At the time, Clancy was dealing with anxiety, depression and severe problems with sleep.
According to Jollotta, Clancy frequently contacted her about her medication regimen and, at times, sought changes almost daily.
Clancy told the nurse practitioner that she believed some of the medications were contributing to intrusive thoughts, insomnia and feelings of numbness. She also expressed concern about becoming dependent on benzodiazepines.
In one message, Clancy described the situation as frightening and stressful, saying she was worried about starting new medications because of their possible side effects.
Jollotta testified that she acknowledged Clancy’s concerns but believed her symptoms were more consistent with postpartum depression than medication side effects. She advised Clancy that some medications could take several weeks before their full effects became apparent.
The testimony came during the third week of Clancy’s murder trial, where prosecutors and defense attorneys have presented sharply different explanations for her mental state before the January 2023 deaths of her children, 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan.
Clancy has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Her defense acknowledges that she killed the children but argues she was experiencing postpartum psychosis and therefore could not be held criminally responsible for her actions.
Prosecutors have taken a different position, telling jurors that Clancy deliberately carried out the killings while still capable of understanding her actions. They have acknowledged that she suffered significant mental health problems but argued that she continued to make decisions and seek treatment in a purposeful manner.
Jollotta testified that Clancy was actively involved in her own treatment and frequently advocated for changes when she felt something was not working.
The nurse practitioner also said she considered whether Clancy could have bipolar disorder after Clancy described experiencing an unusual reaction to Zoloft.
During a Dec. 6 appointment, Clancy reportedly told Jollotta that she had stayed awake for approximately 48 hours after taking the medication. Jollotta described the reaction as unusual and said it raised questions about whether an underlying bipolar condition could be contributing to Clancy’s symptoms.
Jollotta said she was concerned Clancy could have been experiencing a mixed manic or hypomanic state, involving symptoms associated with mania alongside depression.
Clancy’s sleep eventually returned closer to normal, but she continued to describe feelings of hopelessness and emotional numbness, according to the testimony.
On Dec. 15, Clancy reported persistent suicidal thoughts and went to an emergency room at Massachusetts General Hospital. She later sought treatment at Women & Infants Hospital in Rhode Island but was ultimately discharged.
Jollotta’s final contact with Clancy occurred on Dec. 21, roughly a month before the killings.
At that point, Jollotta said Clancy was communicating clearly, participating in treatment and demonstrating organized thinking. She never told Jollotta that she intended to harm herself or her children, the nurse practitioner testified.
Jollotta also said that she worked with Clancy and her husband, Patrick, when adjusting some of the medications. Changes were made in response to concerns raised by the couple about how Clancy was responding to treatment.
The testimony is particularly significant because prosecutors have argued that Clancy’s repeated interactions with medical professionals demonstrate that she remained capable of recognizing problems and actively trying to solve them.
The defense, meanwhile, has challenged the quality of the psychiatric care Clancy received and has questioned whether her providers adequately recognized the severity of her deteriorating condition.
Earlier in the trial, several medical professionals testified that Clancy displayed serious symptoms of depression, anxiety and insomnia before the killings. Family members and friends have also described her as a devoted mother whose mental health had deteriorated dramatically in the months after the birth of Callan.
Clancy had been prescribed numerous medications as she sought relief from her symptoms.
During testimony Monday, her primary psychiatrist, Dr. Jennifer Tufts, said she met with Clancy 14 times between September 2022 and January 2023. Her prescriptions were repeatedly adjusted as Clancy struggled with anxiety, depression and sleep problems.
Clancy was taking roughly a dozen medications at different points during the months before the killings, according to testimony.
Tufts recalled Clancy expressing frustration with herself for repeatedly contacting different providers and not always remaining on a single treatment plan.
Defense attorney Kevin Reddington aggressively questioned Tufts about her qualifications, treatment decisions and reliance on telemedicine during cross-examination.
Tufts testified that all 14 of her appointments with Clancy took place remotely. The two women had never met face-to-face before the trial.
Reddington also questioned Tufts about whether treating Clancy through a computer limited her ability to evaluate the mother’s condition.
Tufts acknowledged that telemedicine meant she could not interact with Clancy in person but maintained that physical contact was not normally part of psychiatric treatment.
Another psychiatric nurse practitioner, Julie Paul, previously testified that Clancy was experiencing anxiety, racing thoughts and feelings of being overwhelmed in November 2022.
Paul prescribed Prozac and explained that the medication could take time to produce noticeable benefits. But Clancy soon contacted her about wanting to try something different.
The defense has argued that these repeated medication changes, combined with Clancy’s worsening symptoms, demonstrate how desperately she was searching for relief before the killings.
Prosecutors have portrayed the same events differently, arguing that Clancy was actively making decisions, communicating with professionals and attempting to manage her circumstances rather than being completely disconnected from reality.
The question of Clancy’s mental state remains at the heart of the trial.
Her defense maintains that postpartum psychosis overwhelmed her ability to understand the wrongfulness of what she was doing. Prosecutors argue that despite her serious psychiatric struggles, she retained the ability to reason and make deliberate choices.
Clancy is also pursuing a separate civil lawsuit against Tufts, Jollotta and other health care providers, alleging medical malpractice in connection with the treatment she received before the killings. The medical professionals involved have declined to comment publicly on the ongoing litigation.
As testimony continues, jurors are being asked to weigh the extensive record of Clancy’s mental health treatment against competing expert opinions about what was happening inside her mind in the final weeks before the deaths of her children.
