PLYMOUTH, Mass. — The Lindsay Clancy murder trial enters its 12th day on Wednesday.
Lindsay Clancy is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the January 2023 deaths of her children: 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan, reports WFXT, the Boston sister station of Channel 2 Action News.
Her defense team is pursuing an insanity defense, arguing Clancy was suffering from postpartum psychosis and is not criminally responsible for her actions. Prosecutors contend Clancy was not suffering from postpartum psychosis and was aware of her actions when the children were killed.
Testimony in Plymouth Superior continues after Tuesday’s testimony focused on Clancy’s mental health treatment in the weeks before the deaths of her three children, with a psychiatric nurse describing concerns Clancy repeatedly raised about worsening symptoms and medication side effects.
Sgt. Daniel Lawlor, a member of the Massachusetts State Police, was first on the stand Wednesday morning. He was at the home while a search warrant was being conducted on the night of the murders. Lawlor also went to Brigham and Women’s where Clancy was being treated.
Judge William Sullivan called a short recess after Defense Attorney Kevin Reddington asked Lawlor about if Clancy was told to tell her husband she heard voices by a doctor who visited her at the hospital.
A mental health counselor, Latiesha Dukes, saw Lindsay Clancy four times before the murders. She took the stand on Wednesday and spoke about Clancy’s treatment and symptoms, as well as her referral to a higher level of care.
After the lunch break, a medical examiner took the stand and spoke about the children’s brain injuries. Clancy was heard openly sobbing in the courtroom.
Tuesday’s testimony
On Tuesday, Rebecca Jollotta, a psychiatric nurse who treated Clancy in late 2022, testified that the Duxbury mother of three complained that prescribed psychiatric medications were not working quickly enough and may have been making her condition worse.
By the time Jollotta first met Clancy in November 2022, Clancy had already spent weeks under the care of psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Tufts, who prescribed medications to address insomnia and anxiety. She had also met with another psychiatric nurse, Julie Paul, at South Shore Health, where different medications were prescribed.
According to Jollotta’s testimony, Clancy expressed frustration with her treatment and linked her worsening symptoms to the medications she had been taking.
Prosecutors highlighted messages Clancy sent to Jollotta in which she discussed feelings of hopelessness and thoughts about death.
“I said, this sounds like depression and anhedonia symptoms,” Jollotta testified. “I would say if you’re feeling unsafe, particularly as we head into the weekend, it is important for you to have information for psych emergency services available to you.”
Jollotta also told Clancy that intrusive thoughts were a common side effects for someone with postpartum depression and anxiety.
She said she provided Clancy with information about 24-hour emergency mental health programs, including mobile crisis intervention services.
Jollotta also testified that by December 2022, she had begun to suspect Clancy may have had an underlying bipolar disorder. She said she shared those concerns with both Lindsay and her husband, Patrick Clancy.
When asked how the couple responded, Jollotta recalled Patrick Clancy rejecting the possibility.
“I recall Patrick saying, ‘My wife is not bipolar,’” Jollotta testified. “Lindsay looked at me. She did not say anything.”
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]