A jury is to determine whether Lindsay Clancy is criminally responsible for killing her three children in 2023 in Duxbury, Massachusetts. She was being treated for postpartum mental health issues when she killed the children: Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, who was 8 months old. Plymouth County Superior Court Judge William Sullivan is presiding over the jury trial, which began on July 27 and is expected to last six to eight weeks.
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A police sergeant confirmed today that investigators believed a defense-hired psychologist may have suggested Clancy tell her husband she heard voices before she killed her children. Clancy's lawyer Kevin Reddington raised the theory during his cross-examination of Daniel Lawlor of the Massachusetts State Police. Judge William F. Sullivan first heard testimony outside the jury's presence to decide the scope of what the jury could hear. Lawlor was assigned to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston while Clancy was there in late January and early February 2023 after she killed her children in her home in Duxbury on Jan. 24, 2023. Dr. Paul Zeizel visited her while Lawlor was outside the room. Clancy used Zeizel's cell phone to call her husband, Patrick Clancy, and she told him she killed their children because she "heard a voice" and had "a moment of psychosis." "Patrick asked what voices she heard, and she told him she "heard a man's voice telling her to kill the kids and kill herself because it was her last chance," according to court records. In court today (Wednesday, August 12, day 12), Reddington asked Lawlor, "Did you talk to McKelligan about the theory that Dr. Zeizel is the reason that she told her husband that she heard voices?" "Yes," Lawlor answered. "And do you remember where or when that conversation occurred, or how many times that you guys discussed that?" Reddington asked. "I believe it would have been at the office. I don't recall exactly when," Lawlor answered. "Okay, and there's no investigator basis for that. That's McKelligan's speculation. Is that correct?" Reddington asked. "Correct," Lawlor answered. Lawlor testified he did not hear Clancy's conversations. In re-direct, Assistant District Attorney Shanan Buckingham had Lawlor confirm that investigators often float theories about cases that don't pan out. "And it's also fair to say that theories change over time based on your investigation and what evidence you find?" Buckingham asked. "Correct," Lawlor answered.