DEDHAM, MA. (THECOUNT) — The jury has entered its third day of deliberations in the Lindsay Clancy triple-murder trial in Massachusetts, with jurors continuing to consider whether the mother is criminally responsible for the January 2023 killings of her three children. Watch live here for updates and to monitor if and when the jury returns a verdict.
Clancy is accused of strangling her three children — 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan — inside the family’s home before attempting suicide.
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She has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder. Her defense has argued that she was experiencing postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings and therefore was not criminally responsible for her children’s deaths.
Prosecutors have argued that Clancy planned the killings and understood that her actions were wrong. They pointed to evidence presented during the trial concerning her conduct before the children’s deaths, including allegations that she sent her then-husband, Patrick Clancy, out of the home before the killings.
The central issue for jurors has been Clancy’s mental state on Jan. 24, 2023. Prosecutors and defense attorneys presented competing expert testimony concerning whether she was experiencing postpartum psychosis or another mental disease or defect and whether that condition prevented her from understanding the wrongfulness of her actions.
Forensic psychologist Dr. Kirk Heilbrun, a prosecution rebuttal witness, testified that Clancy had a mental disease or defect at the time of the killings but nevertheless understood that what she was doing was wrong. Heilbrun ultimately concluded that she was criminally responsible.
The defense presented psychiatric testimony supporting its argument that Clancy was experiencing acute psychosis, including testimony from psychiatrist Dr. Phillip Resnick, who said she experienced command hallucinations telling her to kill her children and herself.
After closing arguments and the judge’s instructions, the case was turned over to the jury for deliberations. Jurors are now weighing the evidence and deciding between a criminal conviction and a finding that Clancy was not criminally responsible by reason of insanity.
If convicted of first-degree murder, Clancy faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. If found not guilty by reason of insanity, she would be committed to a state mental-health facility rather than released into the community.
JURY WATCH: Day 3 of deliberations is underway. This page will be updated if the jury sends a note to the court, returns to the courtroom or reaches a verdict.
Dedham is located in Norfolk County in eastern Massachusetts, approximately 10 miles southwest of Boston. Norfolk Superior Court, where the Clancy trial is being held, is located in the community.
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