Attorney says Lindsay Clancy remains on suicide watch ahead of possible retrial
Lindsay Clancy, a labor and delivery nurse charged with killing her three children, is under continuous suicide monitoring as she prepares for a possible second criminal trial in Massachusetts.
Attorneys for Lindsay Clancy told CBS News that she has been placed on constant suicide watch since the alleged killings of her three children three and a half years ago. "She doesn't want to be here," attorney Rosemary Scapicchio said, adding that Clancy wishes to be with her children and would likely take her own life if given the chance.
Scapicchio described Clancy's daily thoughts as centered on the loss of her children and noted that she experiences distressing dreams about the events. The nurse, who is paralyzed from the waist down after jumping or falling from a second-story window on the night of the tragedy in Duxbury, Massachusetts, is being held in a state psychiatric facility.
Clancy is scheduled to appear in court on Monday in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where prosecutors will decide whether to pursue a second trial for the strangling deaths of 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan. Her first trial ended in a mistrial in September.
Her civil attorneys, who are among the few people in regular contact with her, said she feels anxious about the prospect of another trial. They also indicated that her parents visit her frequently and that she communicates with them by phone.
In a separate civil lawsuit, Clancy is suing 11 medical professionals, alleging they failed to diagnose and treat her psychiatric condition. Scapicchio asserted that Clancy was suffering from postpartum psychosis on the night of the killings, a view echoed by fellow attorney Andrew Meyer, who described the situation as a psychiatric emergency that was not treated as such.
The defendants, including psychiatrist Jennifer Tufts who consulted Clancy via telehealth the day before the incident, dispute the claims. Meyer criticized Tufts' testimony, suggesting that her statements and records could be detrimental to her in the civil case.
Scapicchio said the civil case gives Clancy hope, noting that a successful outcome could help prevent similar tragedies for other families.