Defense Calls Mother of Victims to Testify as Lindsay Clancy Trial Continues

The trial of Lindsay Clancy, charged with first-degree murder for the deaths of her three children in Duxbury, Massachusetts, resumed on Tuesday, marking the 15th day of testimony. After the prosecution completed its case, calling 72 witnesses, the defense began presenting its own witnesses.

The first defense witness was Susan Clancy, mother of the children and former mother-in-law of Lindsay Clancy. She described a close relationship with the defendant, calling her "very nurturing, very loving" and stating that Clancy had repeatedly asked for help with insomnia, anxiety and postpartum depression. During cross-examination, she recounted offering to care for the children overnight, an offer the family declined, and noted frequent text messages about the medications Clancy was taking.

The defense also called Dr. Donald Condie, a clinical and forensic psychiatrist trained at Harvard University, to discuss Clancy’s mental-health records. Condie said the records were sparse but indicated symptoms consistent with postpartum depression, including dizziness, sedation, anxiety and occasional auditory hallucinations.

Judge William Sullivan scheduled a full day of testimony and ruled that Dr. Condie could testify despite the prosecution’s objection. The prosecution’s attorneys, Jennifer Sprague and Shanan Buckingham, continued cross-examination, including a line of questioning about religious beliefs that the judge struck from the record.

Clancy, 36, has pleaded not guilty while acknowledging the killings. Her defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, argues she should not be held criminally responsible because she was overmedicated and suffering from postpartum psychosis. If convicted of first-degree murder, she faces life imprisonment without parole; a finding of non-responsibility would result in commitment to a state psychiatric hospital.