Former mother-in-law testifies Lindsay Clancy begged for help before killing her children
During the fourth week of Lindsay Clancy's murder trial, her former mother-in-law testified that Clancy had been pleading for assistance in the months before she strangled her three children and attempted suicide, supporting the defense's claim of postpartum psychosis.
In the fourth week of the trial over the January 2023 killings of three children in Boston, a former mother-in-law testified that Lindsay Clancy had been "begging for help" in the months leading up to the murders and her own suicide attempt. Susan Clancy, who worked as a labor and delivery nurse, said she and the defendant were close and described her as a nurturing mother who openly discussed her struggles, including dependence on benzodiazepines and severe anxiety.
Text messages presented to the jury showed Clancy expressing fear about taking medication and describing nightly terror. Her own mother and sister also testified that she had become increasingly paranoid, believed the medication was harming her mind, and disclosed thoughts of harming the children and daily suicidal ideation in late 2022.
The defense argues that Clancy suffered from postpartum psychosis, a rare condition linked to hormonal changes, sleep deprivation and stress after childbirth, and also had bipolar disorder that was exacerbated by antidepressants. Prosecutors contend the killings were premeditated, noting that Clancy sent her husband on errands and engaged in routine activities with the children that day.
Clinical psychologist Dr. Paul Zeisel, who examined Clancy in the hospital shortly after the incident, said she was handcuffed to a bed, had fragmented memory of the events, and was in significant pain. He reported that she recognized herself but was disoriented about her location and time, and that she later told her husband she heard a male voice commanding her to kill the children and herself. Zeisel testified that psychological testing found no evidence of feigned symptoms and explained that psychotic episodes can coexist with ordinary behavior such as driving or making phone calls.
If convicted of murder, Clancy faces life imprisonment without parole; a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity would result in commitment to a state mental health facility.