Forensic psychiatrist testifies Massachusetts mother suffered command hallucination during children's killings

A forensic psychiatrist testified that Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother charged with murdering her three children, was experiencing a command hallucination and a delusion of influence at the time of the killings. The expert, Dr. Resnick, said Clancy's mental disease prevented her from conforming her conduct to legal requirements and that she was "just following the command rather than being able to make any decision to do it or not." He added that she believed she was doing her children a favor by taking them to heaven, rather than leaving them on earth without her mothering.

The defense, which rested its case on Friday, does not dispute that Clancy carried out the killings but maintains she pleaded not guilty because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis. Prosecutors allege that in January 2023 she strangled the children with fitness bands before jumping from a second-floor window, leaving her paralyzed and attending the trial in a wheelchair.

Clancy's former mother-in-law, Susan Clancy, described her as a nurturing and loving mother who was "begging for help" before the deaths. The defense noted that Clancy had checked herself into a psychiatric hospital for a few days shortly before the incident and was receiving treatment for psychiatric problems.

Postpartum psychosis, a severe mental illness distinct from the "baby blues," is recognized as a medical emergency requiring urgent care.