▶ Watch Video: Lindsay Clancy murder trial heads to closing arguments in deaths of her 3 children
Testimony in Lindsay Clancy’s trial is finished after jurors in the Massachusetts murder case heard from 85 witnesses. Prosecutors rested Wednesday afternoon after calling three rebuttal witnesses, and now the trial prepares to move to closing arguments.
Dr. Gregory Saathoff, a professor of emergency medicine and a forensic psychiatrist who has worked with the FBI, was the last witness called in Plymouth Superior Court. After he finished testifying at about 1 p.m., jurors were sent home. Closing arguments are set for Thursday.
Lindsay Clancy charge conference
After testimony ended, the prosecutors and defense met with the judge to discuss final instructions for the jury and exactly what will appear on their verdict slips.
The prosecution objected to involuntary manslaughter being an option on the jury form, but it will be included. Clancy can be found guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, or manslaughter. She can also be found not guilty by reason of insanity. The jury could return a straight not guilty verdict, but it is considered highly unlike because Clancy’s defense attorney has admitted that she killed her children.
“The judge will charge the jury on the lesser offense of manslaughter and it’s up to them what they feel is appropriate,” defense attorney Kevin Reddington said outside of court when asked about the lesser offense being included. “She’s been beat down for 3.5 years, and she feels she’s had a fair trial with the judge and the jury’s been very attentive. All we can do is hope for the best.”
Judge William Sullivan denied the defense’s request to give the jury a “Bowden instruction,” which allows jurors to consider the consequences of an insufficient police investigation.
Both sides will get an hour each to make their closing arguments.
Cross-examination of final witness
Reddington began his cross-examination by noting that Saathoff didn’t interview Clancy until more than three years after the murders.
He went through Saathoff’s resume line-by-line, saying he’s “written a lot about terrorism” but not much about postpartum depression. Saathoff said he last treated a woman suffering from postpartum psychosis in the 1990s.
Reddington said Clancy was complaining of dark thoughts and homicidal ideation to doctors and others in her community.
“The homicidal ideation, as I understand, was just voiced to her husband and her mother,” Saathoff replied.
“Just voiced? Is that like talking about the Red Sox?” Reddington said. “She’s talking about homicidal ideation of her children.”
Reddington also questioned Saathoff’s testimony about crushed-up pills being found in a wine tumbler in Clancy’s bedroom.
“So how do we know that that’s even drugs or medications?” Reddington asked.
“It was Patrick Clancy’s observation,” Saathoff said.
There were heated moments as Reddington asked Saathoff about his efforts to interview Clancy as well as her mother.
“Do you think for one minute when you’re trying to put her in jail for her life that she wants to talk to you?” Reddington said before the judge stopped him.
Reddington ended his cross-examination by quoting part of the prosecution’s opening statement, which talked about Clancy making a selfish choice to kill her children because she no longer liked her life.
“I think the statement that you read really minimizes what she was going through,” Saathoff said.
Dr. Gregory Saathoff testimony
Saathoff began his testimony Tuesday. He interviewed Clancy in May and June of this year and talked to her about the voice she said she heard that ordered her to kill the children. He said she told him the voice stopped once the killings had ended. Saathoff also said there were inconsistencies in Clancy’s story.
When Saathoff was back on the stand Wednesday, prosecutor Jennifer Sprague asked if the voice Clancy heard told her where or how to kill the children and herself. He said it was significant that it did not.
“It indicated that she had control,” he said.
Saathoff characterized Clancy’s suicide attempt as “very serious,” even though prosecutors have previously highlighted that the cuts she inflicted on herself were not too severe.
“The fact that the lacerations were not deep doesn’t mean that she wasn’t intending to kill herself,” he said.
Sprague asked Saathoff if Clancy was overmedicated, which is one of the defense’s key arguments.
“She experienced some significant side effects from some of her medication,” he said, but added she still had an ability to appreciate right from wrong.
Saathoff said it’s his medical opinion that Clancy was criminally responsible for the murders, saying there was a significant amount of planning involved in sending Patrick Clancy to CVS and pick up takeout food, as well as choosing the basement and exercise bands for the murders.
“It’s my belief that she expected to die and that by the time that Mr. Clancy arrived she would have successfully been able to take her life,” he said.
Lindsay Clancy trial
Clancy, 36, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the strangulation deaths of her children – 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan – in their Duxbury home on Jan. 24, 2023.
Clancy admits to killing her children. Her attorney said she should not be held criminally responsible because she was overmedicated and suffering from postpartum psychosis. Prosecutors said Clancy was not psychotic and planned the murders.
The jury of 12 women and six men have heard testimony from 85 witnesses since July 27.
If Clancy is convicted of first-degree murder, she faces life in prison without parole. If the jury determines she was not criminally responsible, she will be sent to a state psychiatric hospital in Massachusetts.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis, you can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. You can also chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline here.
For more information about mental healthcare resources and support, the National Alliance on Mental Illness HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET, at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or email info@nami.org.