Lindsay Clancy's defense team continued to build its case for insanity Tuesday, presenting testimony from her psychologist who stated Clancy told him a "male voice" instructed her to kill her three young children and then herself. The former nurse, 36, is on trial in Massachusetts for the murders of her children, Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan, which occurred in their Duxbury home in January 2023.
Dr. Paul Zeizel, a forensic psychologist working with the defense, testified that he visited Clancy at Brigham and Women's Hospital on February 4, 2023, eleven days after the killings. Clancy, who was paralyzed and in a wheelchair following an alleged suicide attempt, asked to use his phone to call her husband, Patrick Clancy. During the call, which Dr. Zeizel stipulated be on speakerphone, Clancy reportedly told her husband about the voice.
"She had said that she heard a male voice ordering her, telling her that she didn’t have any choice, but she had to kill her children and then kill herself," Dr. Zeizel testified. He added that Clancy had not seen or spoken to her husband since the night of the killings. On a previous visit, Clancy attempted to call her husband, but he did not answer.
The prosecution concluded its case on Monday, having spent the first three weeks of the trial arguing that the killings were intentional and premeditated, not the result of a loss of control. Clancy has admitted to killing her children but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, citing postpartum psychosis. Her defense is seeking her commitment to a state mental health facility rather than a prison sentence.
Clancy strangled her children with exercise bands before allegedly attempting to end her own life. Her efforts to harm herself were unsuccessful, leaving her permanently paralyzed.