Lindsay Clancy is under constant suicide watch at Tewksbury Hospital, where she is being held during her murder case, a psychologist testified Wednesday. Dr. Paul Zeizel, who has met with Clancy dozens of times and is testifying in her defense, told a jury that the 36-year-old mother is never left alone.
"She is on a constant one-to-one [monitoring] to ensure Ms. Clancy doesn’t take her own life," Zeizel stated. He added that while Clancy is in good hands, the risk of her attempting suicide again remains present.
Clancy, who is now wheelchair-bound, has been accompanied to court by two nurses and her lawyer, Kevin Reddington, according to reports from Wednesday. During cross-examination, prosecutor Shanan Buckingham presented Tewksbury Hospital records that indicated Clancy’s behavior on the anniversaries of her children’s birthdays and the date of their deaths. The records suggested she did not attempt to harm herself on these days, took her prescribed medications, and interacted cordially with hospital staff.
Reddington challenged this, asking Zeizel if he observed Clancy having a good time at the hospital. Zeizel responded, "Lindsay Clancy has bad days and worse days." He also confirmed that Clancy refers to the deaths of her children—Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan—as "my tragedy" and has not attempted suicide since the killings.
Reddington's defense strategy aims to prove Clancy was not criminally responsible due to severe postpartum psychosis, potentially exacerbated by prescribed psychiatric medications. Zeizel previously testified that Clancy reported hearing a man's voice command her to kill her children and herself. He also stated that in the months leading up to the killings, Clancy struggled with intrusive thoughts, insomnia, anxiety, and depression, and worried her children would be taken away if her dark thoughts were discovered.
Zeizel believes Clancy had bipolar disorder and postpartum psychosis, rendering her unable to conform her behavior to the law and without appreciation for the wrongfulness of her actions. However, he admitted Clancy has not heard voices since the events of Jan. 24, 2023.
The court also saw a blocked testimony from therapist Emily Thorndike. Thorndike, who had previously worked at McLean Hospital where Clancy had a five-day stay for suicidal thoughts weeks before the murders, was prevented from testifying about staffing at McLean. Judge William Sullivan ruled her testimony irrelevant, as she had stopped working there a year before Clancy's admission.
Clancy admitted herself to McLean on New Year's Day 2023 and checked out on Jan. 5, just 19 days before the alleged murders. Her ex-husband, Patrick Clancy, testified earlier in the trial about discovering the children deceased and Clancy injured in their backyard. He and Clancy have filed separate lawsuits against medical professionals, alleging misdiagnosis and overmedication.
Prosecutors are seeking to demonstrate that Clancy meticulously planned the murders and was not experiencing a psychotic break at the time. Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse, is accused of strangling her three children. The suicide attempt on Jan. 24, 2023, left her paralyzed.