Lindsay Clancy's psychologist testified Tuesday that the defendant told her husband she heard a male voice ordering her to kill their children and then herself. Dr. Paul Zeizel, a forensic psychologist, stated that he was present when Clancy, who is on trial for the 2023 killings of her three children in Duxbury, Massachusetts, called her husband, Patrick, from her hospital room.
Clancy has admitted to strangling her children, Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan, with exercise bands. She then allegedly attempted suicide, which left her paralyzed from the waist down. She has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, citing postpartum psychosis, and is seeking commitment to a mental health facility rather than imprisonment.
Dr. Zeizel, who was called to the stand by the defense, testified that he met Clancy 11 days after the incident while she was hospitalized and handcuffed to her bed. During a mental status exam, Clancy appeared disoriented and unsure of her surroundings and the time, though she recalled the events. She expressed a desire to speak with her husband, Patrick, to see how he was coping.
Clancy had not had contact with her husband since the killings on January 24, 2023. Dr. Zeizel allowed her to use his phone to call Patrick, with the conversation taking place on speakerphone. The first call went unanswered. On February 6, 2023, Clancy called again, and Patrick answered.
During that call, Clancy told her husband she loved him but struggled to express emotion. According to Dr. Zeizel's testimony, she then recounted hearing a male voice that gave her no choice but to kill her children and herself. Dr. Zeizel stated he did not instruct her to say this, explaining he granted her request out of 'human compassion.'
Dr. Zeizel has met with Clancy more than 45 times, many of those meetings occurring at Tewksbury Hospital, where she is currently held.