A psychologist testified Tuesday that Lindsay Clancy confessed to her husband that a male voice in her head ordered her to kill their three children and then herself. Dr. Paul Zeizel, a forensic psychologist who met with Clancy days after the January 2023 killings, recounted this detail during Clancy's ongoing murder trial in Plymouth County Superior Court.
Clancy, 36, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her children: Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and 8-month-old Callan. She is accused of strangling them with exercise bands in their Duxbury, Massachusetts, home before attempting suicide by jumping from a second-story window, an act that left her paralyzed. Clancy admits to killing her children but has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, asserting she suffered from severe postpartum psychosis and depression.
Dr. Zeizel testified that he visited Clancy in the hospital on Feb. 4, 2023, 11 days after the killings, at the request of her defense attorney. Clancy, who had a breathing tube removed and was heavily medicated, was described as being "foggy" but remembered the events. She requested to use Dr. Zeizel's cell phone to call her husband, Patrick Clancy, whom she had not seen since the incident. Although her initial call did not connect, she was able to speak with him two days later on speakerphone.
It was during this second call that Clancy 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. She also told her husband she loved him.
Patrick Clancy had previously testified about this phone call earlier in the trial. Dr. Zeizel denied allegations that he advised Clancy to claim she heard voices, stating he facilitated the call "out of human compassion."
Prosecutors have questioned when Clancy first mentioned hearing voices, suggesting the defense's narrative may have been influenced. However, a Massachusetts State Police sergeant admitted under cross-examination that investigators had discussed a "theory" that Dr. Zeizel might have planted the idea of voices in Clancy's mind, though he acknowledged there was no evidence to support this theory.
Clancy's assertion of being commanded by a voice is central to the defense's argument of auditory hallucinations stemming from postpartum psychosis. The prosecution contends that Clancy was of sound mind and planned the murders, citing testimony from friends, family, and medical professionals who stated Clancy never mentioned hearing voices before the killings.
Dr. Zeizel, who has met with Clancy more than 45 times, also testified about the nature of psychotic episodes, explaining that symptoms can be intermittent. "People with psychoses have intermittent symptoms. They can be fine one day. Then the next day they can be hearing voices, seeing things, smelling things," he stated. He added that individuals experiencing psychosis can appear outwardly competent, capable of tasks like making phone calls.
During the trial, jurors also heard testimony from Sue Clancy, Patrick Clancy's mother, who described Lindsay Clancy as a loving mother who sought help for postpartum mental health issues. The defense presented expert testimony, including from Dr. Elizabeth Laposta, who analyzed Clancy's injuries and suggested she jumped head-first from the window, supporting the defense's claim of a suicide attempt.
If convicted of murder, Clancy faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. A verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity would result in her commitment to a psychiatric hospital, with potential release if deemed no longer a danger.