PLYMOUTH, Mass. — It was a full day of testimony about Lindsay Clancy’s struggles with getting mental health treatment, and as we heard from two of Lindsay’s psychiatrists, there was tension in the courtroom over what was said in front of a hot microphone.
Lindsay Clancy’s mental health struggles now the focus of her murder trial.
Clancy could spend the rest of her life in prison if she’s convicted of 3 counts of first-degree murder for the strangulation deaths of her young children.
Her lawyer is mounting an insanity defense, claiming she suffered postpartum psychosis, was wrongly medicated, and therefore not criminally responsible for the deaths.
Weeks before the murders, Lindsay Clancy checked herself into McLean Hospital for in-patient mental health treatment for five days.
A McLean psychiatrist said Lindsay wanted to be weaned off the antipsychotic drug Seroquel because she couldn’t sleep. The Doctor said she did not observe any sign of psychosis.
And when Lindsay checked herself out of the hospital, the doctor was not concerned for Lindsay’s safety.
“Was she expressly asked if she wanted to kill herself?” a prosecutor asked.
“Yes,” said Dr. Alia Goodheart of McLean Hospital
“What was her answer?”
“She denied that.”
Another doctor, Dr. Jennifer Tufts, is a key witness. She started treating Lindsay in September 2022, and prescribed her various drugs in the weeks leading up to the murders.
She testified that Lindsay’s responses to an initial questionnaire raised concerns.
“They were highly suggestive of anxiety, and anxiety disorder,” Dr. Tufts testified.
Later, tension between the two sides in the Clancy trial seemed to boil over.
Without the jury in the courtroom, Defense Attorney Kevin Reddington loudly complained to the judge about a comment caught on a hot microphone Thursday when a sobbing Lindsay Clancy was wheeled out of the courtroom after autopsy photos were shown to the jury.
“I don’t want to go to sidebar, I really don’t want to go to the sidebar!” Reddington protested
“I need to know what you are going to talk about,” Judge William Sullivan said.
“I want you to know,” Reddington said, “they got caught on hot mic saying ‘shut her up’ during the playing of that autopsy!”
Later, before a lunch break, the judge issued a warning to everyone in the courtroom about inappropriate speech.
“There’s going to be no warnings, no yellow card, you’re out,” Judge William Sullivan warned from the bench.
Plymouth County District Attorney spokesperson Beth Stone said after hearing the recording, the voice was not one of the two prosecutors on the case.
Instead, she said, it was someone else in the courtroom saying, ‘shut it off,’ referring to the courtroom screens that were at the time showing autopsy photos of Callan Clancy to the jury.
Testimony resumes Monday.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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