During the ongoing murder trial in Plymouth, Massachusetts, a psychologist testifying for the defense stated that Lindsay Clancy was unable to appreciate the "wrongfulness" of her actions when she killed her three children. Paul Zeizel, who began treating the 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse following the tragedy, provided testimony supporting the defense's argument that Clancy should not be held criminally responsible because she was suffering from bipolar disorder and a rare mental illness known as postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings.
Zeizel told the court that Clancy was "unable to conform her behavior to the rule of law" and possessed a "mental disease or a defect." He explained that his professional opinion was based on more than 35 hours spent with the defendant across dozens of visits, alongside a comprehensive review of her medical records. According to Zeizel, Clancy visited a perinatal clinic in December 2022 expressing feelings that her "brain was damaged," a belief that she "should kill herself," and a deep-seated fear that she would never recover. She also exhibited signs of psychosis, including paranoia and a belief that others could hear her thoughts, as well as a distressing fear that her children would be taken away from her and that she would never see them again.
Clancy, who has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the deaths of her children—Callan, 8 months, Dawson, and Cora, who was 5 years old—remains paralyzed from the waist down after jumping from a second-story window following the incident. Postpartum psychosis, which is more serious and less common than postpartum depression, is linked to the stress, sleep deprivation, and hormonal changes following childbirth. Researchers estimate that the condition affects 1 to 2 per 1,000 women after delivery.
Prosecutors maintain that the killings were planned, arguing that the former nurse contrived to get her husband out of the house on the day of the January 2023 incident by sending him to pick up medicine for one of their children and dinner for the family. They further pointed out that Clancy engaged in routine tasks that day, such as driving her daughter to the doctor, playing with the children in the snow, and searching online for a pharmacy and a restaurant.
Zeizel acknowledged that Clancy maintained the ability to perform "everyday tasks of living," such as driving and internet searching, despite being in a psychotic state. When asked by defense attorney Kevin Reddington if the absence of slurred speech or an inability to walk meant she was not psychotic, Zeizel maintained his professional opinion that she was. During cross-examination, however, prosecutors challenged Zeizel’s objectivity, highlighting errors in his report and questioning his impartiality given his role as her treating physician and his collaboration with the defense team, including appearing at a news conference with Reddington.
The prosecution also noted that there was nothing in Clancy’s medical records indicating she reported hearing voices commanding her to kill, only that she told caregivers she "wanted to die." Furthermore, prosecutor Shanan Buckingham read from daily reports from Tewksbury Hospital, where Clancy is currently held. These reports, which covered significant dates such as the anniversary of the killings and the children's birthdays, mentioned visits from her parents or conversations with other patients but did not document her performing specific acts of remembrance for her children.
When asked by Reddington if he saw evidence in the hospital records of her "laughing, and partying and having a good time," Zeizel responded that Clancy has "bad days and worse days." He also sought to dispel the prosecution's contention that she never mentions her children, stating that she talks about them often. "She really loves them and misses them and thinks of them every single day, almost every moment of the day," Zeizel said. If convicted of murder, Clancy faces life in prison without parole; if found not guilty because of a lack of criminal responsibility, she would be committed to a state mental health facility.
