PLYMOUTH, Mass. — The ultimate witness in Lindsay Clancy’s high-stakes homicide trial testified Tuesday that her recollection of the voice that informed her to kill her three children in 2023 was “markedly inconsistent.”
Dr. Gregory Saathoff, a prosecution skilled and forensic psychiatrist, testified that Clancy gave him a distinct model of the Jan. 24, 2023, murders than she gave to protection skilled Dr. Margaret Spinelli.
The 36-year-old Duxbury, Mass., mom informed Saathoff throughout interviews in Could and June of this 12 months that it was after she had gotten off the cellphone along with her then-husband, Patrick Clancy, at 5:34 p.m. that she began to listen to a male voice say one phrase on repeat.
“That is your final probability. You need to kill your children and kill your self,” the voice commanded her, Saathoff stated.
She obeyed the hallucinatory voice when she used train bands to strangle Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan and tried to take her personal life, the psychiatrist informed the jury.
However Clancy informed Spinelli the voice started round 5:15 p.m., proper after Patrick left the home to get a medicine at CVS and decide up their takeout order from a restaurant, Saathoff stated.
“It’s markedly inconsistent,” Saathoff stated. “Ms. Clancy was very clear with me concerning the time the voice began and that it was fixed till the youngsters have been killed after which it stopped.”
“We’re speaking a couple of vital distinction in time and people two [accounts] they don’t match so it’s laborious to know which model is the one which I ought to think about,” the physician stated.
The psychiatrist — who has many years of expertise working in hospitals, in prisons, and with the FBI — additionally famous variations in Clancy and Patrick’s variations of occasions within the hours earlier than she carried out the horrific acts.
Saathoff is anticipated to wrap up his testimony Wednesday, after roughly 90 witnesses, together with 10 from the protection, have been known as because the trial kicked off on June 27.
Deliberations might probably begin on Thursday, Choose William Sullivan informed jurors earlier than they left for the day.
Earlier, psychologist Dr. Kirk Heilbrun informed jurors Clancy informed him she felt like “it wasn’t her” murdering the youngsters.
“She recalled feeling prefer it wasn’t her,” Heilbrun stated. “Like she was watching herself. No pondering, no decision-making, solely responding to the voice and taking motion.”
Each Heilbrun and Saathoff stated the truth that Clancy solely ever heard an auditory hallucination one time — and by no means earlier than the murders or once more after — was extremely uncommon.
Heilbrun stated he believed the voice “was a handy approach of lessening your duty” and stated Clancy was criminally liable for the acts.
“She retained an consciousness of the illegality of killing others, together with killing her youngsters, her ethical consciousness of the wrongfulness of this killing was influenced by her sturdy need to die,” Heilbrun testified.
Clancy’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington, desires the jury to search out her not criminally accountable on the grounds she was affected by extreme postpartum psychosis made worse by the slew of highly effective prescription medicines she was given within the 4 months main as much as that day.
Supporters of Clancy, nearly all of whom are girls, have proven as much as court docket by the handfuls over the previous few days carrying pink t-shirts and arguing that she shouldn’t be discovered criminally liable as they’ve shared their very own postpartum experiences.
Baltimore, Maryland, couple Maria and Shane Bloyer lined up outdoors court docket at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday to get a spot contained in the Plymouth courtroom.
“We’ve a number of empathy in the direction of her,” Shane informed The Submit. “She wants assist. We really feel like the youngsters – we’re folks of religion – so we imagine the youngsters are in Heaven they usually’re superb and Lindsay’s now the human that’s hurting.”
Shane stated he and his spouse — each “true crime fanatics” — sympathize as they’ve two daughters who’re moms and one in every of whom has three younger boys, “so we all know and we see the struggles.”
He stated they hope Clancy will stay within the hospital the place she’s been held throughout her case relatively than be convicted and despatched to jail.
One 16-year-old Plymouth resident, Ariana Anthony, stated she hoped the case would carry consciousness and assist enhance well being and psychological well being care.
She stated if Clancy’s healthcare suppliers had “executed the proper factor, in the event that they acted the proper approach,” Clancy’s children would nonetheless be alive.
“I’m not in assist of Lindsay killing her children, however I do perceive the place she comes from when all of her medical doctors have been dismissing her and simply general not listening to her,” the teenager stated.
Jurors have heard testimony that Clancy was seeing a psychiatrist for her crippling insomnia, nervousness, melancholy and intrusive ideas about suicide and harming the children, within the 4 months main as much as their deaths.
She had known as a suicide hotline twice, had checked herself right into a psychological establishment and sought assist from two perinatal clinics throughout that point, jurors have heard.
Clancy had additionally been given 30 prescriptions for 13 meds in that interval and was discovered with six of these medication in her system after, in keeping with testimony.
However prosecutors say Clancy wasn’t experiencing psychosis. They declare she she fastidiously deliberate the heinous acts as a result of she was bored with taking good care of the children.
In the event you or somebody you understand is affected by any of the problems raised on this story, name the Nationwide Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or textual content Disaster Textual content Line at 741741.
If you’re combating suicidal ideas, you may dial the 24/7 Nationwide Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
