Lindsay Clancy Murder Trial Enters Fifth Week with Psychiatric Expert Testimonies

The murder trial of Lindsay Clancy resumed on August 24, 2026, in Plymouth Superior Court as prosecution rebuttal testimony continued in its fifth week, centering on whether the Massachusetts mother experienced an extreme mental health crisis when she killed her three young children in 2023.

Clancy, 36, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges in the deaths of 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan inside their Duxbury home on January 24, 2023. She remains paralyzed following a suicide attempt that same night.

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington rested his case on Friday after presenting testimony to establish that Clancy suffered from severe overmedication and postpartum psychosis, asserting an insanity defense that an external force commanded her actions.

The defense called forensic psychiatrist Dr. Phillip Resnick as its final witness to detail Clancy's psychological state leading up to the incident.

"[An] external force [took over her body]," said Dr. Phillip Resnick, defense forensic psychiatrist.

In response, prosecutors presented their first rebuttal witness, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Avram Mack, who met with Clancy at Tewksbury Hospital in April. Dr. Mack testified that while Clancy experienced severe major depression, he found no evidence of mania, hypomania, or psychosis prior to the killings, concluding she was capable of controlling her impulses and distinguishing right from wrong.

During testimony regarding their interviews, Dr. Mack recounted Clancy's description of her actions during the assault.

"[Go to God]," said Dr. Avram Mack, prosecution forensic psychiatrist, quoting Lindsay Clancy.

The defense contends that Clancy displayed signs of bipolar disorder while seeking psychiatric care months before the killings, a diagnosis she officially received afterward. The prosecution argues that Clancy planned the murders and questions the severity of her suicide attempt, leaving her facing life in prison without parole if convicted of first-degree murder, or commitment to a state psychiatric hospital if found not criminally responsible.