Counselor Testifies on Day 12 of Lindsay Clancy Murder Trial

The murder trial of Lindsay Clancy entered its 12th day Wednesday in Plymouth Superior Court, with jurors hearing testimony from Latiesha Dukes, a mental health counselor who worked with Clancy.

Clancy, 36, is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of her three children — 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan — at their home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, on January 24, 2023. She has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors Jennifer Sprague and Shanan Buckingham have said Clancy faked a suicide attempt. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington argues that Clancy should not be held criminally responsible because she was overmedicated and suffering from postpartum psychosis.

Earlier Wednesday, jurors heard from Sgt. Dan Lawlor, a Massachusetts State Police investigator with nine years on the force. Lawlor testified that on the night of the children's deaths he went to South Shore Hospital in Weymouth and saw Clancy, who was unable to speak and was injured after jumping from a second-floor window. He then checked on Callan's status at Boston Children's Hospital before standing watch outside Clancy's room after she was transferred to Brigham and Women's Hospital.

On cross-examination, Reddington questioned Lawlor about the order barring visitors from Clancy's hospital room, and about the court order the defense obtained so that psychologist Paul Ziezel could meet with her. Reddington asked whether prosecutors contended that Ziezel had told Clancy to call her then-husband, Patrick Clancy, and say she was hearing voices. The couple have since divorced.

The question drew an objection, a sidebar and about 20 minutes of argument before the judge sent jurors out to hear Lawlor questioned without them present. Lawlor said lead investigator Josh McKelligan had told him Clancy called Patrick from the hospital to say she was hearing voices. "I don't know if it's a theory or not, I just recall the conversation," Lawlor said. He told Buckingham the conversation was not guiding his testimony.

When jurors returned, Lawlor confirmed he and McKelligan had discussed the theory and agreed with Reddington that "there's no investigator basis for that, that's McKelligan's speculation." Asked by Buckingham whether he heard anything in the room during Ziezel's visit, Lawlor said, "I did not hear anything." His testimony ended around 10:45 a.m.

On Tuesday, jurors heard from Rebecca Jollotta, a psychiatric nurse practitioner specializing in postpartum patients and the trial's 62nd witness, who said she met with Clancy three times in late 2022. Judge William Sullivan said attorneys have told him the proceedings are "well on schedule and somewhat ahead of schedule."

If convicted of first-degree murder, Clancy faces life in prison without parole. If jurors find she was not criminally responsible, she would be sent to a state psychiatric hospital in Massachusetts.

If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis, you can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.