In a court session held at Tewksbury Hospital, Lindsay Clancy, a Duxbury woman accused of strangling her three children in January, pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of murder and strangulation. Clancy, 33, has been receiving psychiatric care at the state-run hospital since the incident. The arraignment revealed a legal showdown between the prosecution and the defense, with conflicting portraits emerging of the accused mother’s mental state at the time of the alleged attacks.
Prosecutor Jennifer Sprague presented evidence that Clancy had searched “Can you treat a sociopath?” online in the days leading up to the tragedy. She also outlined Clancy’s documented struggles with mental health, including anxiety following the birth of her third child, consultations with multiple mental health care providers, and a regimen of prescribed medications.
Clancy maintained detailed notebooks about her mental state, her children’s lives, and her medication use. Sprague described Clancy’s notes as clear and articulate, suggesting that they do not align with the notion that she was mentally incapacitated.
In response, defense attorney Kevin J. Reddington argued that Clancy had been suffering from postpartum depression, which impaired her ability to emote and love her family. He emphasized her history as a “marvelous, incredible mother” before the alleged murders and attributed her actions to the effects of postpartum depression and medication.
Sprague countered these assertions by noting that a psychiatrist who reviewed Clancy’s medical records testified that adjusting medication combinations and dosages is standard when determining a patient’s optimal treatment. She presented a toxicology analysis of Clancy’s blood samples, revealing the presence of seven prescription medications, with only two, Remeron and Seroquel, detected at elevated levels.
Sprague argued that the elevated levels of these drugs indicated that Clancy had consumed them shortly after allegedly killing her children. She described Clancy’s wrist and neck wounds as minor and superficial, challenging Reddington’s claim that they were significant based on her own observations.
Clancy’s injuries included broken ribs, spinal cord damage, and broken bones in her back. Blood smeared on the home’s exterior led Sprague to suggest that Clancy exited through a bedroom window, either sliding or dropping down. Dr. Karin Towers, a forensic psychologist who evaluated Clancy, testified that Clancy remained depressed, experienced daily intrusive thoughts and flashbacks, and posed a continued risk of self-harm.
In light of these concerns, Plymouth Superior Court Judge William Sullivan ordered Clancy to remain committed to Tewksbury Hospital and scheduled her next court appearance for December 15.
