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While Lindsay Clancy has never denied killing her three kids, her defense has argued she shouldn’t be held criminally responsible due to her mental health struggles.
A pivotal moment in the case took place on Tuesday, August 25, when forensic psychologist Dr. Kirk Heilbrun insisted that he believed she was “criminally responsible” for the killings despite suffering from bipolar disorder, postpartum psychosis and depression. He noted that Clancy’s conditions were made worse by her insomnia and her adverse reaction to medications she was prescribed.
“She retained an awareness of the illegality of killing others, including her children,” Heilbrun said. “Her moral awareness of this killing was influenced by her strong desire to die and, if she was dead, not to leave her children behind.”
Heilbrun also said he didn’t believe Clancy’s claim that she hallucinated a male’s voice who told her to kill Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, in January 2023. Instead, he said he believes she killed them so they wouldn’t “suffer” after she died by suicide.
“Everything I did as part of this evaluation, the evidence much more strongly, in my opinion, supported the second explanation, which was the serious suicide attempt accompanied by killing the children out of love,” Heilbrun said regarding his theory for Clancy’s motive.
Clancy’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington, then challenged Heilbrun and asked if he had made up his mind on whether or not Clancy, 36, was guilty before he evaluated her in April.
“Would you agree with me, sir, that before you met with Lindsay in Tewksbury, you pretty much had an idea this woman was a beast, killed her three kids, didn’t you?” Reddington asked.
Heilbrun responded by saying he did not agree with the characterization and that he “did his best to have an open mind” going into the evaluation.
Reddington went on to point out that Clancy’s friends and family praised her as “an incredible mother taking care of her kids” before the killings.
“Bringing her life experience, which you’ve testified yesterday, that she never had any abuse in her life, was raised by loving mother and father, good student, hard worker, great mother, good friend, wonderful wife,” the attorney said. “She then randomly decides to kill her children by strangling them. Those are the facts we’re dealing with?”
If you or someone you know is pregnant or just had a baby and is in crisis, help is available. Call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline for free, confidential support 24/7 in English and Spanish at 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262).
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