Lindsay Clancy murder trial resumes Monday: Recap of key testimony and how to watch live
Plymouth, Mass. — Lindsay Clancy's triple murder trial returns to court Monday, Aug. 17, with prosecutors still presenting their case after a weekend recess.
Judge William Sullivan excused jurors Thursday and paused testimony for the weekend, closing out the third full week of evidence. Court is expected to reconvene after 9 a.m. ET for what is now roughly Day 14 of the trial.
Clancy, 36, faces three counts of murder in the January 2023 deaths of her children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months — at the family's Duxbury, Massachusetts, home. She has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Prosecutors have said the killings were planned. They allege Clancy sent her husband, Patrick, out to pick up takeout food and medicine, then used exercise bands to strangle the children while he was gone. Afterward, she cut her wrists and neck and jumped from a second-story window, leaving her paralyzed.
The defense does not dispute that Clancy caused the children's deaths. Instead, her lawyers argue she is not criminally responsible because she was suffering from postpartum depression and psychosis at the time. Under Massachusetts law, a person is not criminally responsible for conduct if, as a result of a mental disease or defect, they lacked the substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality or wrongfulness of their conduct or to conform their conduct to the law.
Defense attorney Kevin Reddington has said Clancy heard a male voice telling her to commit the killings. In opening statements, he described her as a devoted mother who "tried very hard to get the help she needed."
So far, a jury of 18 has heard from more than 60 witnesses. The prosecution is continuing to call witnesses; once it rests, Reddington will present the defense case.
Among the most significant testimony so far came from Patrick Clancy, who spent two days on the stand describing his former wife's mental health decline in the months before the killings. He testified that Lindsay repeatedly sought treatment for worsening insomnia, postpartum depression and anxiety between September 2022 and January 2023. She was hospitalized at least three times in that period — once for lack of sleep and twice for suicidal thoughts.
Dr. Jennifer Tufts, a psychiatrist, and Rebecca Jollotta, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, also testified about treating Clancy before the deaths. Both said they prescribed medications including benzodiazepines, antidepressants and antipsychotics, and both described Clancy — a longtime labor and delivery nurse — as knowledgeable but cautious about starting new drugs. Reddington has alleged she was overmedicated.
Clancy has been held at Tewksbury Hospital for court-ordered mental health treatment since May 2023, according to The Patriot Ledger.
The case has drawn national attention and renewed discussions about postpartum psychosis, maternal mental health and how the justice system handles defendants with severe psychiatric illness. In Duxbury, a small South Shore town, the deaths remain one of the most painful and closely watched criminal cases in years.
With the prosecution still calling witnesses and a defense case still ahead, the trial is expected to continue for several more weeks.
How to watch: Day 14 is expected to begin after 9 a.m. ET. Watch the live stream from Plymouth Superior Court in the player below. The Patriot Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network, is also providing live updates from inside the courtroom.
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. Follow her on X @melinakh and Instagram @bymelinakhan.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lindsay Clancy trial enters new week. Recap, how to watch live.