Lindsay Clancy Psychologist Reveals What She Said After Her Children Died

A clinical and forensic psychologist testified Tuesday that Lindsay Clancy told her then-husband she heard a “male voice” commanding her to kill her three young children and then herself. Clancy, 36, faces three counts of first-degree murder in the 2023 deaths of Cora, Dawson, and Callan, all under age 6, who were found strangled in the family’s Duxbury, Massachusetts, home.

Dr. Paul Zeizel told the court: “She had told Patrick that she loved him very much. She was unable to express a lot of emotion, but she expressed love for him, and she had said that she heard a male voice ordering her, telling her that she didn’t have any choice. But she had to kill her children and then kill herself.”

Prosecutors rested their case Monday. The defense has begun presenting its case, arguing that Clancy was experiencing postpartum psychosis at the time. When defense attorney Kevin Reddington asked whether Clancy was faking her symptoms, Zeizel replied: “She was not faking. There was no evidence of any malingering. She presented as an honest citizen.”

Zeizel visited Clancy in the hospital after the deaths under a court order obtained by the defense. He allowed her to use his phone to call her husband “out of human compassion.”

Susan Clancy, Lindsay’s mother-in-law, testified that the family had concerns about her mental health during the 2022 holiday season. “Lindsay was struggling. We were all very concerned,” she said. “She was very nurturing, very loving.” She added, “She was begging for help.”

The defense resumed its case Wednesday, seeking to persuade jurors that severe postpartum psychosis, rather than deliberate intent, explained the tragedy. The testimony about the commanding voice forms a central element of the mental-health defense as the trial continues.