Psychologist testifies Lindsay Clancy was not criminally responsible for her children's deaths

Lindsay Clancy is accused of killing her children, 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan in 2022

A psychologist testified that Lindsay Clancy was not criminally responsible when she killed her three young children in 2022, telling a Massachusetts court that she was experiencing a severe mental health crisis at the time.

The testimony came during Clancy's murder trial, where she is accused of killing her children, 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan, at the family's home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in January 2022.

According to the psychologist, Clancy was suffering from postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis around the time of the killings. The expert testified that her mental state left her unable to understand the wrongfulness of her actions or control her behaviour.

Clancy has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Her defence has argued that she was experiencing a serious psychiatric disorder when the children died and that her condition should be taken into account when determining her criminal responsibility.

The prosecution has disputed the defence's account of Clancy's mental state. Prosecutors have argued that she deliberately killed her children and then attempted to take her own life by jumping from a second-storey window.

The case has focused heavily on Clancy's mental health history and the events leading up to the deaths. She had been receiving treatment for postpartum depression before the killings, and her defence has pointed to her deteriorating mental state as evidence that she was experiencing a severe psychiatric episode.

The psychologist's testimony does not determine Clancy's guilt or innocence. The question for the jury is whether the evidence establishes that she was legally responsible for the deaths under Massachusetts law.

The case has drawn national attention because of the circumstances surrounding the deaths and the debate over postpartum psychosis and criminal responsibility. The trial is continuing, with both sides presenting expert evidence about Clancy's psychological state at the time of the killings.