“I TRIED TO KILL MYSELF”!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, PROSECUTORS SAY 36-YEAR-OLD LINDSAY CLANCY STRANGLED HER THREE YOUNG CHILDREN BEFORE JUMPING FROM A SECOND-STORY WINDOW… AND SHE IS NOW ON TRIAL FACING THREE COUNTS OF FIRST-DEGREE MURDER.
On Monday, August 24, forensic psychologist Dr. Kirk Heilbrun took the witness stand to testify in the murder proceedings against 36-year-old Lindsay Clancy.
Dr. Heilbrun testified regarding his clinical evaluation of Clancy, which he conducted over a three-day period in April.
In testimony broadcast live by the Associated Press, the psychologist addressed the central question of Clancy’s criminal responsibility.
Clancy is accused of killing her three children—five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson, and eight-month-old Callan—in January 2023.
According to the testimony, Clancy strangled all three children inside their family residence.
Following the strangulations, Clancy attempted suicide by leaping from the second story of the home.
Dr. Heilbrun testified that he identified two potential explanations for why Clancy killed her three children.
Under the first scenario, Clancy believed she needed to kill the children so they would not be forced to suffer after her own planned death.
Under the alternative scenario, Clancy was experiencing an episode of acute psychosis at the time of the killings.
But Dr. Heilbrun testified that his evaluation ultimately led him to rule out the theory of acute psychosis.
The psychologist then recounted to the court the initial exchange between Clancy and her then-husband, Patrick Clancy, on the day of the killings.
Patrick Clancy arrived home to discover the three children dead and asked his wife what she had done.
Clancy answered her husband with the words, “I tried to kill myself.”
Dr. Heilbrun told the court that this specific response was inconsistent with a person experiencing acute psychosis.
He explained that a person suffering from active hallucinations would typically have offered a response such as “I did what I had to do” or “I did what the voice said.”
Dr. Heilbrun also testified regarding Clancy’s claim that an auditory hallucination preceded the killings.
Clancy claimed that she heard a male voice approximately 18 minutes before she killed her three children.
According to the testimony, the voice allegedly told Clancy, “This is your last chance. You have to kill the kids so you can kill yourself.”
Dr. Heilbrun testified that the timing of hearing such a voice was unusual for a psychotic episode.
And he noted that Clancy provided “inconsistent” accounts regarding what the voice had instructed her to do.
Dr. Heilbrun concluded that Clancy killed her children because she believed they would suffer without her and that they could be “together in heaven” if they died with her.
The psychologist testified that Clancy spoke to the children during the fatal acts, telling them, “Go to God, baby. Go to God” as she killed them.
Dr. Heilbrun’s testimony was cut short after he made a reference in court to Clancy’s Catholic faith.
Defense attorney Kevin Reddington requested a mistrial based on the psychologist’s comment regarding her religion.
Judge William Sullivan denied the defense’s motion for a mistrial.
Clancy is currently facing three counts of first-degree murder.
She has not denied that she killed her three children.
The defense has argued that Clancy should not be held criminally responsible due to postpartum psychosis and bipolar depression.
The prosecution has argued that Clancy’s suicide attempt provides evidence that she understood her actions when she killed the children.
The charges are allegations and have not been proven in court.
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