Lindsay Clancy trial: Prosecution expert who alleged 'fabricated' hallucinations back on stand
Forensic psychologist Kirk Heilbrun, who testified that parts of Lindsay Clancy's account of hearing voices showed "exaggerated or fabricated hallucinations," returns to the stand Tuesday as the prosecution finishes its rebuttal. Closings could come Wednesday.
Prosecution expert says Lindsay Clancy likely killed her children 'out of love'
The prosecution's own forensic psychologist testified Tuesday that the stronger explanation for why Lindsay Clancy killed her three children was a serious suicide attempt in which she killed them "out of love."
Kirk Heilbrun said he had weighed two possibilities: acute psychosis with command hallucinations, or a suicide attempt in which Clancy killed the children so they would not be left behind. After his full evaluation, he said, the evidence "much more strongly" supported the second.
Heilbrun explained that Clancy intended to take her own life and, in her thinking, did not want her children to live without her or to suffer in her absence. He described part of that reasoning as realistic, that the children would in fact struggle without their mother, and part of it as distorted, such as a belief that no one else could adequately care for them. In that framework, he testified, the killings were driven by her depression and hopelessness and her desire not to be separated from her children, rather than by a voice commanding her to act.
Clancy faces three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her children, Cora, Dawson and Callan. She does not dispute killing them but says she was suffering from postpartum psychosis.
Defense presses prosecution expert on Patrick Clancy's response to wife's dark thoughts
Testimony Tuesday in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial focused on what her husband did when she disclosed dark thoughts in the months before the killings.
Defense attorney Kevin Reddington pressed the prosecution's psychologist, Kirk Heilbrun, on Patrick Clancy's response to his wife saying she was having thoughts of harming the children. Heilbrun disputed the idea that Patrick told her to "power through it," testifying he instead asked follow-up questions "a mental health professional would also ask," including whether she had a plan. Clancy consistently said she did not, Heilbrun testified, describing them as "just thoughts."
Clancy faces three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her children, Cora, Dawson and Callan. She does not dispute killing them but says she was suffering from postpartum psychosis.
Prosecution expert says Lindsay Clancy was criminally responsible for killing her children
The prosecution's forensic psychologist testified Tuesday that, in his opinion, Lindsay Clancy was criminally responsible when she killed her three children.
Kirk Heilbrun told jurors Clancy "retained an awareness of the illegality of killing others, including killing her children." He said that while her depression and hopelessness influenced her actions the day of the killings, "she retained control over whether, when and how she carried it out." His clinical opinion, he said, was that "she was criminally responsible on January 24th."
Clancy faces three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her children, Cora, Dawson and Callan. She does not dispute killing them but says she was suffering from postpartum psychosis.
Postpartum is real, but child killing demands accountability, prosecutor says amid Clancy trial
While failures by people, medical professionals and systems around Lindsay Clancy deserve scrutiny, nothing should erase a parent’s responsibility for killing a child, according to a veteran prosecutor who said he's concerned that public support for the Massachusetts mom is overshadowing the killing of her three young children.
Clancy is accused of killing her three young children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months — and trying to end her own life by dropping from a second-floor window after sending her husband to pick up takeout and something from a pharmacy, according to the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office.
But as the case has drawn national attention, Clancy has also attracted supporters both online and in-person at the courthouse, and experts have warned that that support has taken attention away from the victims.
"Nobody who murders children is a victim no matter what they’re suffering through," said Jonathan Hatami, a veteran child abuse prosecutor. "You're never a victim if you murder people because victims don't do something. Something happens to them."
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Covered by: Adam Sabes