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· collected 2026-08-19 · by Neal Riley, Aaron Parseghian, Matt Schooley
Story summary
A Massachusetts mother, Lindsay Clancy, is on trial for allegedly murdering her three young children, Cora (5), Dawson (3), and Callan (8 months). Prosecutors claim that Clancy planned the murders and faked a suicide attempt afterwards. The defense, however, argues that Clancy should not be held criminally responsible due to her mental state at the time of the killings. They cite her diagnosis with bipolar disorder and postpartum psychosis, which they say caused extreme mood swings, delusions, and confusion.
Clancy's mother, Paula Musgrove, testified that her daughter had expressed thoughts of harming the children and felt overwhelmed by medication for postpartum depression. A psychologist, Dr. Paul Zeizel, met with Clancy in the hospital after the killings and reported that she heard a male voice ordering her to kill her children.
The trial has seen 15 days of testimony so far, with the defense calling several witnesses, including Clancy's mother and a forensic psychologist. The prosecution has presented evidence that Clancy planned the murders and faked a suicide attempt. Closing arguments are expected early next week. If convicted, Clancy faces life in prison without parole.
Written for “Lindsay Clancy Murder Trial” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 5 other(s) covering the same event.
A psychologist who met with Clancy in the hospital after her children's deaths testified that she reported hearing a male voice telling her she had to kill her children and die by suicide.
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she → meet → suicide
Four witnesses testified for the defense Tuesday, a day after the prosecution Paula Musgrove.
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witnesses → testify → prosecution
The children's other grandmother, Patrick Clancy's mother, took the stand Tuesday for the defense.
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grandmother → take → defense
One of the first people to testify for the defense was Clancy's mother,Jennifer Sprague and Shanan Buckingham are handling questioning for the prosecution in the trial while Kevin Reddington is Clancy's defense attorney.
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Reddington → testify → trial
Dr. Paul Zeizel, a clinical and forensic psychologist, took the stand around 3 p.m.
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Zeizel → take → stand
He met with Clancy when she was hospitalized.
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she → meet → Clancy
Zeizel was still on the stand when court ended for the day and is expected to resume testimony Wednesday morning around 9 a.m.
Psychologist says Clancy "heard a male voice ordering her"
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voice → end → her
Reddington asked Zeizel if there was any indication that Clancy was faking her symptoms.
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Clancy → ask → symptoms
"My opinion in the testing of Ms. Clancy … she was not faking," Zeizel said, adding that "she presented as an honest citizen."
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she → fake → citizen
When she was in the hospital following the children's deaths, no one was allowed into Clancy's room.
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one → follow → room
Reddington eventually got a court order that allowed Zeizel in to speak with her.
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that → get → her
Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Dan Lawlor, who was one of the people who guarded the door, took the stand previously.
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who → guard → stand
Reddington asked Lawlor if it was his understanding that one of the prosecution's theories was that Zeizel told Clancy to call her husband at the time to tell him she heard voices.
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she → ask → voices
Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham disputed that, trying to show that Lawlor had only heard that theory from a fellow trooper.
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Lawlor → dispute → trooper
Zeizel testified Tuesday that Clancy expressed concern for what had happened.
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what → testify → concern
He said she asked for Zeizel's cellphone to call Patrick Clancy.
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she → say → Clancy
Patrick and Lindsay Clancy were married at the time of the children's deaths, but have since divorced and he remarried.
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he → divorce → deaths
According to Zeizel, Patrick did not answer the first call and Lindsay left a voicemail.
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Lindsay → accord → voicemail
Two days later they tried again and he picked up.
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he → try → ?
"She told Patrick that she loved him very much.
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she → tell → him
She was able to express a lot of emotion, but expressed love for him.
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She → express → him
She said 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," Zeizel said.
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Zeizel → say → herself
Reddington asked if Zeizel ever asked Clancy to lie and make up that information.
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Zeizel → ask → information
Zeizel said no.
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Zeizel → say → ?
He also answered no when Reddington asked if he made any suggestions to Clancy about hearing voices.
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he → answer → voices
The defense attorney asked why he allowed Clancy to use his cellphone.
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Clancy → ask → cellphone
"I let her call her husband out of human compassion," Zeizel said.
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Zeizel → let → compassion
Dr. Elizabeth Laposata called as witness
Dr. Elizabeth Laposata, a Brown University professor who was a chief medical examiner in Rhode Island for 12 years, began her testimony after the lunch recess.
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who → call → recess
Her time as medical examiner included work following the 1999 EgyptAir 990 plane crash and the aftermath of the deadly Station nightclub fire that killed 100 people.
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that → include → people
Laposata, who is testifying by video conference and was not in the courtroom, also testified in Karen Read's trial.
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who → testify → trial
In that trial, Laposata testified for the defense about John O'Keefe's injuries.
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Laposata → testify → injuries
Reddington asked Laposata to review various medical records in Clancy's case.
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Reddington → ask → case
Laposata spoke about the injuries that Clancy suffered when she jumped out a window after killing her three children.
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she → speak → children
She said Clancy did a "freefall dive head first" out the window.
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Clancy → say → window
Prosecutors said Clancy planned the murders before faking a suicide attempt that left her paralyzed and in a wheelchair.
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that → say → wheelchair
At one point, Clancy was crying while listening to testimony about how long it takes to strangle someone to death.
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it → cry → death
On cross-examination, the prosecutor noted that when Laposata was the chief medical examiner in Rhode Island, the office was cited for 10 violations and unsafe conditions.
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office → note → violations
Laposata responded that the unsafe conditions included a lightbulb that was out in the hallways and other minor issues.
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that → respond → hallways
The prosecutor also highlighted that while Laposata said Clancy dove head-first out the window, she had no skull fracture.
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she → highlight → fracture
"You're saying she fell head-first from 13 feet on the hard ground and had no visible injuries to the exterior of her head?" Buckingham asked.
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Buckingham → say → head
…and 44 more, not listed.
