Lindsay Clancy said a voice ordered her to kill children, psychologist testifies

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Cite

Riley, N., Parseghian, A., & Schooley, M. (2026, August 19). Lindsay Clancy said a voice ordered her to kill children, psychologist testifies. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lindsay-clancy-trial-watch-live-day-15/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

CBS News · collected 2026-08-19 · by Neal Riley, Aaron Parseghian, Matt Schooley

Quick Summary

Psychologist Dr. Paul Zeizel testified in the trial of Lindsay Clancy, who is accused of murdering her three children. He met with Clancy while she was hospitalized and reported that she told him she heard a male voice ordering her to kill her children and then herself. This testimony came on the 15th day of the trial in Massachusetts, where four defense witnesses testified after the prosecution's Paula Musgrove. Dr. Zeizel stated that he believed Clancy was not faking her symptoms, saying she presented as an "honest citizen".
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-08-19, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Lindsay Clancy, 36, has been accused of murdering her three children: 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan, in their home on January 24, 2023 in Duxbury, Massachusetts. The prosecution alleges that Clancy planned the murders before faking a suicide attempt. Her defense team argues that she should not be held criminally responsible due to her mental state at the time of the incident, citing bipolar disorder and postpartum psychosis, a rare condition that affects approximately one to two cases per 1,000 births.

Clancy's mother, Paula Musgrove, testified that her daughter had expressed thoughts of harming the children in the months leading up to their deaths. A forensic psychologist, Dr. Paul Zeizel, also testified that Clancy reported hearing a male voice ordering her to kill her children and die by suicide.

The trial is being livestreamed on CourtTV, with prosecutors led by Jennifer Sprague and Shanan Buckingham arguing that Clancy plotted the murders in advance. If convicted of murder, Clancy faces life in prison without parole; if found not guilty due to a lack of criminal responsibility, she would be committed to a state mental health facility.

The trial has entered its final stages, with closing arguments expected early next week. The defense is nearing the end of its case and anticipates calling one more witness before potentially resting its case.

Written for “Lindsay Clancy Murder Trial” on 2026-10-16, grounded in this article and the 5 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Lindsay Clancy Murder Trial
Crime & Law · 6 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
CBC News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 12% hedged 4 of 32 📰 publisher trust 77
“Both articles report on the ongoing trial of Lindsay Clancy, specifically mentioning the 15th day of testimony and the defense's arguments that she was not criminally responsible due to postpartum psychosis.”
CBS News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 4% hedged 3 of 72 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles report on the same trial, with Article A describing a psychologist's testimony about Lindsay Clancy hearing a voice and Article B reporting that the defense is now expected to call one more witness before potentially resting its case”
CBS News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 2% hedged 1 of 53 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles report on ongoing developments in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial, mentioning the same trial date, judge, and children who were killed”
The Guardian
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 4% hedged 1 of 28 📰 publisher trust 68
“Article A describes a testimony by Paula Musgrove, while Article B mentions other witnesses and an additional detail about Clancy's statement, indicating they cover different aspects of the trial”
CBS News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 4% hedged 4 of 97 📰 publisher trust 66
“Article A reports on the 14th day of testimony, while Article B reports on the 15th day, indicating a different court session”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
84
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
5 of 84 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
CBS News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
6
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-08-19 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

CBS News · 3033 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Neal Riley
4 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 After testimony ended, the prosecutors and defense met with the judge to discuss final instructions for the jury and exactly what will appear on their verdict slips.
🔮 The defense is now expected to call one more witness Thursday before potentially resting its case and giving the prosecution an opportunity to call rebuttal witnesses.
🔮 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"
🔮 She also wrote down "Is my body broken?" and "Are my legs straight?" and asked Dr. Biswas if she could have visitors, and where her family was.
Also by Neal Riley
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
Aaron Parseghian
4 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Clancy, 36, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the deaths of her three children, 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan, in their Duxbury home on .Judge Sullivan told jurors at the start of the day that Thursday was expected to be shorter.
🔮 The defense is now expected to call one more witness Thursday before potentially resting its case and giving the prosecution an opportunity to call rebuttal witnesses.
🔮 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"
🔮 , Judge William Sullivan told jurors it's possible the on Monday and allow the defense to begin calling witnesses.
Also by Aaron Parseghian
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
Matt Schooley
6 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 There was not a single moment throughout the presentation of that case where you could say 'Yup, 100% I'm certain she did it' or that she didn't do it.
🔮 The hung jury could not reach a verdict in Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
🔮 Clancy, 36, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the deaths of her three children, 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan, in their Duxbury home on .Judge Sullivan told jurors at the start of the day that Thursday was expected to be shorter.
🔮 The defense is now expected to call one more witness Thursday before potentially resting its case and giving the prosecution an opportunity to call rebuttal witnesses.
🔮 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"
🔮 , Judge William Sullivan told jurors it's possible the on Monday and allow the defense to begin calling witnesses.
Also by Matt Schooley
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 6 articles by Matt Schooley →

Topics

Massachusetts Massachusetts State Police Plymouth Superior Court

Subjects

Clancy PERSON · 18× Zeizel PERSON · 13× Reddington PERSON · 6× Laposata PERSON · 4× Patrick PERSON · 3× Elizabeth Laposata PERSON · 2× Lawlor PERSON · 2× Shanan Buckingham PERSON · 2× Massachusetts GPE · 1× Paula Musgrove PERSON · 1×

Narrative

For more information about mental health care resources and support, the National Alliance on Mental Illness HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET, at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or email info@nami.org.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-19
🔮 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"

Claims (84 extracted, 5 hedged)

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. asserted
she → meet → suicide
Four witnesses testified for the defense Tuesday, a day after the prosecution Paula Musgrove. asserted
witnesses → testify → prosecution
The children's other grandmother, Patrick Clancy's mother, took the stand Tuesday for the defense. asserted
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. asserted
Reddington → testify → trial
Dr. Paul Zeizel, a clinical and forensic psychologist, took the stand around 3 p.m. asserted
Zeizel → take → stand
He met with Clancy when she was hospitalized. asserted
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" asserted
voice → end → her
Reddington asked Zeizel if there was any indication that Clancy was faking her symptoms. asserted
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." asserted
she → fake → citizen
When she was in the hospital following the children's deaths, no one was allowed into Clancy's room. asserted
one → follow → room
Reddington eventually got a court order that allowed Zeizel in to speak with her. asserted
that → get → her
Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Dan Lawlor, who was one of the people who guarded the door, took the stand previously. asserted
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. asserted
she → ask → voices
Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham disputed that, trying to show that Lawlor had only heard that theory from a fellow trooper. asserted
Lawlor → dispute → trooper
Zeizel testified Tuesday that Clancy expressed concern for what had happened. asserted
what → testify → concern
He said she asked for Zeizel's cellphone to call Patrick Clancy. asserted
she → say → Clancy
Patrick and Lindsay Clancy were married at the time of the children's deaths, but have since divorced and he remarried. asserted
he → divorce → deaths
According to Zeizel, Patrick did not answer the first call and Lindsay left a voicemail. uncertain
Lindsay → accord → voicemail
Two days later they tried again and he picked up. asserted
he → try → ?
"She told Patrick that she loved him very much. asserted
she → tell → him
She was able to express a lot of emotion, but expressed love for him. asserted
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. asserted
Zeizel → say → herself
Reddington asked if Zeizel ever asked Clancy to lie and make up that information. asserted
Zeizel → ask → information
Zeizel said no. asserted
Zeizel → say → ?
He also answered no when Reddington asked if he made any suggestions to Clancy about hearing voices. asserted
he → answer → voices
The defense attorney asked why he allowed Clancy to use his cellphone. asserted
Clancy → ask → cellphone
"I let her call her husband out of human compassion," Zeizel said. asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
that → include → people
Laposata, who is testifying by video conference and was not in the courtroom, also testified in Karen Read's trial. asserted
who → testify → trial
In that trial, Laposata testified for the defense about John O'Keefe's injuries. asserted
Laposata → testify → injuries
Reddington asked Laposata to review various medical records in Clancy's case. asserted
Reddington → ask → case
Laposata spoke about the injuries that Clancy suffered when she jumped out a window after killing her three children. asserted
she → speak → children
She said Clancy did a "freefall dive head first" out the window. asserted
Clancy → say → window
Prosecutors said Clancy planned the murders before faking a suicide attempt that left her paralyzed and in a wheelchair. asserted
that → say → wheelchair
At one point, Clancy was crying while listening to testimony about how long it takes to strangle someone to death. asserted
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. asserted
office → note → violations
Laposata responded that the unsafe conditions included a lightbulb that was out in the hallways and other minor issues. asserted
that → respond → hallways
The prosecutor also highlighted that while Laposata said Clancy dove head-first out the window, she had no skull fracture. asserted
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. asserted
Buckingham → say → head
…and 44 more, not listed.
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