PLYMOUTH, Mass. – Lindsay Clancy was back in court Tuesday for what could be the last day of testimony at the high-profile trial centered on Clancy in 2023.
Prosecutors are slated to wrap up questioning a psychologist, Dr. Kirk Heilbrun, who began telling jurors Monday that he thinks the 36-year-old Duxbury mother telling her to carry out the horrific acts. He said such a claim is a “convenient way of lessening your responsibility.”
Clancy – a former labor and delivery nurse – wants a on the grounds she was experiencing severe postpartum psychosis when she killed the kids with exercise bands before attempting to take her own life.
One final witness is expected to testify for prosecutors after Heilbrun concludes.
Jurors will be tasked with determining if they believe Clancy’s defense, that she wasn’t in her right mind and didn’t know the wrongfulness of what she was doing at the time or whether they believe prosecutors’ arguments, that she carefully planned the slayings – showing she knew she was breaking the law.
Heilbrun — who examined Clancy over three days in April of this year — eventually acknowledged the sooner he could see a defendant the better it was for an accurate evaluation.
Reddington then drilled down on how much Heilbrun was being paid to work on Clancy’s case.
Heilbrun said he is paid $300 per hour and he’s worked 180 hours so far on Clancy’s case — bringing his pay to roughly $54,000.
One female juror raised her eyebrows during the tense inquiry and all the other panelists looked focused on the exchange between Reddington and Heilbrun.
Psychologist Dr. Kirk Heilbrun just told the jury he believes Lindsay Clancy is criminal responsible for strangling her kids.
He said she was aware that what she did was illegal and she was able to conform her conduct to the law.
“She retained an awareness of the illegality of 𝘬iᩚlling others, including 𝘬iᩚlling her children, her moral awareness of the wrongfulness of this 𝘬iᩚlling was influenced by her strong desire to die,” Heilbrun told the jury.
Psychologist Kirk Heilbrun appears in court during Clancy’s trial.AP
Clancy killed the kids because she wanted to commit sᩚuᩚiᩚcide and she didn’t want to leave them behind and had a “distorted” view that she was the only one who could care for them, the doctor said.
The jurors were engaged during his testimony, with their bodies oriented toward Heilbrun as they wrote things down in notebooks.
Lindsay Clancy felt like “it wasn’t her,” strangling her three kids, psychologist Dr. Kirk Heilbrun told the jury.
“She recalled feeling like it wasn’t her,” Heilbrun said. “Like she was watching herself. No thinking, no decision-making, only responding to the voice and taking action.”
Lindsay Clancy is seen in court during her trial on Tuesday. Clancy is on trial for strangling her three children in 2023.AP
Heilbrun said he believed this was a sign of peritraumatic disassociation.
The 36-year-old mom has claimed she heard a male voice telling her to 𝘬iᩚll her kids and 𝘬iᩚll herself.
Heilbrun said murdering her kids “was very traumatic for her,” and she now has post traumatic stress disorder.
After testimony wraps up, attorneys from both sides are expected to deliver their closing arguments to jurors on Wednesday.
Then, Judge William Sullivan will give the jury instructions about how the law in deciding on a verdict. Deliberations could begin as early as Wednesday.
Clancy was sitting in her wheelchair at the defense table, wearing a pink blouse and headband.
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