Prosecutors in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy have begun to undermine the defense's claim that the former labor and delivery nurse was overmedicated when she allegedly strangled her three young children. During cross-examination on Monday, Assistant District Attorney Shanan Buckingham pointed out that many of the psychiatric medications prescribed to Clancy in the months before the killings remained largely unused.
Patrick Clancy, the children's father and Lindsay's ex-husband, testified that his wife had been prescribed several medications for mental health issues. However, under questioning, he acknowledged that she had not taken most of the pills. Buckingham held up a bag of prescription bottles and asked whether it was true that «a lot of pills were prescribed, but not a lot of pills were taken.» Patrick responded that based on the bottles he brought to police, it was possible that not many were consumed.
The prosecution also sought to clarify how many medications Clancy was taking at any given time. Patrick estimated she was on three or four drugs at most. Buckingham then noted that records showed she was prescribed no more than three medications simultaneously, and usually just two. Patrick agreed that this would not be «terribly surprising.»
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani, who is not involved in the case, said the line of questioning appeared designed to prevent the defense from controlling the narrative around Clancy's medication history. «An important part of being a good prosecutor is not just proving your case, but anticipating the defense’s arguments,» Rahmani explained. He added that the prosecution wants to argue that Clancy was not on all those drugs at once and that she was not taking them as prescribed.
The defense has maintained that Clancy was suffering from psychosis and was not criminally responsible when she killed her children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months — in their Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in January 2023. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington conceded during opening statements that Clancy killed the children but said the key issue is what was happening in her mind at the time.
Prosecutors, however, have painted Clancy as a calculated killer who «deliberately and meticulously» planned the murders. Buckingham alleged that Clancy sent her husband out of the house to pick up medication and takeout food, giving herself time to strangle each child with an exercise band before attempting suicide. Clancy has pleaded not guilty to three counts each of murder and strangulation. The trial is ongoing, with the jury expected to decide whether she was criminally responsible for the deaths.
