Lindsay Clancy trial live today moved into its final phase Wednesday after Plymouth Superior Judge William F. Sullivan told jurors to “Rest up and be ready for tomorrow” and to “keep an open mind.” Closing arguments are scheduled for Thursday, when the remaining 12 jurors are expected to begin deliberations.
The panel heard from 84 witnesses over 21 days of testimony before reaching this point. Jurors will also receive instructions on murder, mental illness, and criminal responsibility before they are asked to weigh whether Clancy is criminally responsible or not guilty by reason of a lack of criminal responsibility.
Plymouth Superior Judge William F
The court will randomly select six members of the 18-member panel as alternates, leaving 12 jurors to decide the case. That step matters because the alternates do not join the deliberations, and the verdict will come from the smaller group after the judge’s instructions.
Clancy has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and is asserting an insanity defense. She appears in court in a wheelchair after becoming paralyzed from the waist down, and the case now turns on how jurors apply the legal standard they will hear before deliberations begin.
Gregory Saathoff Testimony
Forensic psychologist Gregory Saathoff testified Wednesday that Clancy suffered from Bipolar II disorder but “did have the capacity to appreciate right from wrong.” He also described her as “methodical and quite controlled” on the day of the slayings.
Saathoff said Clancy took her daughter for a checkup with her pediatrician, built a snowman with her children, and texted photos of the children to her husband and mother. He is a senior psychiatrist for the FBI’s behavioral analysis unit.
Clancy and the children
Clancy has admitted that she strangled Cora, Dawson, and Callan in the basement of their Duxbury home on Jan. 24, 2023, then slashed her wrists and neck and jumped out a second-story window. Prosecutors allege the slayings were premeditated, while Clancy says she suffered a postpartum psychotic break and heard a man’s voice telling her to kill the children and herself.
By Thursday, jurors will have to choose between those competing accounts with the instructions they receive from the judge. The verdict options include first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter, or not guilty by reason of a lack of criminal responsibility, and the panel’s next step is to weigh the evidence already heard against that standard.
