PLYMOUTH, Mass. (Court TV) — Lindsay Clancy‘s former mother-in-law testified on Tuesday that the defendant was a loving mother to her three children before she killed them.
Lindsay Clancy appears in court on Aug. 18, 2026. (Court TV)
Lindsay Clancy, 36, has pleaded not guilty to charges she murdered Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months. Through her attorney, Clancy has admitted that she strangled the children in the family’s Duxbury home, but has maintained that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time and is not legally responsible for her actions.
Lindsay Clancy’s defense called her former mother-in-law, Susan Clancy, as its first witness on Tuesday. “She was very nurturing, very loving,” Susan Clancy testified. “She was a wonderful mother.”
In November 2022, months after giving birth to Callan, Lindsay Clancy reached out to her mother-in-law saying she didn’t feel well. Susan Clancy said when she heard the symptoms of insomnia, loss of appetite, anxiety and sadness, she referred the defendant to her colleagues at South Shore Hospital who were running a clinic for women struggling with postpartum symptoms. “She was begging for help,” Susan Clancy said. “Lindsay was struggling. We were all very concerned.”
Susan Clancy sat through awkward questions during her cross-examination, as prosecutor Shanan Buckingham asked, “Are you aware that Lindsay told one of her therapists that she wasn’t close with you as in-laws?”
Testimony grew tense after Susan Clancy recounted a family outing to church for Christmas.
Buckingham: “Are you an active member in the Catholic Church?”
Susan Clancy: “Yes.”
Buckingham: “So you’re aware that murder is considered a mortal sin?”
Susan Clancy testifies at Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial. (Court TV)
Before Susan Clancy could respond, Lindsay Clancy’s attorney objected and both lawyers were called to a sidebar. Judge William Sullivan told the jury to disregard the question.
Lindsay Clancy’s defense began attacking the credibility of the prosecution’s witnesses on Tuesday afternoon, with forensic psychiatrist Donald Condie on the stand. Condie, who never evaluated the defendant in person, said that he based his findings in the case on reports from the other doctors who examined Lindsay Clancy.
One of those doctors was psychiatrist Jennifer Tufts, whose handling of Lindsay Clancy’s treatment was challenged when she testified in the third week of the trial. At one point during her cross-examination, she grew frustrated when questioned about the punctuation in her medical notes, leading her to yell, “I know what I meant!” in front of the jury.
Condie described Tufts’ notes as “somewhat sparse,” with little detail about what was done during their sessions. Despite the lack of detail, Condie said he found Lindsay Clancy’s reported symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of postpartum psychosis.
