Stay abreast of the latest developments in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial.

Lindsay Clancy was suffering from severe psychosis when she strangled her three children in their Massachusetts home, her lawyer stated on Thursday, telling jurors that she had been a loving mother before her mental health declined.

"Because of the damned medicine and the lousy medical care that she got," attorney Kevin Reddington said during closing arguments of Clancy's murder trial, referring to the various mental health providers she saw and the different drugs prescribed in the months before the January 2023 killings.

Prosecutors argue that Clancy acted deliberately, sending her husband on errands before killing her young children and attempting suicide, thereby dismissing her lawyer's claim that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis, a rare mental disorder caused by stress, lack of sleep, and hormonal changes after childbirth.

Prosecutor Jennifer Sprague told jurors in her closing argument that the case is not about the nation’s mental healthcare system or its treatment of women.

“That’s a distraction to get you angry and passionate about an important issue, but an issue that’s not on trial here,” she said.

Clancy's mental state is central to the closely watched trial, which has drawn attention to maternal mental health after childbirth.

The ensuing debate has caused deep public divisions over whether she should be held criminally responsible.

Clancy, who has entered a plea of not guilty by reason of criminal irresponsibility, did not take the stand during the proceedings, which are now in their fifth week.

Following closing arguments, the jurors will commence their deliberations.

Should Clancy be convicted of murder, she faces a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Conversely, if she is acquitted on the grounds of lacking criminal responsibility, she may nonetheless be confined to a state psychiatric facility.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide.

If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

Over the course of more than four weeks of testimony, jurors were presented with conflicting expert medical opinions regarding Clancy’s mental state following the birth of her third child, as well as the extent of her culpability.

Both Clancy’s mother and sister testified that she exhibited signs of anxiety, paranoia, and suicidal tendencies.

Clancy, now 36, had sought treatment from multiple providers in the months before the killings and even admitted herself to a psychiatric hospital.

Less than three weeks after being discharged, she strangled her children—Cora, Dawson, and Callan Clancy, aged 5, 3, and 8 months—using exercise bands in the basement of their home south of Boston.

She then jumped from a second-floor window and has remained paralyzed from the waist down.

During closing arguments, the prosecution argued that the key question was whether Lindsay Clancy could tell right from wrong at the time.

Sprague argued that Clancy's failure to disclose to her mental health providers the thoughts she had in December 2022 about harming her children showed that she recognized these thoughts as wrong.

The prosecutor acknowledged that Clancy had sought assistance for her mental health difficulties, yet contended that she did not consistently adhere to her prescribed medication regimen or furnish her healthcare providers with comprehensive and accurate information.

In his closing argument, Reddington contended that the prosecution sought to characterize Clancy’s attempt to end her own life following the murder of her children as “a fake suicide.”

“You are well aware that is not how events unfolded,” he remarked.

Reddington held up a copy of the book “Good Moms have Scary Thoughts” that investigators had found at the Clancy residence.

He mentioned that although prosecutors attempted to use it as evidence against Clancy, it had actually been given to her by a mental health professional.

"This woman dedicated her entire existence to her children," he observed.

He showed jurors a small "wish box" that Clancy and her then-husband Patrick had bought on their honeymoon.

Over the years, the couple filled it with slips of paper wishing for healthy, successful children, Reddington said as Lindsay Clancy wiped away tears.

Reddington informed the jury that once Clancy began consulting a psychiatrist, "it was not a wonderful life anymore."

“You have heard the testimony. You are acquainted with her concerns. You are aware of her fears,” he said.