Lindsay Clancy sobs as autopsy testimony brings recesses at murder trial
Lindsay Clancy was taken from court during a recess after sobbing through medical-examiner testimony about her children’s autopsies.
By Frankie Delgado · News Reporter
2 min read
Lindsay Clancy autopsy testimony brought proceedings at her Massachusetts murder trial to a halt twice Wednesday as she sobbed during evidence from medical examiners who examined her three children.
Judge William F. Sullivan called recesses at Plymouth Superior Court as testimony turned to the autopsies, according to ABC News and MassLive. ABC News, citing WCVB, reported that Clancy was removed from the courtroom in her wheelchair during one break.
The hearing focused on the examinations of Cora Clancy, 5, Dawson Clancy, 3, and Callan Clancy, 8 months. The medical testimony was graphic enough that Sullivan reminded jurors to weigh evidence without allowing emotional reactions to control their decision, according to MassLive and a Court TV recording of the proceedings.
What happened during Lindsay Clancy’s autopsy testimony?
MassLive reported that Clancy was already visibly shaking before Dr. Renee Stonebridge testified. Stonebridge later testified that all three children showed signs of strangulation, MassLive reported.
Sullivan sent jurors out for a brief break after Stonebridge finished. When jurors returned, Dr. Barbara Vidal Olson began discussing Cora’s autopsy. Clancy again began sobbing, buried her head in her hands and said, “I can’t do it, I can’t do it,” according to MassLive.
The judge stopped the proceedings for another recess. ABC News reported that Olson’s testimony had described Cora’s injuries, and that the day’s evidence also included testimony from Stonebridge about the children’s injuries.
Jurors were shown autopsy evidence during the hearing. In the Court TV footage from an earlier session, Sullivan told the panel that unpleasant photographs and testimony could prompt emotion, but that its findings must rest on the evidence rather than sympathy, anger, passion, prejudice or pity.
For a general guide to the process of serving on a panel, see how jury duty works.
What charges does Lindsay Clancy face?
Clancy has pleaded not guilty to three murder charges connected to the deaths of Cora, Dawson and Callan at the family’s Duxbury home on Jan. 24, 2023, ABC News reported.
Prosecutors contend Clancy deliberately planned to kill the children, according to MassLive. Her defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, has argued that she was not criminally responsible because of severe postpartum mental-health issues. ABC News reported that Reddington has specifically argued she experienced postpartum psychosis and severe mental illness.
The competing accounts are allegations and defense arguments for the jury to assess. The case remains on trial.
This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.