Prosecution could rest this week in Lindsay Clancy murder trial, legal expert says

The prosecution could rest its case this week in Lindsay Clancy's Massachusetts murder trial, a legal expert says as the trial enters its fourth week.

Clancy, 36, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the deaths of her three children, 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan, in their Duxbury home on Jan. 24, 2023.

Prosecutors say Clancy planned the murders before faking a suicide attempt. The defense has argued that even though Clancy admits to killing her children, she should not be held criminally responsible. Her attorney says Clancy was overmedicated and suffering from postpartum psychosis.  

Last week, prosecutors attempted to use electronic materials to lay out their theory that Clancy premeditated killing her three children.

"That theory that she was Googling 'What does psychosis look like? What do hallucinations look like for someone who is going to maybe be mentally ill?' That ties into the prosecution's theory that she was planning it, that she was plotting it," Roman said.

But Roman says that in cross-examination, the defense used the same searches to highlight their argument that Clancy was overmedicated, failed by the medical system, and experiencing postpartum psychosis at the time.

"She was so overwhelmed that all she wanted was to be treated and to get the right treatment, and she was Googling these things because nobody had said to her beforehand 'Is this what's going on for you? Let's treat it, let's deal with it,'" Roman said about how the defense used the evidence.

Entering week four of the trial, more than 70 witnesses have been called by the prosecution. Roman said this week may be when the prosecution rests its case.

"And then certainly if the defense gets a chance to present their case this week, it'll be really interesting to see which approach they take first," Roman said.

Roman said the question will be if the defense focuses on their own psychiatric experts right away, or Clancy's friends and family to humanize her to the jurors.

"That will be an interesting strategy call that they make, depending on how they feel about their case," Roman said.

A full week of testimony is expected this week, with prosecutors likely calling their own medical and psychiatric experts to the stand before potentially resting and giving the case to Clancy's defense team.