Lindsay Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, conducted an intense cross-examination of the defendant’s psychiatrist on Monday in an attempt to prove that his client was failed by the mental healthcare system, and as a result, her children were killed.

Criminally Liable or Mentally Ill

Lindsay Clancy is charged with three counts of murder in the deaths of her three young children. While she does not deny the killings, she pleaded not guilty to the charges, arguing she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time.

When the children’s bodies were discovered, Clancy was found outside the home in the snow, her wrists and throat slashed, not moving and unable to speak. It was later that authorities found out she had attempted suicide and jumped out of her second-story window. She now remains paralyzed from the waist down.

Prosecutors believe that Clancy premeditated her children’s murders and intentionally sent her husband out of the house the evening of January 24, 2023, to run some errands so she could strangle her kids with exercise bands. In opening statements, prosecutor Shannan Buckingham pleaded with the jurors not to view the trial as “a public debate about women’s mental health and how the medical system treats women.”

Cross-Examination of Psychiatrist

As Reddington questioned Dr. Jennifer Tufts, he suggested that the care Clancy received was inadequate and implied the doctor was a box-checking “robot.” He noted the 25-minute video appointments she had, which left little time for talk therapy, and the computerized forms that documented her observations.

He also mentioned the various drugs that Clancy was prescribed, although she had expressed her valid concerns and reported the side effects she experienced from taking the medication. “What did you do? You had a woman who was telling you she felt hopeless,” he asked when discussing an appointment two months before the murders.

“I told her that this was something we could address, that there was hope, that there are treatments, that there are different types of programs,” Tufts responded, “so she knew that she still had options and a reason to hope.”

“Did you ever suggest to her that ‘maybe you should come in and see me, rather than on the computer?‘” Reddington asked.

“Talking to her over the video didn’t seem like an issue. It didn’t seem like there was something I was missing,” Tufts replied.

Seeking Help

Clancy had been seeing Dr. Tufts via video since September 2022 up until the day before the killings. She had been suffering from postpartum psychosis and possessed a bipolar disorder, according to a forensic psychiatrist who diagnosed her afterward.

The defense says that Clancy did everything she could to seek help. She spoke with multiple doctors, took various prescribed drugs, called into a suicide hotline, went to an emergency room that she was inevitably turned away from, attended a treatment program for postpartum women, and even checked herself into a psychiatric facility.

Nonetheless, her symptoms progressively got worse, and the multiple mix of psychiatric medications are arguably the culprit, according to Clancy’s attorneys and family.

Visits With Psychiatrist

Dr. Tufts diagnosed Clancy with generalized anxiety disorder and an adjustment disorder with depressed mood. She testified that Clancy did not make her aware of the manic episodes or hearing voices.

Tufts also testified that she was aware of Clancy being “close” to feeling suicidal or hopeless, but that the defendant denied any intentions of harming herself or others. However, defense claims Clancy told her husband that she had thoughts of harming the children.

“I would have be very concerned if I had heard that,” Tufts said. “I do not believe that I’ve been negligent.’