Defense Pathologist Says Lindsay Clancy’s 13-Foot Fall Matches Suicide Attempt as Psychiatrist Raises Bipolar Possibility
Updated
Updated · The Boston Globe · Aug 18
Defense Pathologist Says Lindsay Clancy’s 13-Foot Fall Matches Suicide Attempt as Psychiatrist Raises Bipolar Possibility
3 articles · Updated · The Boston Globe · Aug 18
Summary
Dr. Elizabeth Laposata told jurors Lindsay Clancy’s spinal injury, low 82-degree body temperature and “hesitation marks” were consistent with a headfirst suicide attempt after the killings.
Prosecutors attacked that account, noting no visible head wounds, no brain bleed and no photographic proof of bruising after what they said was a 13-foot fall onto frozen ground.
Dr. Donald Condie, a defense psychiatrist who reviewed records but never treated Clancy, said bipolar disorder was a “very serious possibility” and that suicidal ideation appeared “very, very frequently” in her records.
Under cross-examination, Condie conceded Clancy never reported hearing voices until after the killings and said he could only speculate that fear of losing her children kept her from disclosing psychotic symptoms.
The testimony goes to the trial’s central dispute: Clancy admits killing her three children, while prosecutors say she acted intentionally and the defense says postpartum psychosis broke her grasp on reality.