Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother charged with murdering her three children, was suffering from a “command hallucination” when she carried out the killings, a forensic psychiatrist told the jury during her trial, according to the BBC.

Postpartum Psychosis Defense

Clancy’s defense does not dispute that she carried out the killings but argues she pleaded not guilty to murder charges because she was experiencing postpartum psychosis. Forensic psychiatrist Phillip Resnick, the defense’s final witness, testified about the effects of postpartum psychosis.

Prosecutors, however, allege that Clancy made a calculated decision to intentionally kill her children—Cora, five, Dawson, three, and Callan, who was eight months old. Resnick told jurors, “My opinion is that Ms Clancy was, due to her mental disease, unable to conform her conduct to the requirements of the law on the day that she took the lives of her children. It was a matter where she was just following the command rather than being able to make any decision to do it or not.”

Command Hallucination and Delusion of Influence

Resnick explained that Clancy experienced not only a command hallucination but also a delusion of influence — he evaluated Clancy after the killings and reviewed her medical records. Clancy, now 36, was paralysed after jumping from a second-floor window and has attended the trial in a wheelchair.

Clancy lacked control and was likely unable to tell the difference between right and wrong on that January 2023 day, Resnick testified. “In her mind, she believed that she would be doing her children a favour by having them go to heaven with her rather than remain on earth without her doing the mothering,” he said.

The defence argued that Clancy experienced hallucinations and delusions after giving birth to Callan and was undergoing medical treatment for psychiatric problems; she checked herself into a psychiatric hospital for a few days just before the deaths.

Mental Health Testimony

Clancy’s mother and former mother-in-law testified about how her mental health deteriorated after the birth of her youngest son; Susan Clancy, her former mother-in-law, described Clancy as a “very nurturing, very loving” mother who “was begging for help.”

Prosecutors stated that in January 2023, Clancy intentionally strangled the three children with fitness bands in their Massachusetts home before jumping out of a second-floor window. Clancy has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder.

The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) defines postpartum psychosis as a rare serious mental health illness that can affect someone soon after having a baby; “Postpartum psychosis is very different from the ‘baby blues,'” the NHS adds. “It’s a serious mental illness and should be treated as a medical emergency.”

If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, you could speak to a health professional, or an organisation that offers support; Details of help available in many countries can be found at Befrienders Worldwide. www.befrienders.org. In the UK, a list of organisations that can help is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.