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PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — Jurors in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial in Plymouth, Massachusetts, will hear closing arguments Wednesday before deciding whether to hold the former labor and delivery nurse criminally responsible for killing her three children in 2023.
While both sides agree she killed her children, Clancy’s defense team argues she suffered from postpartum psychosis and filed lawsuits accusing medical providers of failing to properly diagnose and treat her condition. Prosecutors at the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office argue she intentionally planned the killings.
Postpartum psychosis is estimated to afflict 1 to 2 per 1,000 women after delivery. Experts at the Cleveland Clinic describe it as a mental health emergency affecting someone’s sense of reality. It can happen to anyone after giving birth, but the chances are higher for people with certain mental health conditions. Though most people with postpartum psychosis don’t harm their children, mothers with severe cases may try to do so, and also may try to harm themselves.
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Editor’s Note: If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.
