Lindsay Clancy Prosecutors Criticized as “Tone Deaf,” “Uncaring” and “Snarky,” Defense Attorney Says

Prosecutors in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial are coming across as “tone deaf” to the emotions jurors may be experiencing, according to criminal defense attorney Donna Rotunno.

Clancy, 36, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the 2023 deaths of her children, Cora, Dawson and Callan, who were all under 6 years old. The children were found strangled at the family’s home in Duxbury, Massachusetts.

Prosecutors finished presenting their case Monday, and Clancy’s defense has now begun arguing that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis when she killed her children.

Rotunno told The Meridian that prosecutors have appeared “uncaring and snarky” at times, particularly when dealing with emotional testimony.

She pointed to an exchange Tuesday in which Assistant District Attorney Shanan Buckingham asked Susan Clancy, Lindsay’s mother-in-law and a Catholic, whether she knew that murder was considered a “mortal sin.” Susan did not answer, and Judge William Sullivan immediately called a sidebar and ordered the question stricken from the record.

Rotunno said prosecutors need to recognize the emotional impact the case is having on jurors.

“I understand that your job is to prosecute this murder case and you view this as a first-degree murder,” Rotunno said. “But in sort of ignoring the true emotion that this type of a case invokes, you are really tone deaf as to the way the jurors feel.”

Rotunno also highlighted testimony from Clancy’s family, especially Susan Clancy. She said the testimony could be important because Susan appeared sympathetic toward what Lindsay was experiencing.

Rotunno argued that if someone who has suffered such a devastating loss is still standing behind Clancy, jurors may have difficulty viewing her as a cold-hearted murderer.

The defense has focused heavily on Clancy’s mental state and her efforts to get help before the killings.

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington questioned Dr. Paul Zeizel, a clinical forensic psychologist, about the times Clancy reportedly sought help for her deteriorating mental health.

Zeizel testified that Clancy believed her brain had been damaged, feared she would never recover and felt she should kill herself.

According to Zeizel, Clancy contacted a suicide hotline in December 2022 but was not given assistance because she did not have a specific suicide plan. He said she called again and still did not receive help.

Zeizel also testified that Clancy continues to think about her children and misses them.

“She really loves them and misses them and thinks of them every single day,” Zeizel said.

The defense also argued that Clancy had attempted to receive treatment but faced limitations within the healthcare system.

On Wednesday, Judge Sullivan rejected a defense request to add Emily Thorndike, a former clinical social worker at McLean Hospital, to the witness list.

The defense argued that Thorndike’s experience working in the same short-term unit where Clancy received treatment could challenge what it described as a misleading portrayal of McLean as a hospital with extensive treatment options that Clancy simply refused to use.