Lindsay Clancy trial LIVE updates: Defence grills nurse who prescribed cocktail of psychiatric drugs before killings

Lindsay Clancy enters the courtroom after a short break in her murder trial at Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth.

Lindsay Clancy trial LIVE: Lindsay Clancy’s defence grilled a nurse practitioner on Tuesday over the psychiatric medications she prescribed to Clancy before the Massachusetts mother allegedly killed her three children. Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial is underway in Massachusetts, where the 35-year-old faces three counts of murder over the strangling deaths of her three children, aged 5, 3 and 8 months.

Clancy is attending court in a wheelchair after suffering paralysis in injuries sustained when she jumped from a second-storey window in an alleged suicide attempt.

Her defence argues that she was legally insane at the time of the killings, suffering from postpartum depression and the effects of overmedication, and was unable to understand that her actions were wrong. We are bringing you live written updates from the courtroom here.

The Lindsay Clancy case

Lindsay Clancy, a former labour-and-delivery nurse from Duxbury, Massachusetts, is on trial for the first-degree murders of her three children. They died in January 2023. The trial is now in its third week and continued Tuesday, its 11th day. Jurors have heard testimony from Lindsay’s former husband, Patrick Clancy, psychiatrist Dr Jennifer Tufts and other witnesses.

Clancy has pleaded not guilty but does not dispute that she caused the children's deaths. Her defence is based on lack of criminal responsibility. She says she was suffering from severe postpartum mental illness, including postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder, and that she was heavily medicated in the months leading up to the killings, AP reports.

Prosecutors say that Clancy was mentally troubled but not psychotic when she killed her children, and that the evidence shows planning, deliberation and an effort to create an opportunity to carry out the killings.

The trial is being held in Plymouth Superior Court, before Judge William Sullivan. The jury consists of 12 women and six men. Twelve jurors ultimately expected to deliberate, CBS News reported.

The day of the killings: January 24, 2023

The killings happened at the family's home at 47 Summer Street in Duxbury, Massachusetts. According to prosecutors, Clancy sent her husband, Patrick Clancy, out of the house to get takeout food and make another errand. While he was gone, prosecutors allege, she strangled the three children in the basement using exercise bands.

The children were - Cora Clancy, 5, Dawson Clancy, 3, Callan Clancy, 8 months. Cora and Dawson died that night. Callan was transported to hospital but died several days later from his injuries.

After the killings, Lindsay Clancy attempted to take her own life by jumping from a second-storey window. She survived but suffered catastrophic injuries and is now paralysed from the waist down. She attends court in a wheelchair, as per AP.

Prosecutors' main pieces of the case

1. Sending Patrick out of the house - The prosecution says Clancy deliberately created a period when she would be alone with the children. Patrick testified that Clancy asked him to leave to get food and medication. Prosecutors view this as part of the planning.

2. Evidence of planning - Prosecutors have pointed to searches and other digital evidence that they say show Clancy was thinking about logistics surrounding Patrick's trip and the timing of events. They also say that her highly structured approach to household routines and childcare demonstrates a level of organisation inconsistent with someone who had completely lost contact with reality.

3. Her conduct before the killings - The prosecution argues that Clancy was able to communicate normally with Patrick and function in the hours immediately before the deaths. Patrick himself testified that January 24 appeared to be “one of her best days.”

4. Lack of observed psychosis - Several mental-health professionals who treated Clancy before the killings testified that they did not observe hallucinations, delusions or other obvious signs of psychosis. That evidence is particularly important because the defence is arguing that she was experiencing postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings.

5. The suicide attempt - Prosecutors are also expected to challenge the defence's characterisation of Clancy's suicide attempt. They have suggested that some aspects of the aftermath could indicate an effort to make the killings appear connected to a suicidal or psychotic episode rather than deliberate murder.