Lindsay Clancy trial judge denies mistrial request, but reprimands prosecution over witness testimony about religion

Lindsay Clancy trial testimony ended abruptly Monday in Plymouth Superior Court when a witness began speaking about Catholic religion and the defense called for a mistrial. Judge William Sullivan denied the mistrial request, but reprimanded the prosecution and sent jurors home for the day. 

Dr. Kirk Heilbrun was the second witness of the day, and in the afternoon he spoke about a conversation he had with Clancy in April.

“That was part of her expectation was that she and her children would be together in heaven with God. She was raised as a Catholic. As I understand Catholic considerations, that’s not necessarily what happens. But when I asked her about that, when I said, ‘Isn’t suicide a mortal sin?'” Heilbrun said, before Sullivan called attorneys to sidebar after a defense objection.

Sullivan then sent jurors out of the room, and there was a brief recess. When Sullivan and the attorneys returned, the defense called for a mistrial. 

“It’s a concern I have because, this is just over the top. It’s the same thing again, talking about religion, talking about heaven, talking about killing people and the impact it would have on Lindsay as well as her children,” defense attorney Kevin Reddington said. It is the second time religion has been brought up during the trial. A previous question for a witness was struck from the record.

The prosecutor said she believed the comment was unintentional, not meant to inflame the jury, and added that she did not ask any questions about religion.

Judge Sullivan said he would not declare a mistrial, but he reprimanded the prosecution for the testimony. When the jury was called back in, the judge told jurors the remarks were “immaterial, irrelevant and to be disregarded.” He then excused them for the day, saying the plan is to return Tuesday to finish Heilbrun’s testimony, complete another witness and then discuss the next steps in the trial. 

Reddington was asked outside of court how he felt about religion being brought up for a second time.

“I objected, judge denied the motion for a mistrial. He gave a forceful instruction and we under the law assume the jurors listened to the instruction. I have no doubt that they will, and we’re ready to move on,” he said.

Legal expert Jennifer Roman spoke about why the answer about religion caused Reddington to ask for a mistrial.

“The piece of the religion and the questions around a person’s faith gets right to the heart of the separation of church and state,” Roman said. “Unless the religion has a specific relevancy to a case, you just don’t got there with somebody. It has no bearing, it has no relevance what somebody’s beliefs may or may not be. So we typically ethically stay away from that.”

Psychologist Dr. Kirk Heilbrun testifies 

The second rebuttal witness called by the prosecution was Heilbrun, a forensic psychologist. He said he’s testified in roughly 330 cases about competency to stand trial.

Heilbrun interviewed Clancy alongside Mack in April.

“She had a fairly limited mental health history before September 2022. She did experience some anxiety related to achievement, she was a very strong student in school and got straight As,” Heilbrun testified. “And then she had some anxiety connected to her three pregnancies.” 

He said Clancy got more anxious in mid-October when she started taking Zoloft.

“She immediately began to have some difficulty,” Heilbrun said. “There were some symptoms of depression, she immediately started having some really difficult insomnia and felt a lot of stress.”

He said she started having “terrible” intrusive thoughts about harming herself in late November and early December, and later they would occasionally be about harming her children. But Heilbrun said she did not say she was “hearing voices.”

“The way she described these, is they were not auditory hallucinations. Instead they were her own thoughts,” he said.

Heilbrun testified that the way Clancy described hearing a voice in her head during the night she killed her children but never before or after was “very unusual.”

“To put it mildly, that would be a very, very unusual pattern or manifestation for how this kind of thing comes about. Very unusual,” he said.

Heilbrun is expected back on the stand Tuesday to continue his testimony.

Cross-examination of Dr. Avram Mack

Earlier, Dr. Avram Mack, a psychiatrist, was back on the stand Monday after testifying on Friday that he met with Clancy at Tewksbury Hospital in April, and she recalled telling her three children to “go to God” as she killed them in her Duxbury home. 

Mack was the first of three expected rebuttal witnesses called by the prosecution, as is protocol in insanity defense cases.  

Earlier Monday, Reddington wrapped up his contentious cross-examination of Mack, with the psychiatrist appearing in court via Zoom. Reddington said a judge in a previous case ruled that he was “unqualified” to give testimony, but Mack disagreed with that characterization.

“What are you smiling for? This is not funny, sir,” Reddington asked Mack during questioning about the interview with Clancy.

There were several questions from Reddington about postpartum psychosis. Mack has testified that he believes Clancy was depressed but not experiencing psychosis at the time of the killings.

“Do you agree that postpartum psychosis is a legitimate disease or defect?” Reddington asked.

“When you have a symptom or sign of psychosis at any time, but particularly in the postpartum period, it is a legitimate finding and something to be concerned about and to treat,” Mack answered.

Lindsay Clancy trial

The defense rested on Friday after calling its last witness, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Phillip Resnick, a key figure in the Andrea Yates trial. Resnick testified that Clancy reported feeling an “external force” take over her body before the murders.

Some people gathered outside court Monday morning wearing white to remember 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan.   

Clancy has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of her three children.

The prosecution argues Clancy planned the murders and has suggested that her suicide attempt was not serious. The defense says she should not be held accountable because she was overmedicated and suffering from postpartum psychosis. 

Clancy faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of first-degree murder. If she’s found not criminally responsible,  she will be sent to a state psychiatric hospital in Massachusetts.

If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis, you can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. You can also chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline here.

For more information about mental healthcare resources and support, the National Alliance on Mental Illness HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET, at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or email info@nami.org.

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