LIVE UPDATES: Witnesses include state troopers, forensic experts in Day 6 of Lindsay Clancy trial

Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial is underway in Massachusetts. The 35-year-old woman is charged with three counts of murder for the strangling deaths of her three children, ages 5, 3, and 8 months old. Clancy is present in the courtroom, bound to a wheelchair after she was paralyzed by injuries she sustained when she jumped from her home’s second-story window in an alleged suicide attempt. Her defense lawyer claims she was insane at the time, suffering from postpartum psychosis, and could not appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions. We are posting live updates from the courtroom here. Time notes are Eastern Daylight Time. Please forgive typos.

3:39 p.m. Court is in recess till 9 a.m. EDT (11 a.m. MDT) on Wednesday. Court is expected to conclude early on Wednesday.

3:38 p.m. Prosecution Redirect: Prosecutor suggests blood on the windowsill could be the result of someone hanging off the windowsill; defense counters and suggests if Lindsay had slid down the side of the house, there would be transfer all the way down.

3:25 p.m. Defense Cross: What you refer to as red-brown stains you infer is blood? Crook: Correct. Reddington: Transfer stains on window sill could be the result of someone putting their hands on the sill. Crook: Witness agrees. Reddington: Mirror blood drips could be consistent with a violent act like cutting one’s throat, blood that could be cast off from the knife? Crook: Possible.

3:16 p.m. Studied red-brown stains on shingles underneath the open window and identified them as transfer stains. Something with blood touched those shingles. Stains around open window sill also a transfer stain.

3:08 p.m. Crook says she cannot determine order of the stains. Linear stain on table from knife suggests knife was moved. Stain F is a red-brown stain in the snow below the bedroom window. Not enough information in the stain (it’s diluted). Stains at the doorway entrance to the bedroom are circular drip stains. Studied area close to the bed, which shows another drip pattern. Determined that there was a stationery blood source to allow the blood pattern.

2:56 a.m. Crook says she studied Stain — a basement floor stain on carpet — and deemed it a saturation stain. Surrounding it are lighter stains — the lighter portion is transfer from the saturation stain. Cannot say how the transfer stain occurred. Crook studied Stain B, on floor of master bedroom. Says round, circular stains on the outside are drip stains; blood from a blood-letting event caused by gravity. Overlapping blood stains caused by continued blood-letting. Smears around the drips caused by movement through the blood stains. Staining is in front of the mirror in the room. Crook says blood stains on the mirror — Stain C — are elliptical in shape; these could be a drip stain or blood in flight. She says it was either a drip or a spatter stain, likely from someone near the mirror bleeding or holding an object with blood.
Crook says Stain D – blood on bedroom window sill – is one she does not have too much info on. Stains are irregular in shape, transfer stain. Likely from something bloody coming into contact with the surface of window sill. Blood stains on the nightstand are drip stains. Linear stains on nightstand are transfer stains from the knife itself.

2:34 p.m. Commonwealth Witness No. 40: Sherri Crook, blood stain pattern analyst, Mass State Crime Lab: Crook details different kinds of blood stains, explains how their appearance helps her determine how the blood stain pattern was formed.

2:25 p.m. Commonwealth Witness No. 39: Alicia Zimmerman, Mass. State Police Crime Lab Toxicology Unit. Zimmerman says she reviewed data from the post-mortem toxicology testing of the children’s blood and found no substances detected. She issued reports for the medical examiner. (No cross by defense)

2:20 p.m. Judge reads exhibit No. 185, the post-mortem toxicology testing of Dawson Clancy and exhibit No. 186, the post-mortem toxicology testing of Callan Clancy.

2:17 p.m. Judge reads exhibit No. 184, the stipulation of the post-mortem toxicology testing of Cora Clancy, into the record. The stipulation includes the staffers who tested the blood.

2:17 p.m. Prosecutor admits toxicology results of the three children; defense stipulates.

12:57 p.m. Court is in recess until 2 p.m.

12:40 p.m. Commonwealth Witness No. 38 Lisa Yelle, formerly with Mass. State Crime Lab Toxicology Unit: Yelle says she performed general toxicology screening on Lindsay’s blood, which detected — among other drugs — Trazodone, Quetiapine and Quetiapine metabolites. Her screen identifies the drugs but not the quantity.

12:24 p.m. Commonwealth Witness No. 37: Hilary Griffiths, Mass. State Police Crime Lab. Griffiths says she worked in the toxicology unit. Performed benzodiazepines testing on Clancy’s blood and urine samples. Detected Diazepam, Trazodone, Quetiapine. Quetiapine metabolites also among other drugs.
Defense Cross: Toxicology report is dated 2/24/23 — no alcohol or illegal drugs were detected. Sample of Lindsay’s blood was sent to a private lab in Pennsylvania.

11:59 a.m. Commonwealth Witness No. 36: Trooper Jonathan O’Loughlin, Mass. State Police. O’Loughlin testifies that he assisted in processing the Clancy home for evidence, collected items including exercise bands, pajamas, pink robe, cellphone, knife. Collected knife to be processed for fingerprints. Not enough fingerprint detail on the knife to do a known comparison. Fingerprints could not be retrieved from exercise bands (alleged murder weapons).
Defense Cross: Reddington notes that his evidence collection did not include collecting medications from the nightstand.

11:02 a.m. Judge calls for morning break.

10:39 a.m. Commonwealth Witness No. 35: Maureen Hartnett, forensic scientist, Mass. State Police Crime Lab. Hartnett says she reported to South Shore Hospital, where she noted red/brown stains on Lindsay Clancy’s hands and retrieved Lindsay’s clothes. Reported to Clancy home, where she processed blood stain in basement, blood stains from various areas of the master bedroom (floor, mirror and window sill), and stain outside in backyard. Collected PJs and pink bathrobe from the basement. Collected swabbings from underneath Lindsay’s fingernails. Went back on June 15 to Clancy home to collect red stains from underneath window sill (negative for blood) and on shingles.

10:14 a.m. Commonwealth Witness No. 34: Joseph Rabbitt, Massachusetts State Police. Rabbit says he assisted with the execution of the search warrant at the Clancy home. Searched kitchen and found bottle of Pedia-Lax in CVS bag. Also found four bottles of prescription medications in kitchen cabinet. Placed them on the island to be photographed by crime scene tech. On Feb. 6, 2023, Patrick Clancy brought to Mass. State Police a bag of medications, which were then documented. Prosecutor places seven or eight bottles on witness stand and reviews the scripts:

• Lorazapam (10/26/22): filled 30 count, 14 left.
• Zoloft (9/15/22): 30 filled, 23 left)
• 2 prescription bottles (med?/date?): 30 filled, 28 left
• Hydroxyzine (10/26/22): 30 filled, 27 left
• 1 prescription (med?/11-25-22): 14 pills, 11.5 left. (There are pills left in each bottle.)

Defense Cross: You executed a search warrant early morning hours of Jan. 25, but you did not search nightstand. Of the prescriptions that he located, Lorazapam, buspirone, Hydroxyzine, Fluoxetine, were all prescribed over a three-week period in October/November.

9:53 a.m. Commonwealth Witness No. 33: Dr. Cristina Carpio, trauma surgeon at South Shore Hospital. Carpio says she treated Lindsay Clancy, who had injuries to her neck and wrists that did not require surgery; deemed them to be superficial. Observed serious injuries to neck and spine, body temp and blood pressure were low. Raised her temp to 95 degrees — which still did not require surgery on her neck and wrists. Spinal injuries were too complex for South Shore Hospital to treat.
Defense Cross: Injuries suffered by Lindsay was a Level 1 trauma. She needed a higher level of care. She was still core temp of 82 degrees when she arrived at Brigham and Woman’s hospital. Carpio says she did not know that Lindsay coded or that she needed a transfusion. Reddington: Did anyone know that she lost a lot of blood? Carpio: No recollection. Reddington: EMS will routinely comment if there is a large amount of blood loss. She had normal blood pressure on arrival; after intubation, her blood pressure dropped. Medical teams removed blood from her chest. Carpio: I did not know that. Reddington: Deep cut noted in her skin — no exposed muscle or tendon damage? Carpio: I would not agree that the cut was deep. Reddington: She had injury to her spine on the thoracic T5 and T6. Pattern was that there was instability of the spine. Spine was transected at T5 and T6. Carpio: I’m a general surgeon, not a neurosurgeon. Reddington: What about her thyroid? Carpio: Don’t know. Reddington: Did you notice her ribs were broken? Carpio: Not aware. Reddington: Who decides a patient has to be med-flighted? Carpio: It’s collaborative, depending on resources. Made between ER and trauma team. I was part of the decision.

9:39 a.m. Judge William F. Sullivan queries Lindsay Clancy about her agreement to stipulate to facts. Clancy is sworn in:

• Judge: I’ve been shown a summary of stipulations — you are requesting to stipulating to certain facts?
• Lindsay: Yes, your honor.
• Judge: Do you understand the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is required to prove each and every element beyond a reasonable doubt?
• Linday: Yes, your honor.
• Judge: You understand that by signing the stipulation, the Commonwealth does not have to prove these facts.
• Lindsay: Yes, your honor.
• Judge: You’re relieving the Commonwealth of having to prove these facts?
• Lindsay: Yes, your honor.
• Judge: You’re giving up some important rights? You’re presumed to be innocent; you don’t have to prove your innocence. By entering into this stipulation, you’re giving up the right to force the Commonwealth to prove these elements?
  Lindsay: Yes, your honor.

Judge: If you wanted to, you could call your own witness to challenge these facts. You have given up that right — you understand that?

• Lindsay: Yes, your honor.
• Judge: You have had time to talk to counsel about this?
• Lindsay: Yes, I have.
• Judge: I find that Miss Clancy is competent to enter into this stipulation and I accept this stipulation of facts.

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington relieves the government of having to bring in dozens of witnesses, rather than having days of testimony.

• Judge: I’m going to accept the stipulation.

9:15 a.m. Court is in session. Attorneys are at sidebar. Lindsay Clancy acknowledges the judge’s greeting with a “morning.”

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