A psychiatrist who treated Lindsay Clancy as she spiraled into postpartum mental illness is getting ripped apart by the killer mom’s defense attorney Monday at the Massachusetts murder trial, over virtual-only appointments, the doctor’s brief experience and the meds she prescribed.
Clancy, 35, sued Dr. Jennifer Tufts in January for malpractice, claiming she and other doctors and hospitals failed to diagnose her with bipolar disorder and postpartum psychosis — which the accused murderer says led her to strangle her three young children to death in January 2023.
Clancy’s ex-husband and the children’s father, Patrick, has also filed suit against his former wife’s doctors, whom he claims “overmedicated” her. Five doctors wrote the labor and delivery nurse a combined 30 prescriptions for 13 psychiatric medications in the four months leading up to the mother’s unfathomable act.
She doesn’t deny killing Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, in the basement of the family’s Duxbury, Mass. home, but Clancy’s defense argues she is not criminally responsible because she was suffering from the rare, severe phenomenon of postpartum psychosis that went undiagnosed and was exacerbated by a dangerous cocktail of meds.
Clancy is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and faces life in prison without parole if convicted.
Defense quizzes psychiatrist about Lindsay Clancy’s calls to suicide hotline, fear of taking meds
Kevin Reddington quizzed Dr. Jennifer Tufts on a slew of topics Monday about her time treating Lindsay Clancy, including about the fact that the mother of three was scared to take psychiatric medications, had called a suicide hotline and had reported that she was “close” to feeling suicidal.
“Would it surprise you to know [Clancy] called a suicide hotline not once but twice, and was turned away?” Reddington asked Tufts.
“It does surprise me, yes,” Tufts answered.
He also probed Tufts about the first time Clancy reported suicidal thoughts.
Tufts — who saw Clancy from September 2022 through January 2023 — said the first time she admitted she was concerned about becoming suicidal was on Dec. 1, 2022.
“She denied feeling suicidal but she was close to feeling suicidal,” Tufts explained. “She was fearful of eventually having those kinds of thoughts.”
Reddington also asked about the fact that Clancy was scared to take prescription psychiatric medications.
“She was afraid to take the drugs and she told you she was scared to, right?” Reddington asked.
“She told me she was scared to take Buspirone. I advised her of the risks,” Tufts said, adding that those are “sedation or dizziness.”
Defense lays into psychiatrist for prescribing Zoloft, which can cause insomnia, to Clancy when she reported trouble sleeping
Attorney Kevin Reddington is laying into Dr. Jennifer Tufts for prescribing antidepressant Zoloft — which lists insomnia as a possible side effect — to Lindsay Clancy at their first appointment, despite the struggling mother reporting she was already having trouble sleeping.
“Why would prescribe Zoloft to a young woman who is postpartum, who is telling you she has anxiety and telling you she can’t sleep? She has all of these symptoms and you prescribe a medication with a side effect of trouble sleeping,” Reddington said.
“Individuals have very varied responses to medications,” Tufts replied. “Some have no side effects, some have one or two. It’s impossible to predict.
“Zoloft is a top-choice, a first-line medication for people with anxiety,” the psychiatrist continued.
Clancy told Tufts at that first appointment on Sept. 15, 2022, that anxiety and insomnia were two issues she was dealing with.
Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer rips psychiatrist for conducting all sessions over video
Kevin Reddington ripped Lindsay Clancy’s former psychiatrist, Dr. Jennifer Tufts, for conducting all of her appointments with Clancy over video.
“Did you give her a hug? Oh no, you were on telehealth so you couldn’t, could you?” Reddington asked.
“I couldn’t give her a hug but that’s not something psychiatrists normally do with patients,” Tufts answered.
She admitted that the first time she saw Clancy in person was in court. The doctor saw Clancy for four months leading up to the Jan. 24, 2023 murders, including the day before the horrific acts.
Defense grills psychiatrist about lack of experience, malpractice suit Lindsay Clancy filed against her
Defense attorney Kevin Reddington is grilling Dr. Jennifer Tufts about her alleged lack of experience and the fact that she’s facing a “large lawsuit” from Lindsay Clancy.
“You’re a defendant in a very large lawsuit, right?” Reddington asked.
The prosecution objected, but Judge William Sullivan allowed Tufts to answer.
“Yes,” Tufts said.
“If you advertise as an expert in postpartum and you have a month of experience plus a residency, would you consider that to be negligent or misrepresentation?” Reddington said.
“I do not believe that I’ve been negligent,” she responded.
“You really want this jury to believe you were an expert?” the attorney pressed.
“I don’t believe that’s the wording that I used. I said it was an interest of mine … I don’t believe I called myself an expert,” Tufts said.
In January, Clancy and her ex-husband, Patrick Clancy, separately sued Tufts and other providers who treated the postpartum mom in the months leading up to their children’s murders, claiming the doctors misdiagnosed and overmedicated her.
Psychiatrist was only 1 month into her first job before treating Lindsay Clancy: trial
Dr. Jennifer Tufts, the psychiatrist who treated Lindsay Clancy in the months before she strangled her kids, had only been practicing independently for one month when she started treating her.
Tufts was just out of her residency at Boston Medical Center when she began working independently at Aster Mental Health in August 2022.
Tufts’ first appointment with Clancy was in September 2022.
“I was practicing independently … for about a month, but the training is immense,” Tufts said during questioning by Clancy’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington.
Tufts said during her four-year medical residency, she probably treated roughly 50 postpartum women.
Third week of trial kicks off with Lindsay Clancy’s psychiatrist back on the witness stand
The third week of trial in Lindsay Clancy’s murder case has begun with her first psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Tufts back on the stand.
The prosecution questioned the doctor Friday in Plymouth County Superior Court in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where Tufts described the mother’s appointment with her the day before killing her three children.
The doctor testified that on Jan. 23, 2023, Clancy “absolutely” did not say she was planning to kill herself or her kids, and that did not appear to be experiencing psychosis.
Tufts is now being cross-examined by Clancy’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington.
Lindsay Clancy somberly greets judge as third week of murder trial begins
Lindsay Clancy somberly greeted Judge William Sullivan in court Monday morning before the jury was brought in.
“Good morning, Ms. Clancy,” Sullivan said to the killer mom.
Clancy, with a blank stare, gave a brief response but spoke so softly it was unclear what she said.
She is sitting in her wheelchair at the defense table wearing a light pink, long-sleeve blouse, her brown hair flowing down her back in loose waves.
