(VitalNews.org) – Recent CDC research indicated the prevalence of postpartum depression for women in the US is approximately 12.5%, and another study found postpartum psychosis occurs in as many as 2.6 out of every 1000 births. The baby blues hold consequences for both moms and kids, and treatment depends on severity. Still, the attorney for a Massachusetts woman accused of murdering her three children claims severe overmedication for postpartum anxiety caused his client to commit those horrendous acts.
Kevin Reddington, the defense lawyer for Lindsay Clancy, claims his client and her husband, Patrick Clancy, repeatedly sought help regarding medications and Lindsay’s battle against postpartum depression after the birth of the youngest child, Callan, in May 2022. Reddington said doctors prescribed 12 distinct medications targeted to depression, anxiety, and psychosis between October and January, “turning her into a zombie.”
This seems like a case of medical malpractice https://t.co/d5Xfu1hMeQ
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 4, 2023
During an impromptu hearing on Friday, February 3, a judge approved Reddington’s request for Clancy to receive a visit from a forensic psychologist in her hospital bed, a rare exception to Massachusetts law. While the attorney is seeking to blame his client’s actions on a medical cause, he hasn’t ruled out an insanity defense, either.
On Tuesday, January 24, Lindsay Clancy asked her husband, Patrick Clancy, to run errands. He was gone from home for less than an hour. During that time, Lindsay Clancy strangled her children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, using exercise bands. She then cut her wrists and neck and jumped out the second-floor bedroom window, attempting to kill herself.
Patrick Clancy discovered his wife in the backyard and called 911. After first responders arrived, Clancy discovered his children, Cora and Dawson were dead. Callan died three days later.
On February 7, Lindsay Clancy attended her virtual arraignment via Zoom from her hospital bed on two counts of murder, three counts of strangulation, and one count of assault and battery. Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague claims Clancy clearly planned and executed the murders with intent, arguing drugs didn’t impair her capacity to function.
Sprague asked the judge to remand Lindsay to custody without bail. Instead, the judge ordered her to remain hospitalized until medically cleared to move to a rehabilitation center with 24-hour attended care. Reddington described his client as paralyzed from the waist down.
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