PLYMOUTH, MASS. (WHDH) - A psychiatrist who treated Lindsay Clancy, the Duxbury mother charged with murdering her three children in early 2023, was grilled on the witness stand Monday on a variety of topics, including her lack of communication with other mental health providers who treated her for depression.
Clancy’s defense attorney questioned Dr. Jennifer Tufts, who saw Clancy in virtual online appointments several times between September of 2022 and January of 2023.
Dr. Tufts testified that Clancy was not suicidal, but she was concerned about her mental health.
“She denied having suicidal thoughts but felt that she was getting close to it,” Tufts said.
Tufts said Clancy was reluctant to take medications to control her anxiety, but eventually did agree to try Zoloft, and then several other medications designed to help patients with mental health issues.
She reported serious side effects, first with zoloft, used to treat anxiety.
“She felt awful, couldn’t sleep, didn’t want to eat, she was having diarrhea, she was more depressed on it,” Tufts said.
Clancy admits she strangled her sons and daughter on January 24, 2023, while her husband was out grabbing takeout for dinner. Her last appointment with Dr. Tufts was in January 2023. She reported she wasn’t feeling well.
“She told you she was numb and had no emotion for 17 days straight, is what she told you, right?” Sean Reddington said, Clancy’s defense attorney.
“I’m not sure about 17 days straight, but that’s how she was feeling,” Tufts said.
Tufts, who admitted she never treated a patient with postpartum psychosis, testified she tried to assess Clancy’s situation and opted to step up her use of an antidepressant, which can help with insomnia.
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