US mum Lindsay Clancy suffering 'command hallucination' when she killed children, court hears The defence brought their final witness – a forensic psychiatrist – to the stand to testify about the effects of postpartum psychosis.4 hrs agoUS & Canada

Lindsay Clancy suffering 'command hallucination' when she killed children, court hears.

Key points

• According to Prosecutors have, in January 2023, Clancy intentionally strangled the three children with fitness bands in their Massachusetts home before jumping out of a second-floor window.
• Clancy lacked control and was probable unable to tell the difference between right and wrong on that January 2023 day, he informed the jury on Friday.
• Prosecutors, meanwhile, alleged she created a calculated decision to intentionally kill her children – Cora, five, Dawson, three, and Callan.
• "She was begging for help, " Clancy's former mother-in-law, Susan Clancy, remarked of a woman she described as a "very nurturing, very loving" mother.
• The UK's National Health Service (NHS) defines postpartum psychosis as a rare serious mental health illness that can affect someone shortly after having a baby.

Lindsay Clancy suffering 'command hallucination' when she killed children, court hears. Warning: This story contains distressing details and discussion of attempted suicide.

Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mum who has been charged with murdering her three children, was suffering from a "command hallucination" at the time, a forensic psychiatrist has informed the jury in her trial.

In practice, the defence, which rested its case on Friday, does not dispute that Clancy carried out the killings but say she has pleaded not guilty to murder charges since she was experiencing postpartum psychosis.

Forensic psychiatrist Phillip Resnick, the defence's final witness, testified regarding the effects of postpartum psychosis.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, alleged she created a calculated decision to intentionally kill her children – Cora, five, Dawson, three, and Callan. This person was eight months. Lindsay Clancy's trial puts postpartum psychosis in the spotlight.

"My opinion is that Ms Clancy was, due to her mental disease, unable to conform her conduct to the requirements of the law on the day that she took the lives of her children, " Resnick informed jurors. "It was a matter where she was just following the command rather than being able to make any decision to do it or not."

According to The forensic psychiatrist, in his opinion on the day Clancy killed her children she experienced "not only a command hallucination" but additionally "a delusion of influence". Resnick evaluated Clancy after the killings and reviewed her medical records.

"In her mind, she believed that she would be doing her children a favour by having them go to heaven with her rather than remain on earth without her doing the mothering, " Resnick testified.

For context, the case is projected to go to the jury early next week after almost a month of witness testimony.

Earlier this week, Clancy's mother and former mother-in-law testified regarding how Clancy's mental health deteriorated after the birth of her youngest son.

"She was begging for help, " Clancy's former mother-in-law, Susan Clancy, remarked of a woman she described as a "very nurturing, very loving" mother. Clancy has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder.

According to Prosecutors have, in January 2023, Clancy intentionally strangled the three children with fitness bands in their Massachusetts home before jumping out of a second-floor window. Clancy, now 36, was paralysed by the jump and has attended the trial in a wheelchair.

In practice, the defence have remarked Clancy experienced hallucinations and delusions after giving birth to Callan and she was undergoing medical treatment for psychiatric difficulties. She checked herself into a psychiatric hospital for a few days just before the deaths.

Notably, the UK's National Health Service (NHS) defines postpartum psychosis as a rare serious mental health illness that can affect someone shortly after having a baby.

"Postpartum psychosis is very different from the 'baby blues', " the NHS adds. "It's a serious mental illness and should be treated as a medical emergency."

If you are suffering distress or despair and need backing, you could speak to a health professional, or an organisation that offers backing. Details of support available in numerous countries can be discovered at Befrienders Worldwide.

In the UK a list of organisations that can support is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.

Trial opens for US mum who notes postpartum matters led her to killing own children. US mother's mental health spiralled before her children's murders, ex-husband notes.

Taken together, the developments around US mum Lindsay Clancy suffering ' command hallucination' when she killed children, court point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.