Lindsay Clancy’s defense team’s request for a mistrial has been denied by Judge William Sullivan after the prosecution recruited a witness who evoked her Catholic religion while testifying.
Dr. Kirk Heilbrun took the stand on Monday, August 24, to discuss a conversation he had with Clancy, 36, in April after she killed her children Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, in January 2023. Following the killings, Clancy survived an alleged suicide attempt.
“That was part of her expectation was that she and her children would be together in heaven with God. She was raised as a Catholic. As I understand Catholic considerations, that’s not necessarily what happens. But when I asked her about that, when I said, ‘Isn’t suicide a mortal sin?'” Heilbrun — a psychologist who was tasked to determine if Clancy was fit for trial — said, according to CBS News.
After Heilbrun made the comment, the defense objected and Sullivan called a sidebar with both attorneys. Sullivan sent the jurors out of the room and called a brief recess. Once Sullivan and the attorneys returned, Clancy’s defense called for a mistrial.
“This is just over the top. It’s the same thing again, talking about religion, talking about heaven, talking about killing people and the impact it would have on Lindsay as well as her children,” Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, said.
The prosecutor responded by saying that Heilbrun’s comment was unintentional and she pointed out that she did not ask him any questions about religion.
Sullivan ultimately determined that he would not declare a mistrial. However, he reprimanded prosecution for the witness’s testimony.
The jury then returned to the courtroom, and Sullivan told them that Heilbrun’s comments about religion were “immaterial, irrelevant and to be disregarded.”
The jury was then excused for the day, and Sullivan said that Heilbrun would conclude his testimony on Tuesday, August 25.
Earlier in his testimony, Heilbrun said Clancy became anxious when she started taking Zoloft in mid-October 2022.
“She immediately began to have some difficulty,” Heilbrun continued, stating that she experienced symptoms of depression, insomnia and “felt a lot of stress.”
Heilbrun said Clancy started to have “terrible” intrusive thoughts about harming herself in November and December of that year, and she would occasionally think of harming her children.
Clancy is currently facing three counts of first-degree murder. She has not denied that she killed her kids, but her defense argued that she should not be held criminally responsible due to struggles with postpartum psychosis and bipolar depression at the time.
However, the prosecution has argued that Clancy was aware that she killed her children and pointed to her suicide attempt as proof that she knew what she was doing.
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