Watch Live: Second psychiatric nurse practitioner testifies at Lindsay Clancy trial
CBS News · LC · trust 30/100
Updated on: August 11, 2026 / 12:23 PM EDT / CBS Boston
Lindsay Clancy 's murder trial in Massachusetts resumed Tuesday with testimony from Rebecca Jollotta, a second psychiatric nurse practitioner who treated Clancy in 2022.
You can watch the trial live on CBS News Boston in the embedded video or on YouTube when court is in session.
Clancy, 35, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the deaths of her three children, 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan, in their home in Duxbury on Jan. 24, 2023.
Prosecutors, led by assistant district attorney Jennifer Sprague, say she planned the murders . Clancy's attorney Kevin Reddington says she admits killing her children, but she shouldn't be held criminally responsible because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder.
Rebecca Jollotta works at South Shore Health in Weymouth and treated Clancy starting in November 2022.
Jollotta said that after speaking virtually with Clancy, she later met with her and her ex-husband Patrick in person on Dec. 6, 2022. Lindsay and Patrick Clancy were married at the time of their children's deaths, but have since divorced and Patrick has remarried.
According to Jollotta, Clancy did not mention anything about hearing voices, hallucinations, or suicidal intent during the in-person meeting.
"I discussed to her and her husband the possibility of an underlying bipolar disorder," Jollotta said.
Jollotta said she recalls Patrick Clancy saying, "My wife is not bipolar."
The next day, Clancy messaged Jollotta to say that she had not slept well, took Ativan and then "got desperate" and took Benedryl.
"I'm desperate and really need help," Jollotta testified that Clancy told her.
Clancy asked for different medications, and Jollotta again suggested that she was concerned about a potential underlying mood and bipolar disorder.
On Dec. 12, 2022, Jollotta said she told Clancy she "strongly, strongly recommend" a partial hospitalization program.
Clancy had an in-person appointment scheduled for the next day, but she called to make it a virtual meeting.
Clancy was prescribed medications to help with her mental health struggles. According to Jollotta, after four days Clancy said the medication was not working. Jollotta said she encouraged Clancy to give it more time.
Jollotta said it was common practice to pair a low dosage of medications together to manage a person's symptoms.
"I thought it would help with depression, anxiety and sleep," Jollotta said.
Jollotta testified that Clancy did not report feeling suicidal, but said she "can't keep going on like this."
On Dec. 1, 2022, Clancy messaged Jollotta through the MyChart app.
"Sorry for all the messages, this is just a scary time for me," Clancy wrote, adding that she was scared of starting medications. In another message, Clancy wrote "I'm willing to try anything."
Clancy said she was concerned that she felt addicted to one of the medications, Ativan.
"I feel concerningly numb right now ... like I have no emotion whatsoever," Clancy wrote to Jollotta that same day. "I feel like I'm going to die and I don't care. What do I do about this?"
Jollotta provided resources to Clancy for crisis intervention in case the symptoms got worse. She testified that she did not tell Clancy to go to the emergency room right away. She thought it seemed like anhedonia, which is a symptom of depression that can make people lose the inability to feel pleasure.
"My concern about that statement was that I wanted her to have access to the resources if it worsened," Jollotta said.
Before testimony began for the day, attorneys argued before Judge William Sullivan about potential testimony from Emily Thorndike, who posted a TikTok video about her experience working at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts.
Thorndike took issue with the positive description of McLean during Sprague's questioning of Lindsay Clancy's ex-husband Patrick.
Prosecutors say the testimony should not be allowed because Thorndike was not working at the facility when Clancy was admitted for treatment in 2022.
Judge Sullivan took arguments under advisement but did not make a ruling.
Julie Paul, the 61st witness in the trial, was on the stand briefly to start the day Tuesday. She testified for the prosecution Monday afternoon, telling the court she prescribed some psychiatric drugs to Clancy and that Clancy never mentioned having thoughts of killing herself or her children.
Paul was set for cross-examination on Tuesday, but it only lasted about a minute and she stepped down.
If convicted of first-degree murder, Lindsay Clancy faces life in prison without parole. If the jury of 12 women and six men finds that she was not criminally responsible for the deaths of her children, she will be sent to a state psychiatric hospital in Massachusetts.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis, you can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. You can also chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline here .
For more information about mental health care resources and support , The National Alliance on Mental Illness HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–10 p.m. ET, at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or email info@nami.org .
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