{
  "id": 3133385,
  "title": "Lindsay Clancy trial: psychologist says he doubts claim she was hallucinating",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/lindsay-clancy-trial-psychologist-says-he-doubts-claim-she-was",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-24T23:00:53.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Guardian US",
    "slug": "the-guardian-us",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/24/lindsay-clancy-trial-psychologist-testimony"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A forensic psychologist testifying in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial for the deaths of her three children on Monday expressed doubts about her claims of hallucination. Dr. Kirk Heilbrun, who conducted psychiatric evaluations on Clancy in April, said he found her description of a voice commanding her to commit the act to be highly unusual. He stated that Clancy killed her children so they wouldn't \"suffer\" after she took her own life. Clancy, who is paralyzed from the waist down, allegedly jumped from a second-story window after the killings. Her defense argues she suffered from postpartum psychosis and should not be held criminally responsible. However, prosecutors claim she planned the murders and was able to understand the wrongfulness of her actions at the time. The trial's outcome will hinge on expert testimony regarding Clancy's mental state during the killings.",
  "summary": "Dr Kirk Heilbrun says he believes Clancy took children’s lives so they wouldn’t ‘suffer’ after she killed herself With just days to go before the murder trial for Lindsay Clancy concludes, a forensic psychologist called by the prosecution testified on Monday that he did not believe she was experiencing acute psychosis when she killed her three children. Kirk Heilbrun, who reportedly performed…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "CBS News",
        "title": "Trial lawyer on how Lindsay Clancy jury may weigh expert testimony",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/trial-lawyer-on-how-lindsay-clancy-jury-may-weigh-expert-testimony",
        "published": "2026-08-24T18:00:56.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}