Rebuttal witnesses are now being called in the Lindsay Clancy trial as Day 19 commences. Follow here with live updates from inside the court…
12:55 p.m. The judge is calling a lunch break.
12:43 a.m. Heilbrun diagnosed Clancy with bipolar ii. He said that he had trouble finding any example of mania, or even hypomania, but her bipolar ii treatment at Tewksbury Hospital helped to convince him.
12:28 p.m. The psychologist testified about the intrusive thoughts of killing herself that began to occur in Dec. of 2022.
“The way she described these, they were not auditory hallucinations, they were her own thoughts,” he said, not as a separate voice. “That’s a different kind of a symptom, even unwelcome and intrusive thoughts… If it’s coming from outside your head, it’s likely a psychotic symptom.”
12:19 p.m. Heilbrun said before Sept. 2022, Clancy had anxiety at times but it never really interfered with her life and functioning.
12:07 p.m. Sprague asked about retention bias, and Heilbrun said it does exist and can bias evaluators for the side they’ve been hired by.
“I am aware of it and try my best to guard against it,” he said.
12:06 p.m. The psychologist also said that he was testified for defenses and prosecutions before, over 300 times. He said that 75% of the time he has testified on the behalf of the defense.
12:03 p.m. Heilbrun said that he would never describe someone who he evaluated as a patient because they aren’t a patient.
“When we are working as a therapist, we’re trying to help someone improve,” he said. “And the two can conflict because as a therapist I want to do my best to help somebody as a forensic psychologist I want to be thorough… even if it doesn’t help someone.”
11:53 a.m. Another CW rebuttal witness, Kirk Heilbrun, a forensic psychologist, is on the stand being questioned by ADA Jennifer Sprague.
11:07 a.m. Sullivan is calling a morning break.
10:46 a.m. On redirect, Assistant District Attorney Shanan Buckingham asked whether Mack gets paid, regardless of what opinion he forms, and he said yes.
He also said that he specifically was asked to evaluate Clancy’s mental state during the killings.
10:41 a.m. The doctor said that both blood tests and thyroid tests could be important in treating patients and prescribing medications. He said those tests were not administered to Clancy
10:33 a.m. Mack repeatedly asked which authority Reddington is referring to when the attorney asked questions about postpartum psychosis symptoms, and Judge William Sullivan stops him.
“Here’s the way this works, you don’t ask a lot of questions,” Sullivan said, telling him if he can’t answer the question they way its phrased, he can say so.
10:30 a.m. “You would not utilize that in your diagnostic terminology,” Mack said when referring to postpartum psychosis. He said that anytime anyone has psychosis its serious.
10:24 a.m. “Do you understand the term postpartum psychosis? It’s really easy,” Reddington asked.“It’s actually not easy,” Mack answers, continually referring to the condition as a “proposed diagnosis,” not in the DSM 5.
10:13 a.m. Reddington asked about symptoms of postpartum depression according to Mack’s understand, not according to the DSM 5.
“You said, ‘Forget the DSM,’ except making diagnoses in psychiatry requires an authority and we use the DSM,” he said.
9:53 a.m. “My opinion was and is that she suffered from a major depressive episode and that was a part of major depressive disorder,” Mack said.
9:43 a.m. When asking about a type of psychological test, Reddington asked Mack, “What are you smiling for? This isn’t funny, sir.”
9:35 a.m. “How much money do you make a year on your forensic evaluations?” Reddington asked.“It ranges, over the years, several hundreds of thousands of dollars can be a fee,” Dr. Mack said.
9:32 a.m. A psychiatrist for the Commonwealth’s rebuttal Dr. Avram Mack is on the stand.
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