Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial was abruptly interrupted Wednesday when the Massachusetts mother broke down sobbing and repeatedly struggled to breathe as a medical examiner described the autopsy of her 5-year-old daughter.

Clancy, 36, became overwhelmed just minutes into testimony from medical examiner Dr. Barbara Olson, who was detailing the findings from Cora Clancy’s autopsy.

“I can’t do this!” Clancy cried from the defense table.

Judge William Sullivan immediately ordered a recess and sent the jury out of the courtroom.

Two women approached Clancy as she sobbed and struggled to catch her breath, placing their hands on her back in an effort to comfort her. Her attorney, Kevin Reddington, also consoled her.

It was the second courtroom break triggered by Clancy’s emotional reaction Wednesday.

Earlier, she had cried audibly while another medical examiner, Dr. Renee Stonebridge, testified about examining the bodies of Clancy’s three children.

Medical examiner details Cora’s death

After the court resumed, Olson told jurors that Cora died from asphyxiation.

The medical examiner testified that the child would have experienced pain before losing consciousness, estimating that the painful process could have lasted between 10 and 30 seconds.

Olson also performed the autopsy of Clancy’s 3-year-old son, Dawson, and testified that he likewise died from asphyxiation.

Clancy continued to whimper throughout Olson’s testimony, eventually resting her head on her arms at the defense table.

The jury was dismissed for the day after the questioning concluded.

Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse from Duxbury, Massachusetts, is accused of killing Cora, Dawson and her 8-month-old son, Callan, on Jan. 24, 2023.

After the killings, prosecutors say Clancy attempted to take her own life by cutting her wrists and neck before jumping from a second-floor bedroom window.

The fall left her paralyzed and dependent on a wheelchair.

She has also become emotional during previous testimony in the trial, including last week when a medical examiner discussed Callan’s autopsy.

Defense argues insanity

Clancy is not disputing that she killed her children. Instead, her defense is seeking a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Reddington has argued that Clancy was suffering from severe postpartum depression and was affected by an extensive regimen of prescription medications.

Her attorney has also claimed that Clancy heard voices instructing her to kill her children.

Earlier Wednesday, jurors heard testimony that Clancy allegedly told her husband, Patrick Clancy, from her hospital room that she had heard voices telling her to kill the children.

At the time, Clancy was recovering from her suicide attempt at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

State Trooper Daniel Lawlor testified that psychiatrist Dr. Paul Zeizel was permitted to let Clancy use his cellphone to call Patrick during a visit.

Lawlor acknowledged that he did not hear the conversation between Clancy and her husband.

The trooper and lead investigator Joshua McKelligan later speculated that the psychiatrist may have encouraged Clancy to tell Patrick about hearing voices as part of a potential defense strategy.

Lawlor admitted, however, that there was no evidence supporting that theory.

Clancy had sought help before the killings

The jury also heard testimony from counselor Latiesha Dukes, who met with Clancy four times in December 2022.

Dukes testified that Clancy had lost about 10 pounds, was sleeping only two to four hours a night and had experienced suicidal thoughts.

Clancy had contacted a suicide hotline twice that month.

According to Dukes, she was not admitted for inpatient treatment because she did not have a specific plan to act on her suicidal thoughts.

During a Dec. 5 appointment, Clancy reportedly described having intrusive thoughts about wanting to die.

Dukes said she repeatedly recommended that Clancy seek a higher level of postpartum mental-health care.

The jury previously heard that Clancy was later turned away from Women and Infants Hospital and was advised to seek treatment at McLean Hospital in Belmont.

Reddington has argued that Clancy was struggling to obtain appropriate treatment while being prescribed numerous psychiatric medications.

In the four months before the killings, the jury has heard, Clancy received 30 prescriptions involving 13 psychiatric medications from various providers.

She also visited Massachusetts General Hospital in December 2022 because of suicidal thoughts but was not admitted overnight because she did not have a plan to harm herself.

On Jan. 1, 2023, she checked herself into McLean Hospital for five days because of intrusive thoughts.

Clancy and Patrick, who has since remarried, have separately sued her psychiatrist, Dr. Jennifer Tufts, and other medical providers, alleging that she was misdiagnosed and overmedicated.

The murder trial is ongoing.

Source: nypost.com