A Massachusetts jury began deliberating Thursday in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Duxbury mother accused of strangling her three young children in January 2023, after nearly two hours of closing arguments laid out starkly different pictures of what happened inside her home that night.

Clancy, 36, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan. She does not dispute killing them — the fight is over her mental state. Prosecutors allege she "acted intentionally, rationally and swiftly," sending her then-husband Patrick out for takeout to buy herself time before strangling the children and attempting suicide. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington countered that Clancy was in the grip of a psychotic episode, telling jurors she heard a voice saying, "This is your last chance. Kill the children so you can kill yourself."

What jurors can decide

The panel of nine women and three men has four possible outcomes to choose from: not guilty, not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, guilty of first-degree murder by premeditation or extreme atrocity and cruelty, or one of the lesser included charges of second-degree murder or manslaughter, according to jury instructions reported by NBC News. The judge told jurors a defendant can still form the intent required for murder even while suffering a mental impairment — a distinction both sides spent their closings trying to bend in their favor.

"This is your last chance. Kill the children so you can kill yourself." — voice Clancy says she heard, per her defense attorney's closing argument

The trial, which began with jury selection in July, has featured weeks of dueling expert psychiatric testimony over whether Clancy showed genuine signs of postpartum psychosis or was faking symptoms to avoid responsibility, a dispute the Boston Globe has tracked closely throughout the proceedings. Prosecutors have acknowledged Clancy had genuine mental health struggles but insist she still knew the difference between right and wrong when she killed her children.

Jurors deliberated Thursday afternoon before being sent home around 4 p.m. without a verdict; they are set to resume Friday morning. The case, which drew national attention over its focus on the little-understood severity of postpartum psychosis, could hinge on whether jurors find Clancy legally "criminally responsible" for her actions — a verdict that will carry consequences for how the illness is treated in courtrooms well beyond Massachusetts.