Commonwealth v. Clancy, August 25, 2026
Heilbrun's direct resumes; the Commonwealth says one witness remains.
Key points
- PART OF THIS IS STILL EXPECTATION. The opening of the session and the first minutes of Dr. Heilbrun's continued direct examination are a matter of record. Everything below about cross-examination, the close of the evidence and closing arguments is an advance expectation and may not survive contact with the day.
- ONLY THE OPENING MINUTES HAVE BEEN REPORTED. The Boston Globe's day-20 blog is the one place anything from inside Tuesday's courtroom has appeared, and it has run two posts from the sitting: the bench taking its seat at 9:28 and the jurors coming in at 9:31. Not a line of Heilbrun's evidence has been described. Boston 25's live blog still ends at 3:51 p.m. Monday; boston.com's Tuesday page, last updated at 9:14, and CBS Boston's day-20 page, at 9:16, recount Monday only; NBC Boston's day-20 blog and NBC News's Tuesday blog both refuse the fetch. The Commonwealth's own count of its remaining witnesses is not settled either: the bench said Monday it believed one was left, while the Associated Press preview allows for more than one.
- REDDINGTON SPOKE TO REPORTERS BEFORE COURT. Outside the courthouse on Tuesday morning the defense attorney said the judge had ruled and instructed the jury, that he takes the jurors to be conscientious enough to follow that instruction, and that he has "no doubt that we'll finish the case out today" (CBS Boston, updating at 9:16). This is counsel talking to the press rather than anything said in the courtroom, and the defense making no complaint about the instruction now does not settle what it argues about it later.
- HEILBRUN'S CROSS IS THE DEFENSE'S LAST OPPORTUNITY ON THE EVIDENCE, AND IT HAS NOT STARTED. He was still on direct when Tuesday's reporting stops. Judge Sullivan told the jury the Commonwealth has one further witness after him, which matches what he said from the bench on Monday.
- MONDAY'S MISTRIAL MOTION WAS DENIED AND DEALT WITH BY INSTRUCTION. Judge Sullivan refused to declare a mistrial over Heilbrun's answer about the defendant's Catholic upbringing, struck the evidence and told the jury emphatically to disregard it. Whether that instruction was sufficient is the kind of point that survives into an appeal.
- STILL UNRESOLVED FROM AUGUST 20: whether involuntary manslaughter goes on the verdict slip and whether the jury is instructed on involuntary intoxication. Both were requested by the defense, opposed by the Commonwealth, and no ruling has been reported.
- If the Commonwealth rests today the evidence closes, and the next contested question is the charge rather than the facts.
Witnesses (1)
Dr. Kirk HeilbrunCommonwealth09:33
Forensic psychologist, the Commonwealth's second rebuttal witness
Direct: Sprague Cross: Reddington
- DIRECT RESUMED, NOT CROSS. Heilbrun returned to the stand at about 9:33 a.m. to finish the direct examination that was cut short on Monday, on East Idaho News's account. Reddington's cross-examination, which every preview put at Tuesday, had not begun as of the last reported entry.
- PERITRAUMATIC DISSOCIATION. Asked by the prosecution what the term means, Heilbrun told the jury it describes experiencing things as unreal during a traumatic event. The questioning went to whether the defendant showed signs of it while she was strangling her children. East Idaho News, 9:33 a.m.
- THE DECISIONS THE KILLINGS REQUIRED. The prosecution turned to what carrying them out involved: why particular rooms were used, the order the children were killed in, and what had to be decided along the way. The defense objected. East Idaho News, 9:37 a.m., which does not record how the objection was resolved.
Procedural
- 09:26Court opened for the day. Judge William Sullivan took the bench and called counsel to sidebar before the jurors were brought in. East Idaho News timestamps the opening 9:26 and describes the sidebar as the judge's usual practice; the Boston Globe puts it at 9:28 and has him taking the bench a little before half past nine.
- 09:31The jury was brought in and told the Commonwealth was not finished. Judge Sullivan said Dr. Heilbrun would continue, and that the Commonwealth had one more witness after him. East Idaho News; the Boston Globe times the jurors' return at 9:31 as well, following the sidebar.