Jennifer Tufts
Commonwealth
- Role
- Psychiatrist at Aster Mental Health, Braintree, now practicing in Peabody. Residency at Boston Medical Center from 2018 until 2022 -- turnto10 dates its completion to July 2022 -- hired at Aster in August 2022, board certified in September 2022. She treated Clancy from September 15, 2022 until January 23, 2023, the day before the killings, over fourteen appointments, all of them by telemedicine. She is a defendant in medical malpractice actions brought by Lindsay Clancy and by Patrick Clancy over that care.
- Direct
- Given on August 7, 2026; redirect on this date
- Cross
- Reddington
- TESTIMONY COMPLETE ON THIS DATE. She had been called by the Commonwealth on August 7 and returned at about 09:20 for cross-examination, which ran through the morning to the lunch recess. Redirect began at about 14:10, recross followed, and she stepped down at about 14:57. The Boston Globe reports the courtroom packed for the cross, with more spectators queueing than on any day since Patrick Clancy testified.
- HER EXPERIENCE. Residency at Boston Medical Center 2018 to 2022, board certification in September 2022, hired at Aster the month before she first saw Clancy. Asked whether she had been practicing as a psychiatrist for a little more than a month, she said she had been practicing independently with her full credentials for about a month but that her prior training was immense. She had treated many patients in the postpartum period during residency -- ABC News and Boston 25 give the figure as about fifty postpartum depression patients -- but maybe a couple at Aster before Clancy, and had not treated a patient with postpartum psychosis at Aster because the condition is rare. She said many people with postpartum psychosis hear voices. Asked to quantify how rare it is, she said she was not sure. Boston Globe, Boston 25, ABC News.
- THE BOARD CERTIFICATION DATE. Court TV reports Reddington putting to her that she received board certification in psychiatry on September 12, 2022 -- the same day Clancy first contacted the practice and filled out the intake questionnaire, and three days before the first appointment on September 15. No other outlet read gives the date.
- THE WEBSITE BIOGRAPHY. Her online profile lists a particular interest in women's mental health and perinatal psychiatry from pregnancy through two years postpartum. She said she had not written or changed it herself and had not represented herself as an expert. Asked whether advertising that interest a month into independent practice was negligent, she said: I do not believe that I have been negligent. She did not know exactly how Clancy found Aster; the Boston Globe reports elsewhere that Clancy found the practice through an online search.
- THE LAWSUIT. She agreed she is a defendant in litigation arising out of this care. boston.com reports Reddington calling it a very large lawsuit and asking whether she knew the outcome of this case was very major to the outcome of it; she answered that she did not actually know that.
- TELEMEDICINE. All fourteen appointments were remote and she had never seen Clancy in person before the trial. Patrick Clancy attended one of them. Asked why she never suggested an in-person visit, she said talking to her over the video did not seem like an issue. Court TV reports her saying she could not see Clancy's legs but knew she was under stress. On redirect she told the Commonwealth that telehealth is common and accepted practice. Boston Globe, boston.com, Court TV, turnto10.
- SESSION LENGTH. Sessions generally ran twenty-five to thirty minutes. Court TV reports her disputing the malpractice complaint's seventeen-minute allegation by distinguishing the appointment from the therapy component, which she put at seventeen minutes. Asked what therapy she provided, she said she listened to her, listened to her concerns, and tried to give her hope; she described it as supportive psychotherapy, emotional support and validation, and said she did not recall the exact therapeutic terms she used.
- THE RECORDS SHE DID NOT GET. She did not have and did not seek the records of Clancy's other outpatient psychiatric treatment (ABC News). She could not access the South Shore perinatal records because, she said, it is a completely separate clinic, and she did not ask Clancy to sign a release because she did not feel it was necessary: Clancy provided all the relevant information about her treatment there, in incredibly detailed terms, naming medications, doses and dates. Court TV reports she never reviewed hospital records from Clancy's admissions, saying it did not seem necessary. Boston Globe, ABC News, Court TV.
- THE SCREENING SHE DID NOT USE. She said she did not administer the postpartum screening instrument Reddington asked about, using a separate depression screening tool instead, and that she was not aware the postpartum scale had been given to Clancy elsewhere and had returned a result indicating severe depression. East Idaho News reports the score put to her as in the 20s; boston.com gives Julie Paul's figure the same afternoon as 23 of 30. Boston Globe, East Idaho News.
- THE SUICIDE HOTLINE CALLS. Reddington put to her that Clancy called a suicide hotline twice during the period of her treatment and was turned away. She was not aware of it. It surprises me that she called them twice, she said, acknowledging she probably had not asked; ABC News quotes her saying she did not think she asked her about suicide hotlines. On redirect she said she would not normally ask a patient unprompted whether they had called a hotline. The Boston Globe records Reddington's demeanor briefly softening at this point: she was a doctor trying to do the right thing, and this was just horrible. Boston Globe, ABC News, Boston 25, East Idaho News.
- ZOLOFT, SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2022. She diagnosed generalized anxiety disorder and adjustment disorder with depressed mood and prescribed sertraline in September 2022, calling it a very effective first-line medication for generalized anxiety disorder. She went over side effects but did not raise suicidal thoughts, which she understands to be a concern predominantly for children and young adults up to about twenty-four; she said the black box warning is aimed at that group. Insomnia is a listed side effect and Clancy had already reported sleep trouble; asked why she prescribed it anyway, she said individuals have very varied responses to medication and it is impossible to predict. Clancy was told to go from 25mg to 50mg after a week but waited about a month because she was afraid of the side effects; she took it for a week, told Tufts on October 20 that she felt awful, and was told to stop. Reddington asked whether insomnia, diarrhea, appetite loss, depressed mood and mental fog described a pretty sick patient; boston.com reports Tufts agreeing she was concerned. Boston Globe, boston.com.
- PRIOR MEDICATION HISTORY. Clancy reported no past psychiatric history except fluoxetine in nursing school, with no side effects mentioned, and a September 2022 intake form recording postpartum anxiety after one of her births and prior fluoxetine and bupropion use without side effects. She had taken sertraline for about a week after Dawson's birth with side effects that, based on her description, did not sound severe; Tufts said she did not feel it was necessary to document what those side effects were. Reddington's framing, per boston.com: when a patient comes to you with a month under your belt, and she is sick and looking for help, do you wait for her to volunteer the facts? Tufts maintained that Clancy volunteered a great deal and could advocate for herself. Boston Globe, boston.com.
- THE OTHER PRESCRIBING. Lorazepam and buspirone in the fall of 2022, both for anxiety; Clancy was afraid to take the buspirone. Hydroxyzine in October, an antihistamine for short-term anxiety and, later, an alternative to the diphenhydramine Clancy was taking over the counter. She did not recall whether she discussed combining lorazepam with diphenhydramine; East Idaho News reports Reddington putting to her that the combination can cause depression. The lorazepam went from 0.5mg to 1mg at one point, and from about November 22 the plan was to taper it until she was off it. She did not advise Clancy to keep a journal of side effects. Boston Globe, East Idaho News.
- PHARMACOGENOMIC TESTING. Asked repeatedly about testing to determine how a patient metabolizes psychiatric medications, she said such testing is very new, that she did not do it for Clancy, and that it would not have made a difference in her treatment. Boston Globe.
- THYROID. She said she had published a small thing on postpartum issues, not a full article, and had not read the papers Reddington cited linking thyroid dysfunction to postpartum illness. She would advise a patient with elevated thyroid levels to take it up with a primary care provider or a specialist. On recross she agreed records showed thyroid levels tested at Brigham and Women's and at South Shore. Boston Globe.
- OCTOBER 2022, THE DETERIORATION. On October 20 Clancy reported anxiety, no appetite, prolonged crying, mental fog and sleep trouble, said she was in distress and did not want to be alone, and said her mother was coming to help; Tufts did not know how long the mother stayed and never spoke to Clancy's parents, saying it is not typical to speak to the parents of an adult who can advocate for herself. She was unsure from the records whether a therapist carried out a suicide assessment on October 31, saying it looked as though it was asked in other ways. She recommended natural remedies including fish oil and looked into an intravenous postpartum medication given under hospital supervision, advising Clancy to raise it with the Women and Infants providers in Rhode Island. Boston Globe.
- NOVEMBER 2022. On November 2 she continued the diagnoses of generalized anxiety disorder and depressed mood, noted the condition improving, planned the lorazepam taper and suggested four further medications. On November 22 Clancy told her she was being seen at the South Shore perinatal clinic and again denied suicidal ideation; Tufts believes Clancy went to an emergency room for depression at about that time. Boston Globe.
- DECEMBER 1, 2022, THE FEELING THAT SHE WAS GOING TO DIE. Clancy reported continuing sleep trouble, trazodone prescribed by another provider, depression, numbness, and intrusive thoughts including the feeling that she was going to die. She denied being suicidal but said she was close to it and used the word hopeless. Tufts told her it was something they could address and raised partial hospitalization. She could not say how frequently the thoughts came, had no documentation of asking, and agreed patients sometimes minimize their symptoms. She characterized the early-December presentation as moderate, maybe heading toward severe. THIS BEARS ON AN OPEN DISCREPANCY: the file records a conflict over whether the going-to-die appointment was December 1 or December 21, 2022. Every account of this day's cross-examination places it on December 1. Boston Globe.
- BIPOLAR DISORDER. She discussed quetiapine, an antipsychotic another provider had prescribed, and the possibility of an undiagnosed bipolar disorder, and discussed a separate mood-stabilizing drug. Asked outright by Reddington whether Clancy suffered from bipolar disorder, she said no. She gave the jury four days as the duration of a hypomanic episode and seven for mania. She recommended a partial hospitalization program in Brookline; Clancy attended the Women and Infants program in Rhode Island for one day. Boston Globe.
- DECEMBER 16, 2022. Clancy said she was having a difficult time although she was sleeping, described a lack of motivation, and reported that she had gone to an emergency room for suicidal ideation and, asked to elaborate, said she felt hopeless. She was assessed there and not admitted, and Tufts said she did not require hospitalization at that appointment. Tufts did not know that Clancy had told her husband about thoughts of harming the children. Boston 25 reports her saying that had she been told, she would have been very concerned and might have called the Department of Children and Families. Boston Globe, Boston 25.
- JANUARY 2023. Patrick Clancy indicated in December that his wife was not doing well, possibly because of the quetiapine. After the McLean discharge she saw Clancy on January 6: she wasn't doing well. McLean had diagnosed major depression and stopped the quetiapine. Clancy remained on trazodone, still reported feeling numb and sleeping badly, and the trazodone dose was raised; diazepam and amitriptyline were prescribed around this period. On January 16 she denied suicidal and homicidal thoughts, reported low mood, said bonding with the baby feels forced, said she had to force herself out of bed, asked about ketamine treatment, and had not increased the amitriptyline as directed. Boston Globe.
- JANUARY 23, 2023, THE LAST APPOINTMENT. Clancy reported her heart racing; East Idaho News reports her saying she had been numb for seventeen days straight. ABC News quotes the note: mood was the same, flat, anxious, no motivation, numb, and she has to force herself to get out of bed. Tufts raised the amitriptyline dose. She denied suicidal and homicidal thoughts. Tufts was not aware Clancy had taken the children to the Museum of Science in the days before. Reddington asked whether the dose increase pushed her over the edge; boston.com reports her pausing and answering that she did not think so. Boston Globe, boston.com, East Idaho News, ABC News.
- MANDATED REPORTING. boston.com reports Reddington confirming she is a mandated reporter and asking whether she would report a patient who told her she was having suicidal thoughts and was close to it. Her answer: not necessarily. Separately she testified she would have moved to commit Clancy had she disclosed a plan to harm herself or her children.
- REDIRECT: NO PSYCHOSIS, NO MANIA. Asked by the Commonwealth whether she saw any sign of psychosis in any of her interactions with Clancy, she said no. She described the signs she looks for -- excessively loud or disjointed speech, paranoid statements -- and said the signs of mania are fast or loud speech, hyperactivity and disjointed thought, and that what she saw was the opposite. turnto10 reports her testifying that Clancy never disclosed manic episodes, voices or psychosis. She said she treated thousands of patients during her residency, dozens of them postpartum, and was a licensed physician throughout it. Boston Globe, Boston 25, turnto10.
- REDIRECT: THE PATIENT'S OWN ACCOUNT. Truthfulness matters, she said, and Clancy advocated for herself -- scheduling her own appointments, going voluntarily to an emergency room, and giving detailed medication information. She said she had repeatedly recommended weekly individual therapy and that Clancy saw a therapist at Aster only twice. She viewed Clancy's mother coming to stay as a positive. Boston Globe.
- REDIRECT: WHY NO HOSPITALIZATION ON JANUARY 23. boston.com reports the Commonwealth drawing out that she did not recommend hospitalization because Clancy was completely denying suicidal or homicidal thoughts and showed no signs of psychosis or mania. CBS Boston reports the prosecutor also establishing that the sertraline suicide warning is really for adolescents.
- REDIRECT: THE AMITRIPTYLINE BOTTLE. The Commonwealth put the bottle in front of the jury: filled January 16, 2023 with thirty pills, eight missing -- consistent with one 10mg tablet a day rather than the doubled dose. CBS Boston gives the increase as 10mg to 20mg. CBS Boston, boston.com, East Idaho News.
- REDIRECT: HIPAA. Asked whether psychiatrists routinely contact a patient's family, she said no, and that they do not have HIPAA permission to do it. On recross she agreed that the law bars contacting relatives without a waiver and that she never asked Clancy to sign one. boston.com, Boston Globe.
- RECROSS: THE MARIJUANA GUMMY. She said Clancy did not tell her she was using marijuana or gummies. Records shown to her recorded a single edible in mid-November that caused heart palpitations. Boston Globe.
- RECROSS: THE OCTOBER 21 NOTE, AND THE EXCHANGE THAT ENDED HER EVIDENCE. Reddington had her read her own note of October 21, 2022, which records that Clancy had not slept the night before and was battling severe anxiety and which reads not hyper, pressured speech. Pressured speech is a sign of mania. Tufts said she had meant to write that the speech was not pressured. boston.com quotes her: she knows it does not say not, but that is exactly what she meant. CBS Boston has her saying she did not care what it said, she knew what she meant, and that Reddington's interpretation was incorrect. She said Clancy's speech was appropriate that day, and stepped down. Boston Globe, boston.com, CBS Boston.