Prosecutors Rely on iPhone and Apple Watch Data in Tragic Murder Trial
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Prosecutors are using health data from an Apple Watch as evidence in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy. The data, alongside iPhone Messages history, is being used to detail the accused’s last actions before the triple homicide of her children. The former labor and delivery nurse is accused of the 2023 murder of three children in Massachusetts. Following the murders, Clancy attempted suicide.
E! News reports that during the last day of the prosecution laying out its case, it used phone calls, internet searches, and health data from the accused’s Apple Watch as evidence.
iPhone Data
The prosecution brought digital forensics expert Ian Whiffin of Cellebrite to the stand to discuss several different factors, including the accused’s search history. Israeli-owned Cellebrite is one of the companies best known for extracting information from locked iPhones.
NBC Boston reports Whiffin testified that Lindsay made multiple online inquiries about drugs and medication — including “how quickly does wellbutrin work for depression” and “ketamine for suicidal ideation” — in the days leading up to her kids’ deaths. On the day of the murders, searches were made for “Kids miralax” and “CVS pharmacy.”
As for the call records, Whiffin said Clancy’s iPhone had last been unlocked at 5:13 p.m. on January 24, 2023. An unanswered phone call was received on the iPhone from now-ex-husband Patrick at 5:33 p.m. A few minutes later, a fourteen-second outbound call was made back to Patrick from the device, which may have been placed while the iPhone was locked. At 6:09 p.m., a second unanswered call was received from Patrick’s number.
Apple Watch Data
Whiffin also discussed the accused’s Apple Watch, and the data recorded in the Apple Health app on her iPhone. He claims the data showed her last recorded heart rate as 57 beats per minute, which is thought to be a low rate for Clancy.
She also climbed two flights of stairs at 5:03 p.m. and 5:33 p.m. (Apple has long included the ability to count steps and changes in elevation on the iPhone, even without an accompanying Apple Watch.)
This is not the first time during the trial that data from iPhones and Apple Watches have been used. During the trial’s third week, the final texts sent from Lindsay to Patrick were read aloud in court. Hours before the evening’s events, Lindsay asked if Patrick wanted take-out food.
The prosecution has pushed the take-out discussion as a way for Lindsay to send Patrick out on an errand, to leave her alone with the children so she could perform a heinous act.
When asked by Patrick about eight-month-old Callan’s nap time, Lindsay responded, “It was just a short nap.”
Notes from the iPhone created in the preceding months were also submitted as evidence. One note revealed Clancy was “a touch anxious,” requesting Zoloft from her psychiatrist. The note continued, with Clancy admitting, “That’s when everything started going downhill.”
The note was last modified on January 23, the day before the killing.
The Defense Fires Back
As you might imagine, when it was his turn, defense attorney Kevin Reddington took aim at the prosecution’s data claims, highlighting the times that the devices stopped recording data. The Apple Watch had apparently stopped recording at 5:23 p.m., while the iPhone ceased saving data at 5:38 p.m.
While basically admitting that it is plausible that the data is accurate when it comes to climbing stairs, Reddington pointed out that some of the data was “off a bit,” that the heart rate was recorded by the Apple Watch, while the steps were recorded by both the Apple Watch and iPhone.
It should be noted that attorney Reddington does not deny that Lindsay killed her children, instead arguing that she cannot be held criminally responsible due to her struggle with postpartum psychosis at the time of the murders.
On the other side of the aisle, the prosecution alleges that Lindsay planned and executed the murders of her three children: five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson, and eight-month-old Callan. Lindsay then jumped out of a second-story window. The fall left her paralyzed from the waist down.
If convicted, Clancy could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The trial continues.
