Lindsay Clancy Trial: Psychiatrist Tufts Says She Saw No Psychosis — Then Reddington Pushed Back

**Tony Brueski** (0:00)
This is live courtroom coverage of the trial of Lindsay Clancy from the Hidden Killers podcast in True Crime Today. Now, back to the courtroom.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:11)
Come up, I redirect. Thank you.
Good afternoon, doctor. I apologize for my voice. If you can't hear me, just let me know.

**Jennifer Tufts** (0:18)
Okay.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:19)
You were asked on cross-examination about your residency. At that point, you were already a doctor, correct?

**Jennifer Tufts** (0:27)
Yes.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:28)
During your residency, that was a four-year period, correct?

**Jennifer Tufts** (0:32)
Yes.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:33)
You were saying that you treated patients during that time, is that correct?

**Jennifer Tufts** (0:37)
Yes.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:38)
Was there someone with you while you treated these patients telling you what to do and how to handle them?

**Jennifer Tufts** (0:43)
No.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:44)
Were you alone responsible for the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of your patients?

**Jennifer Tufts** (0:50)
For the most part, but if I had questions or needed to talk it through, I had help.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:56)
Approximately how many patients did you treat during those four years?

**Jennifer Tufts** (1:00)
Thousands.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:02)
Those were all psychiatric patients, correct?

**Jennifer Tufts** (1:05)
Yes.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:07)
You said approximately 50 of those patients were patients dealing with postpartum depression or some postpartum issues. Is that correct?

**Jennifer Tufts** (1:15)
Yes.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:15)
You also said you had some specialized or specific training in that area. Can you describe that for us?

**Jennifer Tufts** (1:21)
Yes. I did a specialized elective with a specifically perinatal psychiatrist, where I worked in an obstetrics clinic and I saw patients who were pregnant and postpartum.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:34)
How long was that clinic for?

**Jennifer Tufts** (1:36)
It was for about a year.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:38)
For a year, you were evaluating and diagnosing and treating women with postpartum issues?

**Jennifer Tufts** (1:45)
Yes.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:46)
That's separate and apart from your residency?

**Jennifer Tufts** (1:49)
It's a part of the residency. It's an elective.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:51)
So for one year out of the four, that was specifically designated to postpartum issues?

**Jennifer Tufts** (1:58)
Yes. It wasn't every single day, but it was continuing the same patients for about a year.

**SPEAKER_2** (2:04)
So you would follow those same patients throughout the year? Is that what you're saying? Yes.
You were asked about postpartum psychosis and you said it was rare. How rare is it?

**Jennifer Tufts** (2:17)
I'm not sure of the statistic, but low.

**SPEAKER_2** (2:21)
Have you dealt with patients in your four years of residency that had other types of psychosis?

**Jennifer Tufts** (2:28)
Yes, many.

**SPEAKER_2** (2:29)
And psychosis, whether it's from postpartum or some other mental illness, does it present the same or does it matter what the underlying illness is?

**Jennifer Tufts** (2:40)
I mean, it can present different based on the individual, but it's the same general disorder.

**SPEAKER_2** (2:48)
And so, what are the symptoms or signs that you look for to determine whether someone has psychosis?

**Jennifer Tufts** (2:53)
So, you look at them, you assess their appearance, are they disheveled, and then you look at how cooperative they are, how they're engaging in your interview, are they answering your questions or maybe refusing to answer your questions, maybe being very aggressive.
You look at their speech, whether they're speaking very fast, very loud, or the opposite, like maybe not really even speaking much at all. You look at what their thoughts are like, and we assess thoughts by what they're saying. That's how we know what people are thinking. And whether what they say makes sense linearly, or whether someone's jumping around and you can't follow them. We also assess the thoughts for their content. If someone is speaking about things that are very bizarre, things that are very paranoid, if someone is talking or making noises, or it seems like they're communicating with somebody that's not in the room. Those are all things, behaviors that we assess for.

**SPEAKER_2** (4:05)
So although you never treated someone with postpartum psychosis, you had evaluated, diagnosed and treated people with other types of psychosis. Is that correct?

**Jennifer Tufts** (4:14)
Yes.

**SPEAKER_2** (4:14)
Did you see any signs of psychosis in any of your interactions with Lindsay Clancy?

**Jennifer Tufts** (4:19)
No.

**SPEAKER_2** (4:21)
Defense Council mentioned that part of your residency was during COVID. Did mental health issues just stop during COVID?

**Jennifer Tufts** (4:27)
Of course not. They often got worse.

**SPEAKER_2** (4:31)
It's fair to say you still kept busy seeing patients on a daily basis?

**Jennifer Tufts** (4:36)
Yes.

**SPEAKER_2** (4:38)
You also mentioned that some of the patients you saw in your residency, it was outpatient care, is that correct?