Lindsay Clancy, 35, stood trial in Plymouth Superior Court for the strangling deaths of her three children in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in January 2023. [1, 2, 3] The children—aged eight months, three years, and five years—were killed with exercise bands, according to court testimony. [1, 3]
Patrick Clancy, Lindsay's ex-husband, testified on July 28 about discovering the bodies and finding Lindsay injured after she jumped from a second-story window in an apparent suicide attempt the same night. [1, 3] He described speaking with Lindsay by phone while running errands to a CVS pharmacy and ordering dinner before returning home. [1, 3] Patrick said Lindsay told him she tried to kill herself but did not mention the children were in danger when he asked where they were. [3]
Jurors also heard Patrick's anguished 911 call reporting the killings on July 29. During the call, he yelled, "She killed the kids!" [1, 2]
The defense argued Lindsay was suffering from postpartum psychosis, a rare but severe mental illness following childbirth, which impaired her judgment. [1, 2, 3] Defense attorney Shari Karney characterized the case as "murder versus madness." [3] Prosecutors countered that Lindsay was lucid, acted deliberately, and should be held criminally responsible for the deaths. [1, 3]
The trial continues as the court weighs mental health evidence against testimony arguing Lindsay's intentional criminality. Patrick Clancy’s testimony and the 911 call remain key pieces of evidence. The court is scheduled to hear further arguments and expert testimony in the coming days. [1, 3]
