Monday, 27 July 2026, 22:51
The trial of Lindsay Clancy, a 35-year-old former labor and delivery nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital accused of murdering her three young children, began Monday with opening statements in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The case centers on whether Clancy was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings, a rare mental illness that her attorneys argue rendered her unable to control her actions.
In the months after the birth of her third child, Clancy's mental health collapsed. She sought care from experts in postpregnancy mood disorders, was put on multiple psychiatric medications, and checked into a psychiatric hospital. Just 19 days after her discharge, she strangled her children.
On January 24, 2023, Clancy strangled her children - Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and 8-month-old Callan - using exercise resistance bands in the basement of their Duxbury home. She then cut her wrists and neck and attempted suicide by jumping from a second-story window, leaving her partially paralyzed. The facts are not in dispute; the key question is her mental state.
In court, Patrick Clancy breathed heavily as photos of his children were projected. Cora, 5, was shown wearing a red bow and skirt; he said she loved princesses. Dawson, 3, loved fire trucks and "Paw Patrol." Eight-month-old Callan "was just a happy baby," his father said.
By the time of the killings, she had been receiving psychiatric care for about four months. On the day of the killings, she said she heard voices telling her, "This is your last chance. Kill the children so you can kill yourself," according to her lawyer.
Prosecutors argue that Clancy's actions show "deliberate premeditation" and that she is fully responsible. However, her attorney, Kevin Reddington, contends she was in the grip of postpartum psychosis, a condition that affects only 1 to 2 per 1,000 women after childbirth. According to a civil lawsuit filed by Clancy, she heard voices commanding her to kill the children and herself. "I lost all control," she said in the lawsuit. "I was just following commands." In the same lawsuit, Clancy stated she had twice checked herself into a hospital for psychiatric care, but her problems worsened. She was ultimately diagnosed with postpartum severe bipolar disorder. The suit argues that her medical providers failed to properly diagnose her and exacerbated her condition with a "disorganized, uncoordinated" course of medications. "Lindsay now faces a lifetime of physical disability, psychological trauma, and the unbearable grief of waking up every day knowing she killed her children - all of which could have been prevented had Defendants provided competent medical care," the lawsuit states.
Prosecutors called Patrick Clancy as their first witness. The trial will feature psychiatric experts from both sides. Key witnesses include Clancy's ex-husband, Patrick Clancy, who told The New Yorker in 2024 that he believes his wife was suffering from severe mental illness: "I wasn't married to a monster - I was married to someone who got sick."
Patrick Clancy testified that a month before the killings, his wife began to describe suicidal and intrusive thoughts of harming the children, but denied having plans to hurt them or herself. He said the situation was "very confusing" because moments later, she would be making the children lunch or playing with them. "I never saw Lindsay harm the kids," he told jurors. He has said in interviews that he forgives his wife, and will testify for both the prosecution and the defense. He also testified that her anxiety about being separated from her children increased as she got closer to the end of her maternity leave.
Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham argued Clancy "acted intentionally, rationally and swiftly" and bears full responsibility for the deaths. "This was not a woman in the throes of psychosis," Buckingham said. "This is not a public debate about women's mental health and how the medical system treats women. This case is about this defendant, Lindsay Clancy."
Clancy, seated in a wheelchair, wiped her eyes with a tissue at times as lawyers discussed her children.
In a civil lawsuit, Clancy elaborated: "I lost all control. My body started acting without any control on my part. I was just following commands, 'all action.' This voice demanded action."
According to the lawsuit, she was prescribed about a dozen different drugs from October 2022 leading up to the killings, including antidepressants, sedatives, benzodiazepines, and antipsychotics.
All the providers declined to speak with CNN about ongoing litigation.
Perhaps the most well-known use of the insanity defense was in the trial of John Hinckley Jr., the man who shot President Ronald Reagan and three others in 1981 in what he said was an attempt to impress the actress Jodie Foster. The jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity. Hinckley spent nearly 30 years at a mental hospital before his release in 2016.
Despite around four months of psychiatric care, changing medications and new providers, her condition continued to get worse, he said. She became increasingly depressed, struggled to sleep and lost weight.
On the day of the killings, Clancy sent her husband out for errands before killing the children.
Reddington described the Clancy home as filled with toys and decorated with alphabet letters, colors and cartoon characters, saying the children were loved, nurtured and cared for. "She loved those children right up to the time of their death," he told jurors.
Most women who have the condition, however, do not wind up harming their children.
He described their last days as a family: after her discharge from the psychiatric hospital, they tried to carry on with everyday life. They celebrated Cora's birthday, visited the Museum of Science and a water park, where jurors saw video of Lindsay playing with the children. She returned to the gym and her mood appeared steadier. "I was hopeful," Patrick testified. On the day of the killings, Lindsay took Cora to a doctor's appointment while he stayed home with Dawson and Callan. They exchanged photos of the children by text - Dawson had just dressed himself for the first time and Cora was behind a mask at the doctor's office. Later, Lindsay built a snowman with her children and worked on art projects. "She was having one of her best days," Patrick said.
Patrick testified that on the day of the killings, Lindsay suggested they get takeout as she hadn't cooked anything. She placed the order and he came upstairs. "I took Callan for a minute and I rocked him by my knees, kissed Cora on the head and said, be right back," he said, adding Dawson was eating chicken nuggets on the couch. As he left, Lindsay was standing with Callan in the doorway of the living room, near the basement door, Patrick said, describing her demeanor as "normal."
Then, after he left the house to run errands, Lindsay strangled the children.
Postpartum psychosis is distinct from the more common postpartum depression. Symptoms include hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, and suicidal or homicidal thoughts. The condition is often treatable, but when untreated, it can lead to tragic outcomes. Dr. Nicole Cirino, director of reproductive psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine, explains that women in this state may believe they are saving their children from a worse fate.
"Women who kill their children in the throes of this medical illness, postpartum psychosis, are seriously and profoundly mentally ill. They are not evil." - Dr. Nicole Cirino
Dr. Catherine Birndorf, CEO of The Motherhood Center in New York City, echoed similar sentiments: "Women who kill their children in the throes of this medical illness, postpartum psychosis, are seriously and profoundly mentally ill. They are not evil. To me it's illness until proven otherwise."
The defense plans to invoke the insanity defense, which is rarely used and even more rarely successful. Legal analyst Elyse Hershon noted that the verdict will hinge on the jury's view of Clancy's "intent and mental capacity." Forensic psychiatrist Joni Johnston added, "I think there's an ongoing kind of perception that insanity pleas are kind of a get-out-of-jail-free card that attorneys throw on the table. It's a pretty rare defense to use - and an even rarer one to be successful."
Elyse Hershon, a Boston criminal defense attorney, also commented, "Whenever there are deaths of children, it rattles emotions. Because these actions are incomprehensible and the outcome so horrific, people tend to want to hold someone responsible."
After Patrick Clancy's testimony, Judge William F. Sullivan recessed court for the day just after 3 p.m. ET, with Patrick still on the stand. Court will not be in session Tuesday, and testimony will resume on Wednesday at 9 a.m.
While this trial unfolds in Massachusetts, it resonates deeply in Tulare County and across California. California has no specific law that considers postpartum psychosis as a mitigating factor in sentencing, unlike Illinois. The case could influence how similar cases are prosecuted in California, where awareness of maternal mental health is growing but legal protections remain limited. For families in Lindsay and surrounding areas, the trial highlights the critical need for better postpartum mental health care and early intervention.
The case evokes memories of the Andrea Yates trial in Texas, where a mother drowned her five children in 2001. Yates was initially convicted of murder, but her conviction was overturned, and she was found not guilty by reason of insanity in a retrial. She remains institutionalized at a state hospital. Another Texas mother, Dena Schlosser, was also found not guilty by reason of insanity after killing her 10-month-old daughter. These cases have raised awareness about postpartum psychosis but have not led to widespread legal reforms.
Clancy is currently being held at the public Tewksbury Hospital in Massachusetts.
The Lindsay Clancy trial will be closely watched as it tests the boundaries of the insanity defense in a case of maternal infanticide. The outcome will not only determine Clancy's fate but could also influence public understanding of postpartum mental illness and the legal system's response to it. For now, the jury must weigh competing stories of a cold-blooded killer versus a mother in the throes of a rare psychiatric emergency.
