Lindsay Clancy trial: Patrick Clancy returns to stand in murder case
Duxbury mother accused of strangling her children in 2023
Duxbury mother accused of strangling her children in 2023
Patrick Clancy returned to the witness stand Wednesday in the murder trial of his former wife, Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of killing their three children in 2023.
Lindsay Clancy was indicted on three counts each of murder in the 2023 deaths of her 5-year-old daughter Cora, 3-year-old son Dawson and 8-month-old son Callan. She pleaded not guilty to the charges.
She became a paraplegic after harming herself in the immediate aftermath of her children's deaths.
Patrick Clancy, the father of the three victims, returned to the stand Wednesday. He testified that he left Lindsay Clancy home with the children on the evening of Jan. 24, 2023 to pickup dinner, and when he returned the home was quiet.
He said he entered his bedroom and "saw blood everywhere, and the window was open."
Jurors are expected to hear the 911 call he made after discovering the scene inside the family's Duxbury home. The judge has ruled the call will be played in the courtroom, but it will not be released to the public.
On Monday, he described his then-wife's mental health struggles and detailed the days leading up to their children's deaths.
On the day of the killings, Patrick and Lindsay Clancy exchanged photos of the children, including Dawson, who had proudly dressed himself for the first time. Patrick Clancy testified that Lindsay Clancy seemed happy and in a good mood that day, describing her as "having one of her best days."
He recalled the births of each of his children and described his ex-wife's anxiety about returning to work, adding that Lindsay Clancy was struggling with her mental health and asked to be put on a medication for depression.
"She took it for a period of time, and her sleep started to suffer, so she stopped taking it," he said.
Video: Prosecutors, defense clash over Lindsay Clancy’s mental state
Patrick Clancy said she took a total of seven pills of the Zoloft prescription she was given before she switched medical providers. He said his ex-wife started coming home with several medications that were prescribed by different doctors and nurse practitioners.
Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague showed Patrick Clancy a plastic bag containing several of Lindsay Clancy's pills and asked if he was aware that his wife only took a few pills from each bottle, to which he answered "no," but said there were adjustments made to some of the prescriptions.
Patrick Clancy said Lindsay Clancy's "big spiral" started in December 2022, during which she indicated that she was suicidal and had thoughts about harming their children.
"The way she was describing it was that something might happen to the kids," he said.
Video: Retired judge breaks down emotional Day 1 testimony
He said his wife said she felt that she was "addicted" to the medication she was taking. The couple then asked her parents to come stay with the family, Patrick Clancy testified. He added that he was not concerned for the kids' safety.
"She wasn't showing any intention of harming the kids," he said.
Lindsay Clancy then sought treatment in the emergency room at Massachusetts General Hospital after she again said she was suicidal, where providers recommended a postpartum program in Rhode Island. The couple was told it was not the right program for Lindsay Clancy, he testified.
Patrick Clancy said his wife continued to go to the gym and take the couple's children to their scheduled doctors' appointments during the weeks leading up to the children's deaths.
The couple again visited Massachusetts General Hospital before Lindsay Clancy was transferred to McLean Hospital for mental health treatment Jan. 1, 2023.
Opening statements delivered
The jury of 12 women and six men heard opening statements before testimony began.
Video below: Prosecution's opening statement
Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney Shanan Buckingham started by telling the jury the children were strangled "meticulously."
"One by one, she wrapped exercise bands around each one of the kids' necks and pulled until their little bodies were limp and lifeless," Buckingham said.
The state argued Lindsay Clancy understood her actions and made a deliberate choice.
"She heard a voice, a male voice, a voice that she had never heard before, a voice that she had never heard again. That voice told her it was her last chance; she had to kill her kids so she could kill herself. She immediately took action when she heard the voice with no direction or details from this so-called voice, and she killed the children," Buckingham said.
The state laid out the alleged events that led up to the children's deaths on Jan. 24, 2023, and warned the jurors they would hear graphic testimony as she urged the group to use their common sense and life experiences as they listen to the case.
Video below: Defense's opening statement
Lindsay Clancy's defense team plans to use the insanity defense, arguing that she suffered from postpartum psychosis and was overmedicated at the time of the alleged crimes.
In his opening statements, defense attorney Kevin Reddington said his client knows she killed her children but questioned what was going on in Lindsay Clancy's mind.
"After the second child she had postpartum. … You will hear evidence that was one of the issues that was important because it can lead to (being) bipolar. One of the things you don't do if someone is bipolar, you don't put them on an antidepressant, on Zoloft. It messes with your brain, and it was done in this case," Reddington said.
Reddington showed the jury graphic photos of Lindsay Clancy in the hospital after she jumped out of her bedroom window in an effort to head off any move by the prosecution to make the attempted suicide appear to be fake.
Background of the Clancy case:
- Lindsay Clancy faces three murder charges in the 2023 deaths of her children, Cora, Dawson and Callan.
- She also jumped from a second-floor window, leaving her partially paralyzed.
- In a civil case, Lindsay Clancy alleges a "catastrophic failure" of multiple medical providers in diagnosing and treating her psychiatric condition.
- Her trial is scheduled to begin July 20. Although her legal team offered to stipulate to the deaths of the children, she has pleaded not guilty.
- She is being held at Tewksbury State Hospital.
- The jury is made up of 12 women and six men. They will not know until the presentation of the case is concluded who will deliberate and who will be an alternate.
This case involves issues of mental health. If you or someone you know needs help, you can talk with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or sending a text message to 988, or you can chat online here.
Preparation for the trial
The defense is planning to argue a lack of criminal responsibility, formerly known as the insanity defense. Reddington said she was being overmedicated for postpartum psychosis.
Lindsay Clancy's trial is expected to last six to eight weeks, and the witness list contains more than 200 names. Attorneys were ordered to develop a consolidated witness list, which can be shown to the prospective jurors to determine if any have prior knowledge of the witnesses.
Sullivan denied Reddington's request to sequester the jury but promised to check in with the jurors daily to confirm they have appropriately avoided any media coverage or research outside of the courtroom.
Before jury selection began Monday, the prosecution raised a concern about some of the names added to the defense witness list. Reddington argued the witnesses could help Lindsay Clancy's defense rebut claims that could be presented by the prosecution starting in opening statements, but the judge ruled in favor of the prosecution.
However, the judge left the door open to revisit the issue should another challenge arise during the trial.
Charges modified