THE trial of a young mom who killed her three children before attempting suicide has left the public divided over whether she is a calculated murderer or a victim of mismanaged mental health struggles.
Lindsay Clancy, 35, has pleaded not guilty to murder after her kids were found strangled with exercise bands three years ago, as her lawyer plans to argue she was suffering from undiagnosed postpartum psychosis.
Lindsay Clancy seen wheeled into a Massachusettscourt on Thursday where she faces three murder charges in connection to her kids’ deaths Credit: AP
A legal expert told The U.S. Jattvibe that Lindsay’s lawyer made a “brilliant” move to set Lindsay and Patrick Clancy up as the “couple next door” in his opening statements Credit: Facebook
Cora, Dawson and Callan were found dead in their basement of their home on January 24, 2023 Credit: Facebook
Skye Lazaro, a Utah-based criminal defense lawyer, broke down day one of Lindsay’s trial in an exclusive interview with The U.S. Jattvibe
On January 24, 2023, Lindsay sent her now ex-husband Patrick Clancy to pick up dinner and medicine from CVS.
While he was out, she strangled their three children — five-year-old daughter Cora, three-year-old son Dawson and eight-month-old son Callan — in the basement of their Duxbury home.
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She then jumped from her second-story bedroom window after she crushed up pills and took a knife from the kitchen to slash her wrists and neck.
Patrick found Lindsay on the ground in their backyard when he returned home, and later discovered his three children in the basement, where he removed the exercise bands from their necks.
Lindsay has admitted to killing her children, but her attorney Kevin Reddington, plans to seek an insanity defense.
In the four months leading up to the Clancy children’s deaths, Lindsay was prescribed 13 medications by different healthcare providers and was hospitalized several times for suicidal ideation.
Opening statements began in the trial on Monday, where both the prosecution and Lindsay’s lawyer told jurors what to expect to see and hear in the case.
Reddington began talking about Patrick and Lindsay’s relationship and how they lived in a humble house after briefly warning the jury of the case’s contents.
Skye Lazaro, a Utah-based criminal defense lawyer told The U.S. Jattvibe that Reddington’s remarks about the couple were a “brilliant” attempt to set the scene of Lindsay as a struggling mother and not a cold blooded killer to the 18 jurors.
“The reason is, is they’re sitting there looking at Lindsay in a wheelchair as a defendant in a criminal trial, accused of murdering her children. Him telling the story of this is who these people are.
“They’re the people next door. They’re the people who are in everybody’s neighborhood. They’re the people that your kids go to preschool with, or your kids go to school with, or your kids play soccer or baseball with.
“This was a normal, loving family. And, you know, they’re educated. They had good jobs. They had a great relationship. Everything was normal.
“Everything was okay until she began suffering from this course. Postpartum depression and psychosis. And what that does is it sort of lays the explanation.
“It lays the bedrock for where they’re going with this entire trial is this is not a woman who’s been crazy her whole life,” she said.
Lindsay seen crying in court as the 911 call Patrick made was played for the jury Credit: AP
A photo of the Clancy family weeks before the deaths of the children Credit: Plymouth Superior Court
Cora, Callan and Dawson seen out on a family excursion weeks before their deaths Credit: Plymouth Superior Court
The Clancy family seen at a Museum of Science on January 8, 2023 Credit: Reuters
Lazaro explained that Reddington highlighting Lindsay’s life before her kids deaths could make the jury think: “Oh my gosh, this could be me. You know, this could be me sitting in that chair if things went bad or things got out of control.”
Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham began her opening statements by telling jurors about Cora’s love for princesses and how she tried to convince her Pre-K teacher that her name was Sofia, because she loved the Disney character from the show Sofia the First.
Buckingham then brought up Dawson’s love of trucks, how he was “full of energy,” and spoke with a raspy voice. Lastly was Callan, who was “always smiling with chunky cheeks.”
Lazaro further broke down the tactics used by the attorneys on Monday, saying the prosecution started off by describing the children to “really get the jury thinking.”
“They humanize them in a very, very effective way,” she explained, saying the descriptions helped the jury create a visual so when they listen to evidence, they’re thinking about how there are real people involved.
“They’re thinking about this kid who was boisterous, or this kid who played or smiled or loved a color. All of those types of things make it very real in a jury mind.
“So when they’re considering evidence and considering what the state is trying to prove and the arguments being made in the back of their mind, they’re thinking ‘these poor three little kids.’”
Lindsay became visibly upset in court, trembling and wiping away tears, as Buckingham talked about her kids in court.
Lindsay fights back tears in court on Monday while details of her kids’ interests and deaths were described Credit: Reuters
Prosecutor Jennifer Sprague of the Plymouth County DA’s office shows a bag of pill bottles prescribed to Lindsay Credit: Reuters
The defense is arguing Lindsay was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time of her kids’ deaths Credit: Facebook/ Lindsay Marie Clancy
Sprague showed an exercise band that Patrick removed from one of his children’s necks Credit: AP
“The jury is also judging everybody from the second they walk in, including the defendant. And so when she’s sitting there crying as they’re talking about their children, that probably helps her,” Lazaro said.
Lazaro said this case isn’t about whether Lindsay killed her three children, but instead whether or not she had “the legal mental intent” to do so.
The prosecution is trying to prove that Lindsay deliberately took her children’s lives, planning it out by sending Patrick out of the house, as Buckingham alleged, Lindsay “gave herself the time and privacy needed to commit the murders.”
“There’s multiple elements to every crime, but one of the ones that’s very, very important is this mental state element,” Lazaro explained. “But what the state has to prove here is that she intentionally and purposely murdered her children.”
Lazaro said the prosecution chose to use strong words in their opening statements to reach the jurors on an emotional level.
Buckingham said Lindsay “coldly and efficiently executed” the kids and “this was not a woman in the throes of psychosis.”
“They were strangled, deliberately and meticulously, killed by this defendant on January 24th of 2023,” the Plymouth County assistant district attorney said.
“One by one, she grabbed exercise bands around each one of the kid’s necks and pulled until their little bodies were limp and lifeless.”
A view inside the Clancy home showing a playroom area and a sign that read “it’s a wonderful life” Credit: Reuters
Sprague holds up the Mickey Mouse pajamas Callan was wearing when he died Credit: Reuters
Patrick seen entering CVS to pick up medicine for Cora before he went to grab takeout on January 24, 2023 Credit: Court TV
The second-story bedroom window where Lindsay jumped from Credit: Reuters
“These other phrases about the execution, I think, really go more to trying to implore upon the jury just how depraved this act was, that this was not just she was out of her mind in a psychosis, that she purposely planned to execute her children or to murder her children,” Lazaro said of Buckingham’s statements.
When Reddington got up to give opening statements after Buckingham, he immediately addressed the jury, telling them that they were going to see and listen to “the most horrific things.”
“You people will never forget this case,” he told the jury of 12 women and six men.
“I think that immediately gets people on the edge of their seats,” Lazaro told The U.S. Jattvibe.
“There’s a couple of things you want to do [as] an effective defense attorney in trial. You want to take the sting out of things that are not helpful to you, because if you say them first, you can kind of pass them off a little bit, like we’re aware of that.”
“Anytime you can invoke passion, which I think he did a very good job of doing, I think it’s far more effective,” she said.
Lindsay’s attorney Kevin Reddington holds her hand as the 911 call Patrick made is played Credit: Reuters
Blood seen on the floor of Lindsay and Patrick’s room Credit: Reuters
Patrick was shown in court a photo of a family outing in 2021 that Lindsay shared on Facebook Credit: Reuters
Lindsay Clancy Murder Trial
Lindsay Clancy is accused of strangling her three children, Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan, with exercise bands inside their Duxbury, Massachusetts, home on January 24, 2023.
The former labor and delivery nurse does not deny killing them, but has pleaded not guilty and claims she was not criminally responsible because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis.
Prosecutors argue Clancy deliberately sent her then-husband Patrick out to collect medicine and dinner so she could be left alone with the children.
The trial began with Patrick on the witness stand, describing Clancy’s declining mental health before recounting how he returned home, found her injured outside and discovered the children in the basement. Jurors have since heard his harrowing 911 call, seen the bands that were removed from the children’s necks and viewed their pajamas and other evidence from the home.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial is expected to last between six and eight weeks, meaning testimony could continue well into September.
Proceedings are scheduled to begin at around 9am ET on sitting days and normally continue through the afternoon, with morning, lunch and afternoon breaks.
Prosecutors will present their case first, calling first responders, police officers, investigators, medical professionals and other witnesses connected to the killings.
The state listed more than 180 potential witnesses, although prosecutors are not expected to call everyone named.
Jurors are also expected to visit the Clancy family’s former Duxbury home with the judge and lawyers to see the scene for themselves.
Once prosecutors rest, Clancy’s defense will begin calling its own witnesses, including people who knew her and experts expected to testify about her medication, mental health and alleged postpartum psychosis.
The defense listed more than 60 possible witnesses, but some overlap with the prosecution’s list and may not be called twice.
After both sides finish presenting evidence, lawyers will deliver closing arguments before the judge instructs jurors on the law.
The jury will then decide whether Clancy is guilty of murder or was not criminally responsible because of her mental state when she killed her children.
Reddington shared an image of the bloody knife she used to harm herself Credit: Reuters
In his remarks, Reddington also shared graphic images from the case, including closeups of Lindsay’s injuries and the bloody knife she used left on a table.
Lazaro said the defense can “acknowledge all the bad facts before the prosecution,” and by him showing the photos early on, it again takes “the sting out of it.”
“It really diminishes their impact for the prosecution because they’re still going to be thinking, yeah, we already know this. He already told us this.”
Patrick, Lindsay’s now-ex-husband, was the first witness to testify in the trial, which Lazaro explained the first witness is “always a strategic decision.”
She believes Patrick was called first to help lay out the trial by having him recall what he observed that fateful day and all of the events that unfolded.
Lazaro said as the trial goes forward, the prosecution will “hone in on to show that this this was not a psychotic break. This was not a product of postpartum depression,” as they argue their case.
On the flipside, the defense will set up how “the system failed” the Clancy family.
If you missed day one of the trial or day two, you can catch up with a recap on our YouTube Channel. Catch up on day three of the trial from our live blog.
If you or someone you know needs help or support for their mental health, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected with a certified crisis counselor.
