A former nurse is on trial in Massachusetts for strangling her three young children with exercise bands before attempting suicide, with her mental health set to be the pivotal issue.
Lindsay Clancy, 35, killed Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan in January 2023. She then stabbed herself and jumped from a window, leaving her paralysed from the waist down.
Prosecutors argue the murders were premeditated, citing Google searches about distances to a restaurant and pharmacy. The defence contends Clancy was suffering severe postpartum mental illness exacerbated by overmedication, and that she heard a voice telling her to kill the children and herself.
Clancy, who has pleaded not guilty, faces a life sentence if convicted. If the jury finds she lacked criminal responsibility, she will be committed to a state psychiatric hospital.
The husband, Patrick Clancy, has expressed support for his ex-wife, calling their marriage wonderful and stating her condition rapidly worsened. The trial has also highlighted the rare condition of postpartum psychosis, which affects a small number of new mothers.
