Nurse Claims 'Voice' Urged Her to Kill Children, Sues Medical Providers
A former Massachusetts nurse, Lindsay Clancy, who is accused of strangling her three young children to death, alleges that a chilling "voice" in her head commanded her to commit the unthinkable acts. According to lawsuits filed, the voice told her, "You should harm the children, you should kill yourself, you will never be the same, the only option is to die." Clancy is now suing the mental health providers who treated her before the killings, claiming they missed clear warning signs and failed to properly address her rapidly deteriorating mental health.
Details of the Tragic Incident and Legal Actions
Clancy is charged with murdering her children—Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan—on January 24, 2023. Prosecutors allege that after sending her husband, Patrick Clancy, to get takeout food, she strangled the children with exercise bands. Upon returning home an hour later, Patrick found that Lindsay had attempted suicide by cutting her wrists and jumping from a second-story window. She survived but was left paralyzed from the chest down and now uses a wheelchair. Currently, she is held at Tewksbury State Hospital while awaiting a murder trial scheduled for this summer.
Two lawsuits have been filed in Norfolk Superior Court in Massachusetts: one by Lindsay Clancy and another by her husband, Patrick. They accuse several mental health providers of wrongful death and medical negligence, seeking unspecified damages and a jury trial. The filings paint a disturbing picture of Clancy's mental decline in the months leading up to the killings. She had previously struggled with anxiety and postpartum depression after her second child and became increasingly fearful about returning to work after the birth of her youngest son in 2022.
Allegations of Medical Negligence and Failed Treatment
In September 2022, Clancy desperately sought psychiatric help as her mental health spiraled. However, the medications prescribed allegedly worsened her condition, causing her to sleep only about three hours a night and eventually triggering suicidal thoughts. Patrick Clancy's lawsuit claims these thoughts included the idea that she should kill her children before taking her own life to prevent them from suffering without her. The lawsuit states, "The tragedy that followed was the direct and proximate result of the defendants' collective negligence in failing to recognize obvious warning signs, coordinate care, properly diagnose Lindsay's condition, and provide treatment that met the applicable standard of care."
In the days before the killings, Patrick Clancy informed doctors that his wife was having "horrible thoughts" throughout the day and had admitted to him and her mother that she was considering harming the children. Her lawsuit also alleges that her psychiatrist spent only about 17 minutes with her during each appointment, including a visit the day before the murders. Despite repeatedly seeking help—such as going to an emergency department, checking into inpatient treatment, and contacting crisis hotlines—Clancy claims that providers ignored her reports that the medications were making her worse.
Background and Upcoming Legal Proceedings
According to the lawsuits, there had never been any indication that Clancy was capable of harming her children. Described as "academically excellent" growing up in Connecticut, she worked for nine years as a labor and delivery nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital, a job she loved. Her mother-in-law, Susan Clancy, told a grand jury that Lindsay was a "fun loving, doting wife and mother" who adored her children and was always smiling. Her attorney emphasized, "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."
Clancy has pleaded not guilty to the murder charges. She is scheduled to undergo a forensic psychological evaluation in April before returning to court on April 23. After multiple postponements, her murder trial is set to begin on July 20, 2026. The case highlights critical issues in mental health care and the devastating consequences of alleged medical negligence.
