A jury is being selected to decide the fate of a mother accused of strangling her three young children to death with exercise resistance bands after sending her husband out for a takeaway. Lindsay Clancy, from Massachusetts, US, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges following the deaths of her five-year-old daughter Cora, three-year-old son Dawson, and eight-month-old baby Callan.
Trial details and charges
The trial, expected to last several weeks, is taking place in Plymouth, just south of Boston, and will closely examine the rare condition known as postpartum psychosis. Five jurors were chosen on Monday, with a full panel of eighteen expected to be assembled over the coming days.
On the evening of January 24, 2023, the mother told her husband, Patrick Clancy, that she was too exhausted to cook after a long day looking after the children. She asked him to collect some children's medicine and pick up a takeaway dinner. When her husband returned home to Duxbury, he discovered a horrific scene. His wife was lying barely conscious outside the property, having slashed her own wrists and neck before falling 20ft from a second-floor window.
Confession and discovery
She allegedly confessed to him that she had attempted to take her own life and revealed that the children were down in the basement. Emergency services found that all three children had been strangled using exercise bands. Cora and Dawson were pronounced dead that same evening, while baby Callan died in hospital a few days later.
Defence lawyer Kevin Reddington does not dispute that his client killed her children, but he intends to pursue a defence of insanity, asserting she was completely out of control of her own actions. Under Massachusetts law, the defence must persuade jurors that a severe mental disease or defect meant that Clancy lacked criminal responsibility at the time of the killings.
Mental health and legal arguments
Attorney Shari Karney said: "Mental illness and legal insanity are not the same thing. That distinction may ultimately decide this case."
The NHS defines postpartum psychosis as a rare serious mental health illness that can affect someone soon after having a baby. "Postpartum psychosis is very different from the 'baby blues'," the NHS adds. "It's a serious mental illness and should be treated as a medical emergency."
The paralysed mother, who remains in custody at a state hospital, claims she heard voices commanding her: "This is your last chance. Kill the children so you can kill yourself."
Prosecution and previous statements
Prosecutors maintain the killings were calculated and deliberately orchestrated. They allege the mother previously searched the internet for "ways to kill" and "can you treat a sociopath".
Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague branded the accused as "selfish" and read a chilling note written by the mother five months before Callan's birth: "I think I sort of resent my other children because they prevent me from treating Cal like my first baby... I want to feel love and connection with all of my kids."
Earlier this year, she and her husband launched lawsuits against her medical providers, alleging they failed to treat her severe postpartum psychiatric condition despite her begging for help.
Husband's forgiveness
Patrick appears on the witness list for both the prosecution and the defence, and has publicly stated that he forgives his wife. In a GoFundMe post, he described his pain as "excruciating and relentless" but urged the public to remember her true nature.
"The real Lindsay was generously loving and caring toward everyone - me, our kids, family, friends, and her patients. The very fibers of her soul are loving. All I wish for her now is that she can somehow find peace," it said.
