A Massachusetts jury will be forced to decide whether a woman who is accused of killing her three children should be held criminally responsible for their deaths.
Lindsay Clancy, who turned 36 on Tuesday, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the deaths of 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan, in their home in Duxbury on January 24, 2023. She is wheelchair-bound after throwing herself out of a window in an apparent attempt to end her own life after the murders.
The Case
Clancy’s defense team is not arguing that she is innocent. Her attorney, Kevin Reddington, says his client admits to killing her children, but he is arguing she should not be held criminally responsible because she was suffering from “postpartum psychosis.”
Meanwhile, the prosecution, led by assistant district attorney Jennifer Sprague, says Clancy “acted intentionally, rationally, and swiftly” when she fatally strangled her three children before attempting suicide. And while prosecutors acknowledge the defendant suffered from depression, they dispute there was evidence of postpartum psychosis.
If convicted of first-degree murder, Clancy faces life in prison without parole. If the jury of 12 women and six men finds she was not criminally responsible for the deaths of her children, she will be admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Massachusetts.
The Testimony
The trial, which is now in its fourth week, has featured testimony about the lead-up to the killings and Clancy’s struggles with postpartum anxiety, depression, and insomnia.
Testimony began late last month with opening statements and an emotional account from her now-ex-husband Patrick Clancy, who came home from running errands to find his then-wife injured and bleeding in their yard, after she jumped from the home’s second-story window.
Jurors heard the chilling 911 call Patrick made for help for Lindsay, a former labor and delivery nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital. He told the dispatcher he was going to check on the kids. Moments later, he could be heard screaming as he discovered his deceased children in the basement.
“She killed the kids!” he yelled.
Clancy’s family and friends and mental health professionals have said she did not show signs of psychosis before or after the killings, and they did not believe she was a danger to herself or her children. But those who knew her admitted her mental health was deteriorating. A friend testified that just before the murders in January 2023, Clancy said a medication she was taking caused her to have “some dark thoughts.”
A psychiatric nurse practitioner who treated Clancy in late 2022 testified this week that she repeatedly asked to change her psychiatric drugs – which included a cocktail of antidepressants, anti-epileptics, sedatives, and mood stabilizers – because they were causing intrusive thoughts, insomnia, and numbness. Another nurse who prescribed psych meds to Clancy testified that she never mentioned having thoughts of killing herself or her children.
Legal Analysis
On Tuesday’s show, Megyn was joined by former prosecutors Dave Aronberg and Matt Murphy and defense attorney Mark Geragos to discuss the disturbing case and whether Clancy will be convicted.
Murder or ‘Postpartum Psychosis’?
Megyn, Aronberg, Geragos and Murphy discuss the central question of murder versus “postpartum psychosis,” the heartbreaking 911 call from her husband after discovering their three children, the defense’s case that Clancy was not responsible for her actions, and more.
Are Medical Professionals to Blame?
A closer look at whether medical professionals are to blame for Clancy killing her children, the relevance of Clancy acting normal on the day of the murders, and more.
You can check out Megyn’s full coverage by tuning in to episode 1,377 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.