Lindsay Clancy trial begins in deaths of her three children

Jury selection began Monday in Plymouth County Superior Court for Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three young children in January 2023, according to the Associated Press.

Clancy has pleaded not guilty in connection with the deaths of 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan, AP reported. The central question expected at trial is whether she was legally responsible for her actions at the time, with her lawyers preparing an insanity defense tied to postpartum psychosis.

Clancy, who was paralyzed after falling from a window the day the children were found, is being held at a state hospital while awaiting trial and now uses a wheelchair, according to AP.

What prosecutors say happened

Authorities allege that on Jan. 23, 2023, Clancy asked her husband, Patrick Clancy, to leave their home to pick up dinner and medication from a pharmacy. While he was away, prosecutors say, she took the children to the basement and strangled them with exercise bands.

Investigators said Clancy had looked up how long the trip to the restaurant and pharmacy would take, which prosecutors argue showed she was calculating how much time she would have alone with the children.

When Patrick returned home, he told police the house was unusually quiet, CNN reported. He said he found a locked bedroom door, then saw blood and an open window after getting inside.

Patrick found Clancy outside on the ground and called 911, according to CNN. Prosecutor Jennifer Sprague said Patrick could be heard on the call moments later “screaming in agony and shock as he found his children,” CNN reported.

The children were taken to local hospitals, where they were pronounced dead.

The defense points to postpartum psychosis

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington has said Clancy should not be found criminally responsible because she was experiencing severe mental health distress, specifically postpartum psychosis. According to the National Institutes of Health, postpartum psychosis is a relatively rare condition that can involve delusions and hallucinations and is treated as a psychiatric emergency.

“This whole case is an extreme tragedy,” Reddington said, according to AP.

Patrick Clancy also supports the defense position, according to AP. He has publicly said he forgives his wife and is expected to testify for the defense.

Prosecutors are expected to argue that Clancy acted with a clear mind and planned the killings, AP reported.

Lawsuits against medical providers

Earlier this year, Lindsay and Patrick Clancy filed separate lawsuits against her medical providers, alleging they failed to diagnose, treat and monitor what they described as a serious postpartum psychiatric condition.

Reddington has said doctors changed her medications for depression, which he claims worsened her condition. Patrick alleged that Clancy was prescribed at least nine medications in the months before the children died, including eight during a three-week span.

Clancy voluntarily admitted herself to a psychiatric hospital weeks before the killings, according to the reports. The reports cited did not include responses from the medical providers named in the lawsuits.

In Lindsay Clancy’s lawsuit, she said she was depressed, struggled with sleep and repeatedly heard voices telling her to harm her children and herself, AP reported. The lawsuit alleged that on the day of the killings she heard voices saying, “This is your last chance. Kill the children so you can kill yourself.”

The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks and could involve more than 200 potential witnesses. It is not clear whether Lindsay Clancy will testify.

This story draws on original reporting from Rolling Stone.