Lindsay Clancy murder trial: Ex asks judge to block children’s photos
Patrick Clancy reportedly asked a judge to keep crime scene images and his 911 call out of his ex-wife’s televised murder trial.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
3 min read
Patrick Clancy has asked a judge to limit what the public will see and hear in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial, with TMZ reporting he filed a motion seeking to keep crime scene photos of his children and his 911 call from being played in court.
The case is scheduled to go to trial next week and is expected to be televised, according to TMZ. Patrick’s request centers on the prospect that graphic evidence from the deaths of Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan could be broadcast beyond the courtroom.
TMZ reports that Patrick argued the emotional damage to his family from showing those materials would be immeasurable. The defense is expected to respond to the motion today, according to the outlet.
What is Lindsay Clancy accused of?
Lindsay Clancy is accused of strangling her three children with elastic workout bands inside the family’s home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, according to TMZ’s reporting on the case. The alleged killings happened in January 2023.
Patrick Clancy discovered the children after returning home from picking up dinner, TMZ reports. The outlet says he also found that Lindsay had allegedly gone out of a second-story window.
Lindsay Clancy is paralyzed as a result of that fall, according to TMZ.
What Patrick Clancy is asking the judge to keep out
The motion, as described by TMZ, asks the court not to allow crime scene photographs to be shown during the trial and not to allow Patrick’s 911 call to be played in court.
The request is especially sensitive because the trial is set to be televised. If the judge allows the evidence to be presented without restriction, the images and audio could reach viewers far outside the courthouse.
The report does not say whether prosecutors oppose the request. TMZ says the defense is expected to make its rebuttal today.
How the defense is expected to frame the case
TMZ has reported that Lindsay Clancy’s lawyers are expected to argue insanity and contend that she was experiencing postpartum psychosis at the time her children were allegedly killed.
Postpartum psychosis is a rare and serious mental health condition that can occur after childbirth. In a criminal trial, an insanity defense asks jurors to consider whether a defendant’s mental state affected criminal responsibility under the law.
Patrick Clancy, who is now remarried, intends to testify in Lindsay’s defense, according to TMZ. That would place him in the unusual position of appearing for the defense in the trial of his former wife, who is accused in the deaths of their children.
The judge has not yet been reported to have ruled on Patrick’s request. The trial remains scheduled to begin next week.
This story draws on original reporting from TMZ.