Nurse accused of ‘killing 3 kids and jumping from window’ gives shocking reason for 'strangling children with fitness band'

A nurse accused of killing her three young children and attempting to take her own life has reportedly claimed a voice in her head urged her to commit the acts.

Lindsay Clancy was charged with murdering her children, Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan in January 2023.

According to prosecutors, Clancy strangled the three children with exercise bands inside the family home after sending her husband, Patrick Clancy, out to pick up takeout food.

When Patrick returned about an hour later, authorities say he found that she had attempted suicide by cutting her wrists and jumping from a second-story window.

First responders had been called earlier that evening after Patrick dialed 911 at 6:11 p.m. to report that his wife had tried to take her own life.

Police then discovered the three children in the home "unconscious, with obvious signs of trauma," per the Boston Herald.

Cora, five, and Dawson, three, were pronounced dead later that night at a hospital. Callan, the infant, remained hospitalized before dying several days later.

Clancy survived the fall but was left paralyzed from the chest down and now uses a wheelchair. She is currently being held at Tewksbury State Hospital while awaiting trial, which is scheduled to begin July 20.

Chilling Reason Behind The Murders

In the lawsuit filed on her behalf, Clancy claims a voice repeatedly urged her toward self-harm and violence against her children.

"You should harm the children, you should kill yourself, you will never be the same, the only option is to die," the voice told Clancy, per The Independent.

The lawsuits argue that medical providers failed to recognize clear warning signs as her mental health declined.

"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," the lawsuit filed on her behalf said.

Family Says She Repeatedly Tried To Get Help

The filings describe what attorneys say was a rapid deterioration in Clancy’s mental health after the birth of her youngest child in 2022.

She had previously experienced anxiety and postpartum depression after the birth of her second child and became fearful about returning to work as a nurse after Callan was born.

According to the lawsuit, she tried to get psychiatric help in September, but the medications she was prescribed allegedly worsened her symptoms, leaving her sleeping only about three hours a night and eventually leading to suicidal thoughts.

Her husband also warned doctors in the days before the killings that she was experiencing what he described as "horrible thoughts" and had confessed to both him and her mother that she was thinking about harming the children.

Her lawyers say she repeatedly sought help, including emergency room visits, inpatient treatment, and calls to crisis hotlines.

"Lindsay Clancy did everything a mother in her situation could do," her attorneys said in the lawsuit. "She recognized something was wrong with her. She sought medical treatment."

"She went to emergency rooms. She called crisis hotlines. She admitted herself to hospitals. She took the medications prescribed to her. She communicated her worsening symptoms to her providers. She told them the medications were making her worse," they added.

The lawsuit also alleges that her psychiatrist spent only about 17 minutes with her during appointments, including the day before the horrific murders.

Per the documents, there had been no indication that the mom-of-three would harm her children.

She had been described as academically successful growing up in Connecticut, and worked for nine years as a labor and delivery nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Her mother-in-law, Susan Clancy, told a grand jury that she "loved everything about Lindsay, she was a fun loving, doting wife and mother" who adored her kids and was always smiling.

"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," her attorney said in the lawsuit.

Clancy has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is scheduled to undergo a forensic psychological evaluation in April before returning to court on April 23.

Husband Says He Has Forgiven Her After Tragedy

In the aftermath of the killings, Patrick released an emotional statement expressing grief over the loss of the couple’s three children and forgiveness toward his wife.

"I want to ask all of you that you find it deep within yourselves to forgive Lindsay, as I have," he wrote in a message shared on a GoFundMe page created in 2023. "The real Lindsay was generously loving and caring towards everyone - me, our kids, family, friends, and her patients. All I wish for her now is that she can somehow find peace."

Patrick said the shock of losing the children was overwhelming: "A lot of people have said they can’t imagine, and they’re right, there’s absolutely nothing that can prepare you."

"The shock and pain is excruciating and relentless," he wrote. "I’m constantly reminded of them and with the little sleep I get, I dream about them on repeat."

"Cora, Dawson, and Callan, you gave me so much in your short time here. I don’t know if the pain will ever go away, but I’ll do my best to carry on in your honor," he concluded. "Dada loves you so much and will always remember you."

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