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Published 10:39 28 Jul 2026 GMT
Disturbing autopsy photos of three young children were hidden from television viewers as Lindsay Clancy's murder trial got underway.
The 36-year-old has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder over the deaths of her children, five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson, and eight-month-old Callan, who were found strangled inside the family's Duxbury home on January 24, 2023.
As prosecutors delivered their opening statements, several broadcasters were forced to blur their courtroom feeds after graphic images were shown to jurors.
Cameras were also ordered to stop filming entirely whenever the autopsy photographs were displayed.
Before testimony began, Judge William Sullivan granted a request from Lindsay's ex-husband, Patrick Clancy, to keep the family's 911 call and autopsy photographs out of the public domain.
"The media shall not, record, display, reproduce, distribute or otherwise disseminate" the 911 call or the autopsy photos of the children, Judge Sullivan wrote in his ruling, per The Mirror.
Whenever that evidence is presented to jurors, courtroom cameras will be switched off.
Patrick previously made clear he supports his former wife's mental illness defense.
"I wasn’t married to a monster - I was married to someone who got sick," he said in a 2024 interview.
The trial, which is expected to last several weeks, will focus heavily on whether Clancy can be held criminally responsible for the killings or whether postpartum psychosis and severe mental illness left her incapable of controlling her actions.
Her legal team does not dispute that she killed the children, arguing instead that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time.
Meanwhile, prosecutors have contended that the crimes were deliberate and premeditated.
According to prosecutors, Clancy asked Patrick to collect a prescription and takeout food because she was too tired to cook dinner after caring for the children all day.
Investigators allege she searched online to find out how long he would be gone before carrying out the killings.
"She looked up on her phone, or on her computer search, how long he was going to be gone for when he goes on that trip the day that she killed her children," Boston criminal defence attorney Elyse Hershon said.
"They’re going to focus on that and how that’s an example of premeditation, and she was planning to kill her children while he was gone."
Prosecutors have also alleged Clancy searched online for the phrase "ways to kill" before the deaths and, four days earlier, Googled "can you treat a sociopath".
Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague has additionally highlighted a handwritten note Clancy allegedly wrote five months before Callan was born.
In it, she wrote: "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."
Sprague has previously described Clancy as "selfish," referencing the note during an earlier court hearing.
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Patrick's testimony began with details of the months leading up to the tragedy.
He told jurors that after Callan's birth in 2022, his then-wife began showing signs of anxiety as the end of her maternity leave approached.
He explained that she had experienced similar anxiety after previous maternity leaves and found caring for all three children alone "really stressful", though he said there was nothing at the time that made him believe she needed emergency medical intervention.
Patrick testified that Lindsay wanted to begin taking Zoloft to treat her anxiety.
"Usually, you just ask the doctor, and they’ll give it to you," he recalled her saying when he asked how she planned to obtain the medication.
He later found out that she had already secured the prescription before mentioning it to him.
"I don’t think she had started taking it yet, but she already had it," he told the court.
By late October, Patrick noticed little improvement: "She wasn’t really improving (at that time). She just kind of seemed to be gradually becoming more in like a depressed state."
He said she eventually stopped taking the medication because it affected her sleep.
The couple even slept in separate rooms for several weeks in an effort to help her rest, although she continued struggling with insomnia.
When asked by prosecutors whether Lindsay later told him she had been instructed to "double the dose," Patrick replied that she had.
Earlier this year, Lindsay and Patrick filed a lawsuit against her healthcare providers, alleging they failed to properly diagnose, monitor, and treat what they describe as a "severe postpartum psychiatric condition."
According to the complaint, Clancy tried to get medical help before the killings, including inpatient psychiatric treatment, after suffering depression, insomnia and hearing voices telling her to harm both herself and her children.
"Lindsay Clancy did everything a mother in her situation could do," the lawsuit states. "She recognized something was wrong with her."
The filing further alleges that on the day of the killings, Clancy heard voices telling her: "This is your last chance. Kill the children so you can kill yourself."
According to medical records cited in the lawsuit, another voice warned her "that her children would suffer if she was gone."
After Patrick returned home that evening, prosecutors say he found his wife outside the house after she allegedly slashed her wrists and throat before jumping from a second-storey window.
She reportedly told him she had tried to take her own life and that their children were downstairs.
First responders found all three children strangled with exercise resistance bands. Cora and Dawson died that evening, while baby Callan died several days later in hospital.
Clancy remains paralyzed following the fall and is being held at a state hospital as the trial continues.
If convicted, she faces a life sentence.
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Published 16:29 15 Oct 2024 GMT
Published 13:21 24 Jul 2026 GMT
The father of three children allegedly killed by their mother has asked a judge to prevent graphic photographs and other deeply distressing evidence from being publicly displayed during her murder trial.
Massachusetts mom Lindsay Clancy was accused of killing her three young children by strangulation at their home before attempting to take her own life in January 2023. She survived but sustained severe spinal injuries and remains paralyzed.
Lindsay’s lawyers have argued that she was suffering from severe postpartum mental illness, but prosecutors are pursuing murder charges in the ongoing trial.
Her husband Patrick Clancy recently requested restricted public access to evidence connected to the deaths of his children, Cora, five, Dawson, three, and Callan, eight months.
His wish includes limiting public access to crime scene and autopsy photographs, images of the children's clothing, and a recording of the emergency 911 call he made after discovering them at the family's home.
In court papers, Patrick’s representatives argued that publicly displaying the material could cause lasting emotional harm to the family and would undermine the dignity and memory of the three children.
While the request does not aim to prevent the judge and jury from seeing relevant evidence, it asks that the sensitive material be kept hidden from the media and therefore wider public access.
The request comes as jury selection concluded in the closely watched trial of Lindsay Clancy, who is accused of killing her three children before attempting to take her own life by jumping from a second-story window. Clancy survived the fall but suffered severe injuries and is now paralyzed from the waist down.
Prosecutors argue that Lindsay used exercise bands to strangle the children while her husband was away. Cora and Dawson died shortly after they were found, while Callan died several days later in hospital.
The mom-of-three then attempted to take her own life by jumping from a second-story window.
Lindsay has pleaded not guilty. Her defense will likely argue that she was experiencing severe postpartum psychosis and so is not criminally responsible for her actions.
The case has attracted national attention because of the competing arguments over Lindsay’s mental state and the circumstances surrounding the children's deaths.
Her now-ex-husband is expected to testify during the trial and has previously supported claims that she was suffering from serious mental health problems.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.
Published 14:12 21 Jul 2026 GMT
The husband of a Massachusetts mom who is facing trial for the murder of their three children has revealed the chilling words the voice in her head said before their tragic deaths.
Lindsay Clancy is accused of killing her three young children, five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson, and eight-month-old Callan, on January 24, 2023.
Her husband, Patrick Clancy, is expected to testify as part of the defense's case, as her trial begins this week.
According to investigators, Lindsay had allegedly asked Patrick to go and pick up takeout on the evening of the murders, and he returned to a tragic scene.
When he arrived back at the home around 25 minutes later, he found that Lindsay had jumped from the second-story bedroom window and immediately called 911.
While on the phone to the emergency services, Patrick entered the home and discovered their three children inside, with exercise bands around their necks. Cora and Dawson were pronounced dead after arriving at hospital, and Callan died from his injuries several days later.
Lindsay survived the fall but has been left paralyzed and needing a wheelchair as a result of her injuries.
Despite the heartbreak of losing his three children in such horrific circumstances, Patrick has publicly stated that he forgives his wife and asked for others to do the same.
Prosecutors have also dropped three lesser strangulation charges by filing a notice of nolle prosequi, allowing those counts to be merged into the three murder charges Lindsay already faces.
The trial is expected to last around six to eight weeks, with Lindsay's legal team announcing earlier in the year that they plan to pursue an insanity defense, arguing that she was experiencing postpartum psychosis at the time of the alleged killings.
Earlier this year, Patrick also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against several of Lindsay's healthcare providers, on behalf of the estates of their three children, after Lindsay was allegedly prescribed at least nine medications in the months before the tragedy.
Eight of the prescriptions were reportedly issued within just three weeks between November 16 and December 5, 2022, with medications including Valium, Prozac, Ambien, Remeron, Klonopin, Seroquel, and Lamictal.
In the suit, Patrick alleged that Lindsay had "started hearing a compelling and unrecognizable singular male voice that told her 'this is your last chance' and that she had to 'take them' with [her]."
It added that the voice "indicated to [Lindsay] that she should die... and that her children would suffer if she was gone."
Though Lindsay does not deny killing her children, she has pleaded not guilty and claimed she is not responsible for her actions because she was suffering postpartum psychosis.
Prosecutors are planning to argue that the killings were intentional and premeditated, after Lindsay ensured her husband would be out of the house when they were committed.
The trial began on July 20 and is ongoing.
Published 13:06 24 Jul 2026 GMT
Experts have issued a warning over a critical medication mistake as a mom accused of killing her three children before jumping 20 feet from a window goes on trial.
Lindsay Clancy, 36, has been accused of strangling her children, five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson, and eight-month-old Callan, with exercise bands inside the family home on January 24, 2023, 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 to take her own life by cutting her wrists and jumping from a second-story window.
She survived the fall but was left paralyzed from the waist down.
Clancy's legal team does not dispute that she killed the children but argues she was suffering from postpartum psychosis that left her incapable of understanding her actions.
They said she should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Meanwhile, prosecutors have argued the killings were planned, pointing to alleged internet searches including "ways to kill" and "can you treat a sociopath," as well as a handwritten note Clancy allegedly wrote before her youngest child was born.
Central to a lawsuit filed by Clancy and her husband is the allegation that the mom was prescribed 13 different psychiatric medications over several months as her mental health rapidly deteriorated after giving birth.
Defense attorney Kevin Reddington has described the treatment as "a horrific overmedication of drugs that caused homicidal ideation [and] suicidal ideation," Daily Mail reported.
The lawsuit alleges the mom was prescribed a combination of antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, sedatives, and mood stabilizers, including Klonopin, Valium, Ativan, Zoloft, Prozac, trazodone, Lamictal, Seroquel, and Ambien.
The healthcare providers named in the lawsuit have filed motions to dismiss.
Mental health experts not involved in the case stress that medication remains essential in treating postpartum psychosis but warn that prescribing multiple psychiatric drugs at once, known as polypharmacy, can increase the risk of side effects and make treatment more complicated.
"The multiple medications that Lindsay Clancy was taking is called polypharmacy, or a medication 'cocktail,'" forensic psychiatrist Dr. Carole Lieberman told the Daily Mail.
She said the approach is generally discouraged "because it causes too many side effects that multiply with the addition of each medication, and some medications cancel out the effect of others".
Experts say combining psychiatric medications can increase the risk of excessive sedation, confusion, agitation and, in rare cases, dangerous reactions such as serotonin syndrome.
Dr. Allen Masry, psychiatrist and medical director of All Solutions treatment centers, said: "The most challenging part of managing patients with severe postpartum psychiatric illness is determining if deteriorating symptoms are primarily due to medication side effects or a rapid progression of the underlying illness.
"Medication should be simplified when appropriate, and close follow-up should be provided," he added.
He also warned that suddenly stopping psychiatric medication can trigger withdrawal symptoms or even a rebound of psychotic symptoms.
Clancy's lawyers say she developed postpartum psychosis after the birth of her youngest child and began hearing voices instructing her to kill both herself and her children.
According to the lawsuit, she repeatedly sought medical help, went to emergency rooms, called crisis hotlines and admitted herself to the hospital, while telling doctors her medications were making her feel worse.
"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."
Experts say postpartum psychosis is a rare but severe psychiatric emergency affecting around one to two women in every 1,000 births.
Unlike postpartum depression, it can cause hallucinations, paranoia, delusions, and a complete loss of touch with reality.
Dr. Rod Hoevert, a clinical and forensic psychologist, said the illness "carries the most risk of the mother harming the baby due to having psychotic experiences."
Around half of women diagnosed with postpartum psychosis have no previous history of mental illness.
Despite losing all three of his children, Patrick has continued to publicly support his wife while mourning the family's loss.
Days after the killings, he wrote in a GoFundMe post that the family's "shock and pain is excruciating and relentless."
He also urged people to remember the woman he knew before her illness, writing: "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."
Published 10:13 24 Jul 2026 GMT
Warning: This article may contain some distressing information.
The disturbing note allegedly written by a mother accused of strangling her three young children before attempting to take her own life by jumping 20 feet from a second-story window has been revealed as her murder trial gets underway.
Lindsay Clancy, 36, has been charged over the deaths of her children, five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson, and eight-month-old Callan.
The young victims were found strangled inside the family's home in Duxbury, around 30 miles south of Boston, on January 24, 2023.
Clancy's trial, which is expected to last several weeks, will focus on whether she can be held criminally responsible for the killings or whether postpartum psychosis left her incapable of controlling her actions.
According to prosecutors, Clancy told her husband, Patrick, she had been tired after caring for the kids all day and asked him to pick up the children's medication and takeout because she was too tired to cook dinner.
When Patrick returned home, he found his wife seriously injured outside after she had allegedly slashed her wrists and throat before jumping from the home's second-floor window.
She reportedly told him she had tried to take her own life and that their children were downstairs.
When first responders entered the home, they found all three children had been strangled with exercise resistance bands.
Cora and Dawson were pronounced dead that evening, while Callan died several days later in hospital.
The item used to commit the killings was reportedly so disturbing that responding officers later required counseling.
Five jurors were selected on Monday as attorneys began assembling an 18-person panel, including six alternates, for the trial in Plymouth.
Clancy's legal team, supported by her husband, does not dispute that she killed the children but argues she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.
"This whole case is an extreme tragedy," defense attorney Kevin Reddington said.
However, prosecutors have argued that the killings were deliberate and carefully planned rather than the actions of someone who had lost touch with reality.
They allege Clancy searched online for the phrase "ways to kill" before the deaths and, four days earlier, had also Googled "can you treat a sociopath".
Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague has also highlighted a handwritten note Clancy allegedly wrote five months before Callan was born.
In the note, Clancy wrote: "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."
Sprague has described the defendant as "selfish," citing the note during an earlier court hearing.
Clancy remains paralyzed after her fall from the home's second-floor window and is being held at a state hospital while awaiting trial.
Patrick is expected to testify for both the prosecution and the defense.
Earlier this year, Lindsay and Patrick filed a lawsuit against her healthcare providers, alleging they failed to properly diagnose, treat and monitor what they described as a "severe postpartum psychiatric condition."
Per the complaint, Clancy had received inpatient psychiatric treatment in the weeks leading up to the killings after struggling with depression, insomnia and hearing voices telling her to harm both herself and her children.
"Lindsay Clancy did everything a mother in her situation could do," the lawsuit states. "She recognized something was wrong with her."
"She sought medical treatment. She went to emergency rooms. She called crisis hotlines. She admitted herself to a hospital. She took the medication prescribed to her. She communicated her worsening symptoms to her providers. She told them the medications were making her worse."
The filing also alleges that, on the day of the killings, Clancy heard voices telling her: "This is your last chance. Kill the children so you can kill yourself."
According to medical records cited in the lawsuit filed by Patrick, another voice told her "that her children would suffer if she was gone".
Patrick publicly forgave his wife after the horrific murders and has urged people to remember her as she was before the tragedy.
In a GoFundMe post shared days after the killings, he wrote that the family's "shock and pain is excruciating and relentless."
He added: "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."
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