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Published 16:01 15 Oct 2024 GMT
Warning: This article contains content some readers may find distressing.
The distraught husband of the woman who is accused of killing their three children has revealed the chilling response she allegedly gave when he asked why she did it.
Patrick Clancy, 33, had left his family home in Duxbury, Massachusetts on January 24, 2023, to pick up dinner and medication for one of his three children.
Patrick told the New Yorker that he was at the CVS store when he suddenly got a feeling that something was amiss and called his wife Lindsey.
Lindsey didn't pick up at the first ring so she called her husband back and told him to pick up Pedia-Lax for Cora.
The father-of-three revealed to the the publication that his wife sounded normal during the call, which took place on the day of the tragedy, but "seemed to be in the middle of something".
Once Patrick returned home after being out for less than an hour, he discovered his master bedroom locked. He forced his way inside and found blood spattered on the floor, a bloody knife on the nightstand, and a window open.
He then took a closer look and saw his barely conscious wife lying in their backyard after allegedly trying to take her own life by jumping out their home’s second-story window.
Patrick asked his partner "What did you do?” after finding her on the ground and she allegedly said: “I tried to kill myself.” He then asked where their children were, and she responded: “In the basement.”
He soon discovered his three children: Cora, five, Dawson, three, and Callan, eight months, in the basement with exercise bands still around their necks, and attempted to resuscitate them.
Despite his best efforts to save them, Cora and Dawson were pronounced dead while Callan tragically passed away a few days later.
Lindsay was left paralyzed from the waist down after she reportedly attempted to take her own life. She has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder, three counts of strangulation, and three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, per Daily Mail.
The mom-of-three, who worked as a labor nurse, suffered from anxiety and was institutionalized in the months before the horrific incident.
The heartbroken father revealed that he asked his wife several questions after the tragedy, such as whether she planned to kill his children.
“I think one of the first things I asked was, ‘Did you plan this? Is that why you sent me out?’" he told the outlet. In response, Lindsay allegedly made it clear that the deaths were not something she'd planned.
“She said, ‘No, it just was, like, a snap of the fingers,'" Patrick said, adding that she had Googled "ways to kill" for herself before she was feeling "suicidal for two months".
The grieving father said he has chosen to speak out to stop “lies and misinformation” that have come out due to the interest around Lindsey's forthcoming murder trial.
Looking back on his relationship with his wife, Patrick said that he "wasn't married to a monster," but was instead married to "someone who got sick".
A date for Lindsey's trial has not yet been set.
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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 14:40 29 Jan 2023 GMT
The husband of a midwife who allegedly killed their three children has said he forgives her and is pleading with others to do the same.
Patrick Clancy, 34, spoke about the ordeal on a GoFundMe page, describing his wife Lindsay, who worked at Massachusetts General Hospital, as "loving" and "caring" in spite of her actions.
Accused of strangling Cora, five, Dawson, three, and Callan, eight months, 32-year-old Lindsay attempted to take her own life after committing the horrific killings.
She had been suffering from postpartum depression when took the lives of her little ones on Tuesday, January 24.
The tragedy occurred when Patrick "popped out for 25 minutes" to collect a food order. When he returned, he found his wife unconscious outside of their home.
"A lot of people have said they can't imagine and they're right, there's absolutely nothing that can prepare you," Patrick wrote on Saturday, January 28.
"The shock and pain is excruciating and relentless. I'm constantly reminded of them and with the little sleep I get, I dream about them on repeat."
Lindsay, who had been on maternity leave at the time, has been charged with murder and assault. It is thought that she may have been dealing with postpartum psychosis when she killed her children.
Before the devastating event, the mom of three had been open about her struggle with postpartum depression in a Facebook post - just weeks after Callan's birth in May last year.
On the GoFundMe page, Patrick spoke lovingly about his wife, wanting her to be forgiven.
He said: "Our marriage was wonderful and diametrically grew stronger as her condition rapidly worsened. I took as much pride in being her husband as I did in being a father and felt persistently lucky to have her in my life.
"I still remember the very moment I first laid eyes on her and can recall how overcome I was with the kind of love at first sight you only see in movies. It really didn’t take long before I was certain I wanted to marry her.
"We said 'I love you' to each other multiple times daily, as if it were a reflex. We habitually started every morning with a passionate hug, yielding a sigh of relief like we had each received the perfect medicine.
"If too much time passed with out a hug, she’d look at me and ask, 'did you forget?' We mutually understood the reality that people can have bad days, but we stuck to the rule that when one of us got lost, the other was always there to bring them home, always.
"She loved being a nurse, but nothing matched her intense love for our kids and dedication to being a mother. It was all she ever wanted. Her passion taught me how to be a better father."
The GoFundMe, which has raised $756,286 at the time of writing, will go towards medical bills, funeral services, and legal help.
Published 13:35 13 Mar 2026 GMT
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.
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.
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.
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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."
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.
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