Massachusetts mother faces murder trial over deaths of three children amid postpartum psychosis claims
Lindsay Clancy, 36, has pleaded not guilty to the murders of her three children and will be tried on an insanity defense, with the case expected to examine postpartum psychosis.
Jury selection began Monday in the trial of Lindsay Clancy, a 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse from Duxbury, Massachusetts, who is charged with murdering her three children—Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and infant Callan—on Jan. 24, 2023. After the killings, Clancy jumped from a window, resulting in paralysis, and is currently held at a state hospital.
Prosecutors allege the killings were premeditated, while Clancy’s defense team plans to argue she was suffering from postpartum psychosis, a rare condition that can cause delusions and hallucinations. Attorney Kevin Reddington said the defense will not contest that Clancy killed the children but will pursue an insanity plea. > "This whole case is an extreme tragedy," Reddington said.
Clancy and her husband, Patrick, have filed civil suits alleging that her medical providers failed to diagnose and treat a severe postpartum psychiatric condition. The lawsuit describes her symptoms, including depression, insomnia, and auditory hallucinations urging her to harm her children. It notes that she sought emergency care, crisis hotlines, and medication in the weeks before the incident.
The trial is set to last several weeks, with a jury of 18 members, including six alternates, to be selected over multiple days. Both sides intend to call Patrick Clancy as a witness; he has publicly expressed forgiveness toward his wife.