Massachusetts mother on trial for 2023 killings of three children amid mental-health defense

Jury members in Plymouth, Massachusetts, viewed autopsy photographs of an eight-month-old child during the second week of Lindsay Clancy's murder trial, prompting an unscheduled recess. Prosecutors called friends, a former colleague and Clancy's former father-in-law to describe her behavior before the killings, noting that she openly discussed post-pregnancy mental-health struggles but appeared to be a caring mother.

Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse, has pleaded not guilty to the murders of her three children, ages five, three and eight months. Her defense does not contest that she killed the children on Jan. 24, 2023, but asserts that severe mental illness, including postpartum psychosis and undiagnosed bipolar disorder, precludes criminal responsibility. Prosecutors argue the husband’s departure from the home was a ruse and that Clancy acted with intent.

Witnesses described Clancy as outwardly normal, attending family events and social gatherings. Several recalled her reporting insomnia, medication side effects and “dark thoughts” in the weeks leading up to the deaths. Her former father-in-law, Christopher Clancy, said he was aware of her sleep problems and emergency-room visits.

If convicted, Clancy faces life imprisonment without parole; a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity would result in commitment to a state mental-health facility.

The trial coincided with developments in another Massachusetts case involving a mother who killed two children in 2018. The state Supreme Judicial Court overturned the convictions of Latarsha Sanders, citing the trial judge’s exclusion of key psychiatric records. District Attorney Timothy Cruz’s office said it is reviewing next steps, while Sanders’ attorney expressed hope that a new trial will allow jurors to consider the withheld evidence.