Prosecutors Rest Case in Lindsay Clancy Murder Trial as Defense Calls First Witnesses

Prosecutors concluded their presentation in the trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Duxbury mother charged with three counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of her three children in 2023. The defense has started calling witnesses, arguing that Clancy was not mentally competent at the time of the killings and should be evaluated under an insanity defense.

Clancy has admitted to the killings of her 5-year-old daughter Cora, 3-year-old son Dawson and 8-month-old son Callan. Her attorney contends that postpartum mental-health issues, intensified by prescribed medications, impaired her judgment. Prosecutors maintain that the murders were intentional, asserting that Clancy intended to “take them with her” when she attempted suicide by jumping from a second-story window, an act that left her paralyzed from the waist down.

The prosecution called dozens of witnesses, including the children’s father Patrick Clancy, a former nanny, friends, coworkers, first responders, medical examiners and several health-care professionals. The final prosecution witness was a digital-forensic expert who analyzed health data, internet searches and communications from Clancy’s phone and Apple Watch, indicating she was active the evening of the killings and had searched for psychiatric medications and information on treating depression and suicidal thoughts.

Patrick Clancy testified that Lindsay had sought help for depression, anxiety, insomnia and suicidal thoughts in the months after Callan’s birth, and that she had expressed vague concerns about “something bad” happening to the children. He recounted a 911 call in which he discovered the bodies and reported, “She killed the kids,” a recording the judge barred from public release.

Medical records show Clancy received several months of mental-health treatment, including therapy, psychiatric visits, an outpatient program attempt and an inpatient stay at McLean Hospital weeks before the incident. She was prescribed antidepressants, antipsychotics and mood stabilizers, though the defense notes she did not consistently follow the medication regimen and was never formally diagnosed with postpartum psychosis.

Both Lindsay and Patrick Clancy have filed separate medical-malpractice suits alleging inadequate treatment for postpartum psychosis. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington began presenting witnesses on Monday, including Clancy’s mother, sister and mental-health forensic experts.

If the jury acquits Clancy of the murder charges, she would be committed to a state hospital with periodic reviews to assess her suitability for release.