Mother-in-law testifies that Lindsay Clancy sought help before killing three children

During a murder trial in Massachusetts, Susan Clancy, the former mother-in-law of Lindsay Clancy, testified that the mother had been "begging for help" and exhibited insomnia, loss of appetite, anxiety and sadness before she killed her three children. The children – Cora, five, Dawson, three, and infant Callan, eight months – were found strangled with fitness bands in January 2023, after which Lindsay Clancy jumped from a second-floor window and was left paralysed, attending the trial in a wheelchair.

Clancy has not denied carrying out the killings but has entered a not-guilty plea to murder, with her defence arguing she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time. Lawyers for the defence cite testimony that she had been seeking medical help and had briefly checked into a psychiatric hospital before the deaths. Her sister, Allison Ozga, said Clancy told her she experienced daily suicidal thoughts in the month leading up to the incident.

Prosecutors contend the killings were premeditated, while the defence presented family members who described Clancy as a caring mother who had never shown such behaviour before. The NHS defines postpartum psychosis as a rare, serious mental illness that requires emergency treatment, distinguishing it from the milder "baby blues".

The trial continues as both sides present evidence regarding Clancy's mental state and the circumstances surrounding the tragic deaths.