Ex-husband says Clancy admitted intrusive thoughts about harming kids
(CNN) — Opening statements began Monday in the triple-murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother who has argued she is not criminally responsible for fatally strangling her three young children.
The 35 year old is charged with three counts of murder and faces life in prison if convicted. Her attorney has argued she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and extreme mental illness when she killed them in 2023.
Prosecutors called Patrick Clancy as their first witness. He is the defendant’s ex-husband and the father of the slain children: Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan.
Patrick Clancy testified he was in the basement working when he got a text from his then-wife, who was upstairs with their three kids on January 24, 2023.
She suggested they get takeout as she hadn’t cooked anything, Patrick testified. Lindsay suggested they order from a restaurant, and the two exchanged a few more texts about their son Callan’s nap that day and what food they wanted.
Lindsay placed the order and Clancy came upstairs, he said.
“I took Callan for a minute and I rocked him by my knees, kissed Cora on the head and said, ‘be right back,’” he said, adding Dawson was eating chicken nuggets on the couch.
As he left, Lindsay was standing with Callan in the doorway of the living room, near the basement door, Patrick said, describing her demeanor as “normal.”
Linsday strangled her children in the basement while Patrick was out of the house. She then cut her wrists and neck and jumped from a second-story window in a suicide attempt, leaving her partially paralyzed.
Her attorney argues Lindsay was suffering from postpartum psychosis and extreme mental illness, so she was not responsible for her actions.
Judge William F. Sullivan recessed court for the day just after 3 p.m. ET, with Patrick Clancy still on the stand.
The court will not be in session Tuesday. Patrick Clancy will resume his testimony when court reconvenes on Wednesday at 9 a.m. ET.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.