PLYMOUTH, Mass. — There is no court scheduled for Tuesday after the first day in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial featured emotional testimony from Patrick Clancy, who told jurors he never believed his former wife would harm their three children.
Lindsay Clancy is charged with murdering the couple’s children inside their Duxbury home in January 2023. Prosecutors allege she carefully planned the killings, while her defense team argues she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis and was not criminally responsible for her actions.
Patrick Clancy was the first witness called by prosecutors on Monday morning. During his testimony, he described his former wife’s mental health struggles in the months leading up to the deaths of their children.
“I think I asked her at some point, ‘Do you feel like you need to be kept away from them?’ and she said, ‘No,’” Patrick Clancy testified. “I never saw Lindsay harm the kids.”
Jurors also heard Patrick Clancy explain that he believed his wife’s condition had been improving before the tragedy.
When asked if Lindsay had ever expressed thoughts of hurting the children or asked for help on the day of the killings, he responded, “No. She was having one of her best days.”
According to prosecutors, Lindsay Clancy used exercise bands to strangle the couple’s three children in the basement of their Duxbury home after sending Patrick Clancy out to pick up takeout food. She then attempted to jump to her own death but survived and is now paralyzed.
During opening statements, prosecutors acknowledged Lindsay Clancy had struggled with her mental health for months but argued she intentionally carried out the killings.
“This was a woman who no longer liked the life she thought she wanted,” prosecutors told jurors. “It was getting harder and harder to control, and when she saw the opportunity to escape, she made the selfish choice to take it.”
Defense attorney Kevin Reddington countered that Lindsay Clancy and her family repeatedly sought help but failed to receive the treatment she needed.
“This is a woman that did not get the medication, did not get the medical treatment that she so deserved,” Reddington said.
Patrick Clancy is expected to return to the witness stand when court resumes Wednesday.
Jurors are also expected to hear the 911 call Patrick Clancy made after returning home and discovering his children. That call won’t be made public.
Postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis are expected to be central issues throughout the trial as both sides present evidence surrounding Lindsay Clancy’s mental health before the children’s deaths.
Boston 25 News will continue to follow the trial and provide updates as testimony resumes.
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